The Next Justice

Patrick S. O'Donnell says:

I like The Nation’s mention of, among others, of John Echohawk (an unlikely but worthy nominee).

“John Echohawk is a member of the Pawnee tribe, as well as a founder and leader of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). He is a lawyer who has dedicated his life to protecting Indian land and sovereignty. In 1970 Echohawk was the first Native American to graduate from the University of New Mexico’s school of law. He decided to use his knowledge to benefit Indians who did not understand Native American laws. After law school, Echohawk became a part of California Indian Legal Services. Echohawk joined together with other lawyers and tribal members to form the NARF, which was similar to the NAACP (both were based around civil rights activism. Echohawk centered NARF’s focus around preserving tribes, protecting tribal resources, protecting human rights, ensuring government responsibility, expanding Indian law and educating people about Indian issues. Through NARF, Echohawk has had a range of civil rights successes, from government recognition of tribal sovereignty to the drafting of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.” (From Wikipedia’s article on Native American Self-Determination)

Dan Cole says:

Kagan and Garland seem more likely to me; I would expect far nastier confirmation battles for either Wood or Sunstein, and my guess is that Obama would prefer the confirmation process to be less, rather than more, messy on the way to the midterm elections.