Bush taps counsel for 2nd pick

President Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Monday morning.\nBush praised Miers in his speech at the nomination ceremony.\n"She has devoted her life to the rule of law and the cause of justice. She will be an outstanding addition to the Supreme Court of the United States," he said.\nMiers, 60, has never been a judge and has spent much of her legal career in private practice. \nIU law professor Charles Geyh said Miers doesn't have much of a track record due to her judicial inexperience.\n"We really just don't know (about Miers)," Geyh said. \nHe said conservatives and liberals are concerned with the uncertainty of how Miers might rule on controversial issues.\n"There is nothing out there one way or the other," Geyh said. "It's not like (Attorney General) Al Gonzales, where they know how he might rule. It's the fear of the unknown."\nConservative group Public Advocate released a statement opposing Miers' nomination.\n"The President's nomination of Miers is a betrayal of the conservative, pro-family voters whose support put Bush in the White House in both the 2000 and 2004 elections and who were promised Supreme Court appointments in the mold of Thomas and Scalia," Public Advocate president Eugene Delgaudio said in the statement.\nGeyh said he is "struck" at how political groups are taking stances on Miers since little is known about her. \nIU law professor Craig Bradley said he isn't sure how Miers will rule on abortion, which might be the reason some groups are concerned with Bush's nomination. \n"She doesn't have any kind of background as a pro-lifer," Bradley said. "(Chief Justice John) Roberts didn't have much of a background and less is known about Miers."\nBut he said some Republicans hope she doesn't support a pro-life campaign. \n"I don't think the movers and shakers of the Republican Party want Roe v. Wade overturned," Bradley said. "They like to use it as their whipping boy."\nIU law professor Joseph Hoffmann said people should focus less on Miers' ideology and more on her judiciousness. \n"I have hope that what we're seeing is another nomination of someone who is of proper judicial temperament," Hoffman said. "Is she a thorough person? Is she a thoughtful person? These are the questions I want to know."\nHe said he fears senators will be too political in their questioning of Miers and will not ask questions to help understand Miers' judicial temperament. He said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., was successful in ascertaining that information from Roberts last month.\nGeyh said he believes Miers will handle the Senate confirmation hearings like Roberts did, avoiding an acknowledgment of her stance on particular issues. He said he expects Miers to have a "Muhammad Ali, rope-a-dope" style of answering questions.\nSenate Republicans are likely to vote in favor of Miers' confirmation, but they don't hold the necessary 60 votes by themselves to overturn a filibuster.\nThe three professors disagreed on the conditions of Miers' confirmation. Bradley said he believes she would have to be more forthcoming in information in order for Senate Democrats to give her a nod. Geyh said he expects more Democrats to vote no, but is doubtful of a filibuster.\nHoffmann is uncertain whether the Democrats will filibuster a vote, but if they did he would be concerned. \n"If the reason they filibuster is because they don't think she's qualified, that's fine. If the reason they filibuster is because they don't think she has the right judicial qualities, that's fine," he said. "If the reason they filibuster is because they don't know where she stands on Roe v. Wade, that's wrong."\nGeyh, Hoffmann and Bradley said they don't believe her judicial inexperience would make her a less qualified justice. Bradley and Hoffmann point out former Chief Justices Earl Warren and William Rehnquist had no judicial experience before their terms on the Supreme Court.\n"I consider them to be fine justices," Hoffmann said.\nNeither of Indiana's senators took strong positions Monday on whether they would support Miers' nomination.\nSen. Evan Bayh, who was among 22 Democrats voting last week against John Roberts' confirmation as chief justice, said he has had congenial dealings with Miers during her time working in the Bush administration and always found her a competent attorney.\n"However, there should not be a rush to judgment on a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land, which is why I look forward to what I hope will be a respectful and informative confirmation process," Bayh said in a statement.\nSen. Richard Lugar joined all 55 GOP senators in supporting Roberts, but did not say Monday whether he backed the nomination of Miers.\n"Senator Lugar is looking forward to a swift and thorough confirmation process," Lugar spokesman Andy Fisher said.\nA native of Dallas, Miers has been working on the Bush administration for the past five years, first as a staff secretary, then as deputy chief of staff for policy and now as the White House counsel. She graduated from Southern Methodist University with a bachelor's degree in math and with a law degree. \nThe Supreme Court began its session Monday with both Roberts and O'Connor on the bench. O'Connor resigned in July but said she will remain on the court until her replacement is ready to take over.\nIf confirmed, Miers would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg as the only two women on the high court. She would be the third in the court's history.\n -- The Associated Press contributed to this report.