PFAW provides this list of Supreme Court decisions in which Sandra Day O'Connor was the swing vote:

Key 5-4 rulings in which Sandra Day O’Connor was decisive

Sandra Day O’Connor has been the deciding vote in many important Supreme Court decisions affecting civil rights, environmental protection, personal privacy, voting rights, protection against discrimination, and more. If she is replaced by someone who doesn’t share her fair and impartial perspective, these are among the key 5-4 decisions in danger of being overturned:

I'm hearing that Bush is leaning towards Alberto Gonzales for the replacement for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The news is reporting that Bush won't make an announcement until at least next Friday.

Update: Armando at Daily Kos explains his opposition to Gonzales.

Received by e-mail from the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty (NCADP):

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty issued the following statement Friday by Executive Director Diann Rust-Tierney:

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has played an important role as the Supreme Court has begun to grapple more directly with the unfairness in the administration of the death penalty. She often cast the pivotal vote in close cases.

“Justice O’Connor expressed concern about the risk of innocent people being sentenced to death. Addressing a group of women lawyers in Minnesota, she once said,

‘If statistics are any indication, the system may well be allowing some innocent defendants to be executed. More often than we want to recognize, some innocent defendants have been convicted and sentenced to death.’”

Received by e-mail, here's a portion:

Above all, Justice O’Connor has been a voice of reason and moderation on the Court. It is vital that she be replaced by someone like her, someone who embodies the fundamental American values of freedom, equality and fairness. The decisions handed down by the Supreme Court profoundly affect the daily lives of all Americans. The Court is the final guardian of our constitutional rights and liberties. That is why the process of filling a Supreme Court vacancy is so important.

The Constitution gives the President and the Senate shared responsibility to fill this vacancy, because the President may only act with the “Advice and Consent” of the Senate. At this critical moment, the President must recognize the Senate’s constitutional role. He should give life to the Advice and Consent Clause by engaging in meaningful consultation with Senators of both political parties.

Working with the Senate, the President should identify a highly qualified candidate whose views are within the broad constitutional mainstream and who will make all Americans proud. With this nomination the President should choose to unite the country, not divide it. I look forward to working with the President and my colleagues in the Senate to fill this critical vacancy.

Received by e-mail, here's a portion:

This is the first Supreme Court vacancy in more than a decade, and Justice O’Connor’s replacement will greatly influence the future of our country. President Bush once claimed to be “a uniter, not a divider.” It is now his call whether he wants to launch a huge, divisive political battle with his choice or seek consensus and bring the nation together. I call on the President to work with members of Congress from both parties to select a nominee behind whom the entire country can unite.

People for the American Way outline what's at state with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement.

A Scalia-Thomas majority would not only reverse more than seven decades of Supreme Court legal precedents, but could also return us to a situation America faced in the first third of the 20th Century, when progressive legislation, like child labor laws, was adopted by Congress and signed by the President, but repeatedly rejected on constitutional grounds by the Supreme Court.

A shift of one or two votes would reverse Roe v. Wade’s guarantee of reproductive freedom and the right to privacy. But that would just be the beginning. Among those rights that could be drastically redefined if just one or two hard-right justices join the Court are:

The Move-On Pac will be airing this ad (QT video link) on CNN and other stations.

MoveOn PAC unveiled a new TV ad today aimed at discouraging President Bush from picking an extremist judge to replace outgoing Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. He should honor O’Connor and appoint a moderate justice. The almost $280,000 ad by will air on CNN in ME, NE, SC and VA, and on CNN and FOX in NY and DC as part of MoveOn PAC’s grassroots mobilization to empower Americans and persuade the Senate to protect our basic rights by rejecting an extremist nominee.

“Our message to the President as he considers nominees to the Supreme Court is ‘Protect Our Rights.’ Our message to the Senate when it considers the President’s nominee is ‘Protect Our Rights’,” said Ben Brandzel, Advocacy Director for MoveOn PAC.

“The President should honor O’Connor and appoint a moderate Supreme Court justice. We’re very concerned because we all saw the President undermine individual rights and invade a family’s privacy in the Terri Schiavo case a few months ago. If President Bush nominates an extremist, it will be up to Senators to say no, and the American people will make sure that they do just that,” he added.

Huge news today. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has announced her retirement. Here is her letter:

Dear President Bush:

"This is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, effective upon the nomination and confirmation of my successor.

"It has 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 role under our constitutional structure."

Sincerely,

Sandra Day O'Connor

Bush will now have his opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court Justice. He is expected to move quickly. Bush will make a statement later this morning.

Maher Arar, the Canadian who was secretly whisked off to Jordan and Syria where he alleges he was tortured, wants criminal charges brought against the U.S. officials who authorized his seizure and transfer.

Attorneys for Maher Arar said Thursday that Canadian criminal charges should be brought against U.S. agents responsible for spiriting the Canadian man to Syria in 2002, where he was imprisoned and allegedly tortured for almost a year.

Drawing parallels to the charges brought against CIA operatives by a Milan magistrate last week, attorney Marlys Edwardh said Canadian law defined torture as illegal wherever it occurs. Arar, 34, was seized by U.S. agents while he was changing planes in New York, questioned for 12 days and then transported in shackles to Syria.

Canada has been conducting a judicial inquiry into Arar's case:

2   more days to Saturday, July 2 when Live 8 rocks the world to end poverty.

Bump and Update: The Rhode Island Senate on Thursday overrode the Governor's Wednesday veto of the medical marijuana bill passed Tuesday by the state legislature. Now, if the Rhode Island House follows suit, it will become law.

Thanks to Tom Angell, Communications Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, who wrote me and said:

Check out my mom in Thursday's New York Times, In Rhode Island, Uncertainty About Medical Marijuana Law

Now that's what I call family values.

"This Fourth of July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom by flying the flag..." -George W. Bush

Hit the freeways. Cardboard and paint is all it takes. Join Freeway Blogger's Summer of Truth.

Signpainting parties against the war are being organized across the country over the 4th of July weekend with posting scheduled to start on the 5th. So far we have over 400 confirmed freewaybloggers for this action and should have well over a thousand by week's end.