Judge Paul J. Watford, a Southern Californian who serves on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, has emerged as a leading contender for President Barack Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
The president has narrowed his search to three appeals court judges, including two from Washington, officials close to the process told the Los Angeles Times Tuesday. All three have had bipartisan support in the past, though Republicans have made clear they would oppose a Supreme Court nomination this late in the president’s term.
Watford, who was born in Garden Grove, would be the third African American to sit on the nation’s highest court if nominated and confirmed. He would also be the fifth person from California but only the first from Southern California, according to The Times.
When Obama nominated Watford, 48, to the 9th Circuit in 2011, he won glowing praise, including from prominent conservatives. He won Senate confirmation on a 61-34 vote, with the support of 52 Democrats and nine Republicans.
Since then, he has won compliments from judges who serve with him.
“The bottom line is he is just really wonderful,” Appeals Court Judge Alex Kozinski, a Reagan appointee, told The Times.
Watford clerked for Kozinski for a year early in his career, but “I can’t describe him ideologically,” the judge said. “He has been my colleague for three or four years, and I can’t pigeonhole him into anything. The guy is really, really smart. He is careful about applying precedent, but based on ideology, you cannot predict the guy.”
Two of Watford’s opinions were reviewed by the Supreme Court last year. Both were affirmed, The Times reported.
—City News Service