Age: 50
10th Circuit, Denver
Appointed 2002 by President George W. Bush
Highly regarded, even-tempered conservative Christian. Clerked for Justice William J. Brennan. Opposes abortion rights, supports school vouchers and aid to parochial schools. Opposed Clinton impeachment, Supreme Court ruling that made Bush president, and ban on peyote use in religious ceremonies. Choice of some on Christian right; also has support in liberal academic community.
Age: 60
Chief judge, Fourth Circuit, Charlottesville, Va.
Appointed 1984 by President Ronald Reagan
Conservative centrist. Clerked for Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. Opposes affirmative action and minority set-asides. On panel that ruled citizens captured overseas in terror war can be detained without legal rights; overturned by Supreme Court. Has cautioned against tearing through "considered judgments" of Congress, and has suggested that procreation is a constitutional choice, but endorses further abortion restrictions. Age could be drawback.
Credit: Bob Brown–Richmond Times-Dispatch/AP
Michael Luttig
Age: 51
Fourth Circuit, Alexandria, Va.
Appointed 1991 by President George H. W. Bush
Meticulous, very conservative. Clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia and former Chief Justice Warren Berger. Opposes abortion rights, allowed Virginia ban on late-term abortion—invalidated by Supreme Court decision on similar ban. Supports states' rights, ban on gays in military. Father murdered in 1994 carjacking. Preparation of Justice Clarence Thomas for Anita Hill testimony raised ethics questions. Compared to Scalia, but with peppery Texas charm.
Age: 50
District of Columbia Circuit
Appointed 2003 by President George W. Bush
Quiet, reliably conservative. Clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Successful private career as Supreme Court litigator, affiliated with Federalist Society. Opposes abortion rights, supports restrictions on environmental protections, upheld arrest of 12-year-old for eating french fry in D.C. Metrorail station. Short tenure may be plus, slender record for Democrats to mine.
Age: 54
Third Circuit, Newark, N.J.
Appointed 1990 by President George H. W. Bush
Nicknamed "Scalito" for a conservatism modeled after Scalia. Gets high marks for ability and thorough, concise opinions. Former Reagan administration lawyer, ruled in favor of religious holiday displays on public property, has argued unsuccessfully that married women seeking abortion be required to inform husbands.
Age: 49
U.S. attorney general
Appointed 2004 by President George W. Bush.
Texas-born Bush friend and political ally. General counsel to then Texas Governor Bush, Texas Supreme Court justice, Bush White House counsel. Hispanic appeal, up-from-bootstraps life story, and closeness with Bush keep him on list, despite conservatives' concerns about open-mindedness on affirmative action, and liberals' distaste for post-9/11 memo denying Geneva Convention protections to suspected Taliban prisoners.
Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo for USN&WR
Edith Brown Clement
Age: 57
Fifth Circuit, Louisiana
Appointed 1991 by George H.W. Bush
Edith Brown Clement is known as a strict, no-nonsense jurist who brooks no shenanigans in her New Orleans courtroom, but her judicial views on the hot-button social issues of the day remain somewhat of a mystery. And that lack of a lengthy track record on questions of abortion rights, affirmative action, and gay marriage is part of what makes her attractive to an administration eager to avoid a contentious confirmation battle.
Age: 56
Supreme Court justice, Michigan
Nominated in 1998 by the Republican Party
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura D. Corrigan doesn't have the short-list buzz that surrounds many of the potential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Corrigan, a justice on one of the country's most conservative state courts, may have just what some Republicans are looking for: practical experience away from the bench and a firm commitment to judicial restraint.
Age: 57
Fifth Circuit, Texas
Appointed 1991 by George H.W. Bush
Judge Emilio Garza has been on the Republican short list for a Supreme Court spot for over a decade. By judicial standards, his ascent has been supersonic. Garza was first appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. President George H.W. Bush named him to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991, and within a year the White House was considering him for the Supreme Court slot now held by Clarence Thomas.
Age: 56
Fifth Circuit, Texas
Appointed 1985 by Ronald Reagan
Judge Edith Hollan Jones has the right resume for the Supreme Court short list. She has spent much of her life in President Bush's home state of Texas, and in two decades on the federal bench, Jones has built a staunchly conservative record. Now, though, some court watchers are wondering whether she is too far to the right to ever be confirmed.
