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O'Connor to Retire from Supreme Court

Aired July 01, 2005 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Supreme Court shakeup, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first the woman to serve on the high court, retires. What will her departure mean for the future of the court? A battle brews over her replacement.
From the CNN center in Atlanta, hello everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The nation deserves and I will select a Supreme Court justice that Americans can be proud of. The nation also deserves a dignified process of confirmation in the United States Senate, characterized by fair treatment, a fair hearing and a fair vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And so it begins, accolades for retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, anticipation of a Senate confirmation fight that will make all the others look like tea parties.

As you know if you've been watching CNN, the first woman ever named to the highest court in the land, certainly the first Supreme Court justice ever inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, is retiring after almost 24 eventful years.

Our coverage this hour begins with CNN's Joe Johns, at the Supreme Court. I guess you could say a cowboy of our own.

Hi, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

The historic announcement today released in a statement, actually a letter, this letter to the president of the United States. It says, very short, three sentences, "This is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States effective upon the nomination and confirmation of my successor. It's been a great privilege, indeed, to have served as a member of the court for 24 terms. I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the court and its rule under our Constitutional structure. Signed, Sandra Day O'Connor."

So, the president, of course, taking a call today from Justice O'Connor. We have a picture of the president on the phone during that call. A brief, apparently emotional conversation, we're told, about five minutes long. Later, the president spoke with reporters about Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: America is proud of Justice O'Connor's distinguished service. And I'm proud to know her. Today, she has the gratitude of her fellow citizens. And she and John and their family have our respect and good wishes.

Sandra Day O'Connor joined the nation's highest court in 1981 as the first woman ever appointed to that position. Throughout her tenure she has been a discerning and conscientious judge and a public servant of complete integrity. Justice O'Connor's great intellect, wisdom and personal decency have won her the esteem of her colleagues and our country.

Under the Constitution, I am responsible for nominating a successor to Justice O'Connor. I take this responsibility seriously. I will be deliberate and thorough in this process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The president saying he wants the process of naming and confirming a successor to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to be dignified. Of course, that has the potential of being challenging for the White House and the Congress, particularly the Senate. To underscore that right now, a growing number of demonstrators outside the Supreme Court in anticipation of the next phase, shall we say, in this whole process.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, can we judge that short list, no pun intended, and talk about why the battle has already begun? Obviously, it's an intense position. And there's a number of names out there, all very different in many ways.

JOHNS: That's -- that's very true. A number of names out there, probably a growing list. We're told, the White House has already interviewed some individuals about taking a seat on the Supreme Court in anticipation of a retirement.

I can tell you, not long ago an activist came up and handed me this, which is essentially on a computer disk, an advertisement supporting the conservative position on the Supreme Court, the naming of a nominee. Even though we don't have a name just yet.

The bottom line is, on both sides, the right and the left, people have been preparing for this for months and years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): The battle over the Supreme Court is about to begin.

CHRIS MYERS, PROGRESS FOR AMERICA: We're not going to be caught unprepared. JOHNS: Activists are huddled in their war rooms, plotting strategy, rallying the ground troops.

MYERS: It would be a good idea to go over this with the field. Actually, when you are done with it, we can e-mail it out to them so they'll have it in front of them.

JOHNS: In the video editing bays, television attack ads are waiting for someone to push the play button.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president nominated George Washington. Democrats attacked Washington for his environmental record of chopping down a cherry tree.

JOHNS: Conservative activist Chris Myers and his group Progress for America are preparing to defend the president's nominee, whoever it is, against an expected onslaught from liberals. They have organizers in 21 states and an $18 million war chest.

MYERS: We do know that if there is a retirement, that it will be defined quickly. We know the kinds of patterns that the left exhibits, based upon the things they've done in the past.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right!

JOHNS: On the left, Ralph Neas, a 30-year veteran of these wars, sometimes called the 101st senator for his civil rights advocacy.

RALPH NEAS, PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY: We're really well prepared for whatever happens, whether it's one, two or three possible vacancies.

JOHNS: Neas and his group, People for the American Way, fear the president will nominate someone who will take a wrecking ball to civil liberties. They've already sent out a million pieces of mail, with more to come once a nominee is named. And they're taking the fight to the Internet.

NEAS: We have registered a number of domain names, both with respect to the name of the campaign, and we want to make sure that we're ready to go from the very first moment.

JOHNS: At the center of all this, 100 U.S. senators.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: If the president submits an "in your face" nomination to flaunt his power, it takes time and effort and sweat and tears before the truth about the candidate is fully discovered.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: And over the last four years, this president's judicial nominees have been labeled kooks, Neanderthals and even turkeys. Respected public servants and brilliant jurists have been called scary and despicable.

JOHNS: With the stakes this high and the troops this ready, a fight is the one thing sure to happen. (END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: It will be a while, though, we're told, before the president actually names a successor, someone he wants to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor on the court. We're told he will not make that announcement until he returns from a trip to Europe.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Joe Johns at the Supreme Court, thank you.

And talk about low turnover, the high court's first vacancy in 11 years would be news, regardless of who was leaving. But when it's someone who so often tipped the scales in the biggest cases, it's huge. Whoever succeeds Sandra Day O'Connor could set the course of U.S. case law for years, a fact not lost on Senate Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNEDY: Today, President Bush is faced with a decision that affects each and every American and has the potential to impact every facet of constitutional law and the freedoms this country was founded upon. I urge President Bush to consult with the United States Senate on his nominee to the nation's highest court and to nominate someone whose record is consistent with the ideals and freedoms of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, in the meantime more details and insights from CNN chief national correspondent, John King. He's live from New York.

John, when talking about the replacements and the short list, if you will, one name, one female name is out there, Edith Jones. Do you think that the replacement would necessarily have to be a female?

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, I don't think it necessarily has to be. This is a president who says he doesn't play litmus test politics. It's a president, though, who also says he will nominate a conservative to the court. You heard that from the president in the Rose Garden today.

Our White House correspondents have looked at the short list, and most expect the president's pick will come from that list. But there would be pressure, of course. Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman. Some groups would say keep another woman on the court. There is Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a Clinton appointee, on the court now.

The president's decision will be influenced by Harriet Meyers, his counsel, who of course is a woman, but the president also could be looking for legacy, Kyra. He could be looking to name the first Hispanic to the court. And a name that comes up sometime in that context is the attorney general of the United States, Alberto Gonzales, who was the president's White House counsel in the first term. Many conservatives don't trust Mr. Gonzales, because he was a Texas Supreme Court justice, had some rulings in abortion-related and other cases. Some conservatives worry he could become like David Souter of the first Bush term, someone nominated as a conservative who turns out to be more centrist.

So we will get the president's pick, probably in a matter of a week or so, perhaps a little bit longer. And then it will set off, as Joe Johns just laid out, a pretty grueling fight.

There are some contrarians who think the president will pick somebody from the appellate bench who has been confirmed once or twice before by the Senate and it won't be as big a fight as we think. But everybody is preparing, Kyra, for quite the opposite.

PHILLIPS: John, interesting, you mentioned Alberto Gonzales. You also have another possible Hispanic that could take that spot, Emilio Garza, also a fellow Texan.

KING: A fellow Texan who sits on the appellate court. He was first put on the federal district bench by this president's father, George H.W. Bush, then elevated to the appellate bench. He is someone, again, he has been confirmed twice by the United States Senate.

Now some liberal groups have already said they will oppose him if he is a Supreme Court nomination. That is one of the key tests for the president, in the sense that if you pick someone who's been confirmed a couple of times before, it makes it a bit harder for the interest groups to knock them down. Although that would be the old rule, if you will.

This is, as you noted, the first pick in 11 years. The Internet, all the blogs, the use of attack ads in judicial nominations. These are all new dynamics since the last court pick 11 years ago.

And both of President Clinton's picks were pretty non- controversial, Steven Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsberg generated nowhere near the controversy and political heat, say, of Robert Bork back in the Reagan administration and the Bush administration. So this will be an interesting test. Clarence Thomas in the Bush administration, Robert Bork back in the '80s. We have not had a huge fight since then. And of course, our business has changed then, and so have political campaigns.

PHILLIPS: John, if you looked at our business and politics within the past few years, I think controversy fits very well into the description. John King, live from New York, thank you so much.

Well, so what do Americans want in their next Supreme Court justice? Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, has been looking into that.

What do you think, Bill?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, what they say, a plurality say they want a justice who will be conservative but not too conservative. Most people are of the view the court should stay more or less the same.

And Democrats are going to dwell on that point when they talk about Sandra Day O'Connor as a model for the justice that President Bush should appoint to the Supreme Court. She's a Republican, appointed by Ronald Reagan, but she was a moderate pragmatic conservative. She voted to uphold Roe vs. Wade, the decision that gave constitutional protection to abortion rights.

So in the confirmation process you're going to hear Democrats again and again say Sandra Day O'Connor is the model.

PHILLIPS: Bill Schneider, thank you so much. We're continuing to follow all things Sandra Day O'Connor, of course, rather. And also remembering a lot of her writings. Like those of every high court justice have been and will analyzed and quoted for generations.

Here's a few quotes that haven't been, but are worth a second look. Quote, "Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time."

And "No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom."

Reflecting on a moment of silence in public schools, quote, "It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room full of silent, thoughtful school children."

And after her unanimous Senate confirmation vote in September 1981, "My hope is that 10 years from now, after I've been across the street at work for awhile, they'll all be glad they gave me this wonderful vote."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next, on LIVE FROM, missing in Afghanistan. U.S. Special Operations forces combating insurgents. The latest on the search, straight ahead.

Later on LIVE FROM, new warnings about drugs for ADHD. We'll go in depth on why the FDA wants new labels on certain drugs.

Also, later on LIVE FROM, a Texas-sized tantrum. Athletes and anger management. Singers shouting out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

PHILLIPS: A look at some of our favorite famous fits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And this just in to CNN. This is coming from Boca Grande, Florida. We're told that a European tourist was bitten on the ankle today apparently by a shark while standing in chest-deep water in the Gulf of Mexico just off Lee County in southwest Florida.

The Lee County Sheriff's Department telling us now that the 19- year-old man is believed to be from Austria. He was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers. So far, no report on his condition.

As you know, we've been following a number of shark attacks within the past week. Two specifically were a 16-year-old boy, had lost his leg but survived, and then of course, last weekend the death of that 14-year-old girl off the water, the Gulf water off Florida.

Since Saturday, two incidents, now this being the third in Boca Grande, Florida -- or Boca Grande, Florida, rather. We'll keep you updated.

Now moving on to MIA, missing in Afghanistan. You know, we know that the 16 Special Ops forces onboard a U.S. helicopter that crashed on Tuesday weren't the only troops that the Pentagon was worried about, and still is.

The fate of the 16 was learned yesterday when recovery teams finally reached the crash site and found the bodies, but U.S. Officials say the Special Ops recon troops that were being reinforced and/or rescued when the Chinook was apparently shoot down, are still unaccounted for.

We get the latest now from CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

Jamie, what can you tell us?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, three days after that helicopter was apparently shot down, it was going into, as you say, reinforce a rescue, the Special Operations reconnaissance team on the ground, that small team is still missing in the rugged area of eastern Afghanistan, where they were scouting and confronting al Qaeda fighters in that region.

The Pentagon is being very tight-lipped about the precise makeup of the team. Among the last time they heard from them, saying those kinds of details could jeopardize a rescue operation, which is still under way.

The U.S. military in Afghanistan says it is using every available asset in the search to locate the small number of Special Operations forces who are still on the ground. Remember that these are among the most highly trained. And if anyone can survive on the ground for an unlimited amount of time without any support, these are the troops that can do it.

A Taliban spokesman, reputed Taliban spokesman, claimed at one point that a U.S. service member had been captured. But the U.S. military says it has no information that would back up that claim. They're continuing to list these forces as missing. And they are continuing the search for them.

Meanwhile, the remains of the 16 U.S. service members, including an eight-man SEAL team that was killed in the earlier rescue operation, have been recovered. And they're beginning the process of bringing those bodies back to the United States -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jamie McIntyre, live from the Pentagon. Of course, we'll continue to follow that operation still taking place in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, straight ahead, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She's also in the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. We're going to look at the life and legacy of the first woman on the Supreme Court, just ahead on LIVE FROM.

Also coming up next, Live 8. Billed as the world's largest live concert, will it really help the people in Africa? We're talking about it with, of course, the Dolans, an unusually, or usually they're unscripted. They're joining us now. There they are. They're excited.

We'll be right back. Live from the control room at CNN, this is LIVE FROM. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I can't think of a better way to get sworn into office, with a gospel choir. Live there at city hall in Los Angeles, California. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa officially being sworn in. We'll dip in now and then to the celebration. There you go, live shot there of city hall, downtown Los Angeles. We'll keep an eye on it.

We're also keeping a bird's eye view right here on the Scottish highlands, at Gleneagles Resort and Purshire (ph). Behind the fence, the heads of the so-called G-8 nations will gather in a few days. Security, as you might expect, is high and tight.

And a few miles to the south in Edinburgh, police, shopkeepers and residents are preparing for the throngs of protesters already massing there. Large demonstrations almost always accompany the G-8 summit, wherever it is, urging world leaders to urgently address the cause du jour.

And you can believe it's been 20 years since Live Aid. Well, how the time flies. Freddie Mercury. It was one of the biggest and most influential concerts of all time.

Some of the same organizers trying to channel the same energy for tomorrow's Live 8 show: 150 bands, 10 cities. Those behind the Live 8 don't sell tickets to the concerts, though. They say it's all about sparking charity, not making money. But come on, somebody is getting paid here.

Ken and Daria Dolan, sure to have some input into the business of charity issue. They're the hosts of CNN's "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED." They join us live from New York.

OK, I see it right now. There's -- there's the pessimistic face. KEN DOLAN, CO-HOST, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": No, Kyra, I will tell you something that I must get of my chest. I must confide this to you. Are we on camera? Are we live right now?

PHILLIPS: We're live. We're live.

K. DOLAN: I miss Freddie Mercury of Queen, period. I miss Freddie Mercury.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'll tell you what you can do. You can go to Vegas, because I hear the live show is fantastic.

K. DOLAN: Really?

PHILLIPS: They're doing a live show. It's sort of like -- yes, I think it's -- I wish I could remember what it's called.

K. DOLAN: Kyra, you are -- you are so hip it's scary.

PHILLIPS: I'm trying. I'm trying to stay in touch. All right.

DARIA DOLAN, CO-HOST, "DOLANS UNSCRIPTED": It's also playing on the West End. Because Stefan Atkinson (ph) from our staff was there last week and saw it.

PHILLIPS: Really? OK, so there you go. Look, your wife is hipper than you are. So maybe I should go to her with this conversation.

K. DOLAN: It's very easy to be hipper than me.

All right, talking about Live 8. All right, Kyra, here's the deal. Here's my take on Live 8. It doesn't make -- I can't believe it's 20 years since Live Aid.

But Live 8 I think is a great idea, Kyra, but here's the problem. I'm thinking it's a little bit of a band-aid on a much bigger problem. Because for the sake of example, $450 million -- billion has been given to Africa over the last couple of decades. Three hundred million people still live under less than a buck a day, do not have access to clean water.

Fifteen million Africans are war -- are war refugees. Eighty- five hundred -- 8,500 Africans get HIV every day, and every 30 seconds kids are dying from malaria.

So my point is, before we talk about more money, should there not be some responsibility and accountability for the last half a trillion?

PHILLIPS: Four hundred and 50 billion? That is unbelievable. You're saying less than $1 a day?

K. DOLAN: Three hundred million people live on less than $1 a day.

D. DOLAN: Thirty percent of the children get no education, no schooling of any sort.

PHILLIPS: Where's this money going?

K. DOLAN: Well, there you go.

D. DOLAN: Therein lies the problem. And is it really aid that is going to turn the tail in Africa or should it be more trade?

If you look back many years ago, 30, 40 years ago, South America was in not much better fiscal shape than Africa. But at that point in time we started working trade deals and negotiating to do business with South America. And now they are a wonderful, for the most part, success story. We won't get into the drugs that help some of the countries in there.

PHILLIPS: But we should talk about the corruption, absolutely, especially when you've got people like Bono and Brad Pitt and all these big names making the big trips. Even big religious leaders: Billy Graham, Rick Warren. I mean, there should be some type of accountability. Who should be following the money trail?

D. DOLAN: Well, the -- part of the problem is, when we give aid, we give aid with dictate, as do most of the world's countries. So consequently, the $3.2 billion allocated by Congress this year, Congress has said is to go for food and HIV awareness and protection.

K. DOLAN: Yes, yes.

D. DOLAN: So, if they have other needs for it, we've already said no. But this is why we're giving you money. In the meantime, in the -- in 1980, six percent of world trade came from Africa, as opposed to now down to two percent.

K. DOLAN: And the average age has gone down in the last few years to 46 -- to 46 years of age in the sub-Sahara, the sub-Sahara portion of Africa.

So our question is, nobody doubts, nobody is questioning for a second, Kyra, that our -- that our fellow man in Africa needs help. There's no doubt about it, absolutely, unequivocally. The question is where has all the money in the past gone, before we send more money, with 44 million people in America uninsured and bread lines still in America.

D. DOLAN: And Live 8 can get a lot of the kids involved and aware of the problem.

K. DOLAN: Yes.

D. DOLAN: But the fact of the matter is at the end of the day, they go home. There is no real touch for them with the African continent. What they need to understand is, and you can look at Somalia, which has become a breeding ground for Islamist terrorists, that when poor people have no operations, they're open to terrorism.

And terrorism is a threat to everybody in western Europe, in the United States, around the world. Therein lies a hook to get the youth of the world interested in getting Africa up from the bowels that it has descended into, and a prospering, working member of the world community.

PHILLIPS: All right, so when you say getting the youth involved, let's talk about your producer, Shawn Yates (ph), former Peace Corps volunteer.

D. DOLAN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I mean, is that what you're talking about, with regard to getting involved?

K. DOLAN: I think that's part of it. I think that's part of it. Shawn (ph) spent two, I think two -- I think two or two and a half years in Bolivia. And it's been one of the great experiences of his life. Yes, I think we need to do more of that.

And I think Live 8 will help bring some attention to it. But it simply is not the answer. Accountability No. 1, and then let's drive on No. 2, let's help.

D. DOLAN: And the other big question, Kyra, is with all that's been going on, and the fact that the head of the Security Council of the United Nations is from the continent of Africa, where the heck is the U.N.?

PHILLIPS: Well, we could get into a whole conversation about the U.N. and oil-for-food scandal and who's running the U.N. I mean, oh, my goodness.

K. DOLAN: Yes. That's a whole other issue.

PHILLIPS: There's part two.

K. DOLAN: The U.N. is a money pit!

D. DOLAN: And I think the world needs to hold the U.N. accountable on this, as well.

PHILLIPS: It needs to be held accountable for a lot of things, as we've talked about, within the past year specifically.

All right. What's coming up this weekend on the show, guys?

D. DOLAN: Oh, my gosh, we've got a lot going on. We're going to talk about the movie industry and the fact that, if you go to see "Cinderella Man" and you don't like it, you can get your money back. What's that saying about Hollywood?

K. DOLAN: And we're also going to talk about the Supreme Court decision on imminent domain. A lot of municipalities are saying, "Yahoo! Watch your house, lady."

PHILLIPS: OK. We will do -- we look forward to the show. And go see "Cinderella Man." I thought it was a good flick, and it's a good book. Thanks, guys.

D. DOLAN: I'm looking forward to it.

PHILLIPS: You guys are always boxing with each other. I'm staying away from your husband. Bye, guys.

All right. So can we save them? That's the question and the CNN special. Tomorrow evening at 7 Eastern Christiane Amanpour talks G-8 and global poverty with, among others, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "CAN WE SAVE THEM," tomorrow, 7 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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