Judiciary
Ken Starr Admits Disappointment over Failure to Get Supreme Court Nod
Posted May 13, 2009 9:58 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth Starr has many accomplishments in his career, including solicitor general, federal judge and now dean of Pepperdine University School of Law. But there is one gap on his resumé causing regret—for Starr and likely many conservatives who had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would take more of a rightward tilt.
In an interview yesterday with WCCO-AM in Minneapolis, Starr acknowledged he was “very disappointed” to be passed over for a Supreme Court nomination during the presidency of the first George Bush, the Minnesota Independent reports. Chosen instead was David H. Souter, who is now retiring from the court.
Starr was also a member of the ABA Journal Board of Editors.
Updated at 12:30 p.m. to indicate conservatives hoped for a rightward tilt.
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Comments
Enough
May 13, 2009 11:04 AM CST
“More of a leftward tilt”? Really? Ken Star?
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B. McLeod
May 13, 2009 3:46 PM CST
He has to be joking. He bilked the public of huge sums to try to further the partisan get-Clinton effort, and even then, failed to come up with anything beyond a few lies and some presidential sexcapades. To liberals, he’s a partisan jerk, and to conservatives, he’s a very expensive failure. Who in the Hell does he think would nominate him for the Court (or even a job as dogcatcher)? His moment has passed. He’s a loser, and he’s done. Get off the freaking stage, Ken Starr, before we have to call for the stagehook.
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Paul the Magyar
May 13, 2009 6:29 PM CST
This story made my day! I am delighted to hear that Starr has suffered any disappointment—be it cold coffee, a shortage of hot water in the shower, the loss of his favorite football team, or being passed over for a Supreme Court seat.
Really, this clown will never receive his just desserts for what he did to our country in the name of partisanship.
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Michael
May 14, 2009 10:44 AM CST
A Supreme Court appointment for Ken Starr!? He had the whole world literally laughing at the US justice system. His shenanigans distracted the President from hunting down Bin Laden by diverting attention and arguably contributed to the worst terrorist attack in US history.
Starr made his mark in legal history though he’s likely to be remembered as more akin to Torquemada than any type of respectable judge.
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T.R.
May 14, 2009 11:07 AM CST
Starr had to consider during the Clinton thing that his perceived judicial integrity was taking damage during that whole firestorm. If his dream was to sit on the High Court one day, then he ought have known better than to take Washington way off into tabloid land—he should have walked away. Did Starr honestly believe that at some future date a presumably typical president would pick a cigar/dress-stain-voyeur guy to sit next to the pubic-hair-soda guy on SCOTUS?
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Right turn - march (JAG ACALWP)
May 14, 2009 12:11 PM CST
Comment removed by moderator.
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JR
May 14, 2009 12:28 PM CST
It seems like the folks who commented did not read the article carefully. Starr was disappointed that he did not get appointed during the first Bush presidency (instead of Souter). He did not say that he wanted to be appointed in the future or even for the last 2 vacancies.
Also, let’s not blame Starr for Clinton’s failures. That’s ridiculous.
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JR the FIrst
May 14, 2009 1:30 PM CST
Poster #7:
I read the article but even in the Bush Administration of 1989-93, Starr could not go onto the Court because of his tin ear. He had written a brief that urged the Court to reverse Roe v. Wade in a case in which the court need not have dealt with the issue. As I remember, Justice Blackmun showed his anger by throwing the brief onto the bench. His pornographer side came out only later.
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Bird Smack
May 15, 2009 9:54 AM CST
Okay, I’m no Ken Starr fan. I view him as little more than a political hack.
But really, Michael at No. 4? He distracted the President (presumably Clinton?) from hunting down Bin Laden? He contributed to 9/11?
Are you serious? Or just STUPID?
Whatever you are, BigLaw rules!
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