May 16, 2002

BUSH'S COUNSEL PANS STATE'S JUDGE-PICKERS
By James Gordon Meek
Daily Journal Staff Writer

WASHINGTON - White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez expressed strong dissatisfaction Wednesday with California's bipartisan judicial advisory committee, but he declined to say whether President Bush will withdraw his support for the state's unique screening process. "I haven't been overjoyed at the way the commission process has worked in California," Gonzalez told a luncheon gathering of the American Law Institute Wednesday, responding to a question from the Daily Journal.

"It took a long time for the commissions to get going, and I think if you rank California, ... in terms of how quickly the president was able to nominate judges to the bench, California is probably last," he said. "And I think it was probably because of the commission structure."

Bush's top lawyer, a former Texas Supreme Court justice, explained his broad dislike for bipartisan commissions by characterizing them as "an encroachment upon the powers of the presidency, in terms of limiting who he can look to within the state to nominate to the federal bench."

But he said California is viewed by the administration as a special exception. In a huge state with no high-ranking statewide Republican officeholder, the president was willing to consider the value of a committee set up by the White House and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, he said.

"I'll be very candid. You've got two Democratic senators, one on the Judiciary Committee," Gonzalez said.

But whether the bipartisan commission is working is an open question.

To date, the commission, led by Bush confidante and Los Angeles venture capitalist Gerald Parsky, has forwarded almost a dozen candidates to the White House for consideration for judicial nomination.

Three of those have been nominated to the federal bench in Los Angeles, and two recently were confirmed. Both men expected to be sworn in, Percy Anderson and John F. "Jack" Walter, first were selected by Bush's father but were not confirmed in the previous Bush administration.

Parsky had no comment on Gonzalez's remarks.

Though several Democrats have been recommended by the bipartisan commission in California, none has been nominated, and at least one has dropped out of consideration.

Sources close to the judicial selection process in California say they expect a nominee screened by the commission to emerge soon for a vacancy in San Francisco.

Further, there is speculation that Carol Lam will get the nod from Bush to be the U.S. attorney in San Diego. The sources also point out that it sometimes takes longer to screen candidates who are seen as able to win confirmation in the Senate.

Still, Gonzalez expressed his support - however lukewarm - for the commission process on Wednesday.

"I'd have to say at this juncture I would support the California commission, but we've had some problems, and we'll see how it works down the road," Gonzalez said. "I think it's producing some names that the president is very comfortable [and] proud to nominate, so we'll continue working with it."

The White House counsel also used his speech before the group to respond to critics of how the president has used executive privilege and exercised his authority as commander-in-chief and to defend Bush's role in filling vacancies on the federal bench.

Gonzalez said Bush plans to leave the Oval Office stronger than he found it when elected in 2000.