Gonzales Supreme Court Bound?

Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review is increasingly concerned that President Bush will nominate White House counsel Alberto Gonzales to the Supreme Court. Ponnuru notes that, although the Washington Post had suggested that Gonzales was out of the running, some social conservatives are now reporting that the White House is trying sell them on Gonzales’ merits. Much of the criticism of Gonzales by social conservatives stems from his votes as Texas supreme court judge in cases involving the interpretation of a state law requiring parental notification before a minor can get an abortion. Gonzales has been accused of interpreting the law so broadly as to gut the parental notification requirement. Ponnuru, having reviewed the decisions, does not conclude that Gonzales acted lawlessly or that he must be a supporter of Roe v. Wade. On the other hand, he finds nothing in Gonzales’ jurisprudence that suggests he would be a particularly conservative Supreme Court justice. And Gonzales’ role in the University of Michigan cases must cast further doubt in this regard. By the end of the article, Ponnuru seems almost resigned to Gonzales’ nomination, and is left to hope that Bush will nominate Gonzales only after first having gotten a conservative justice confirmed.