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Below are my top 10 contenders for the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Souter's retirement. Take a look and then vote for your top prediction. Or let me know who I forgot in the comments.

Jennifer Granholm: Michigan's governor is bright, has a ton of experience in politics, and has the Harvard Law School connection. It’s hers to lose.


Christine O. Gregoire: Another female governor from Democratic state (Washington) but she’s not as experienced in the law as Granholm. Long, longshot.


Elena Kagan: Obama's Solicitor General may be too liberal, and might not have enough experience, to be considered seriously this time around. But after some seasoning before Court she might get to go behind the bench down the road.

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It is nice, bordering on quaint, to think that President Barack Obama would be able to successfully select a "regular person" (i.e. a non-lawyer) to replace Justice David H. Souter on the United States Supreme Court. It's certainly laudable that he would want to change the experiential makeup of the Court—all nine current Justices, including the soon-to-be-retired Justice Souter, came from federal appeals courts, which are almost as isolated from the rest of the world as is the Supreme Court itself.

But neither Oprah nor Dr. Phil nor Donald Trump nor that Scottish lady who sings nor Tiger Woods nor Bruce Springsteen nor any other non-lawyer will make it to the Court.

Here's why: the law in 2009 is far too complex for a lay person to jump into at the highest possible level. There are too many rules, too many standards, too much precedent, and too many exceptions. It would be like asking your high school French teacher to suddenly in a month be able to consistently comprehend, translate, and implement instructions in ancient Latin.

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