[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 41 (Monday, October 17, 2005)]
[Pages 1523-1524]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

October 8, 2005

    Good morning. This week I nominated an exceptional individual to 
replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court of the 
United States. Harriet Miers is a remarkable woman and an accomplished 
attorney. She has wide experience in the courtroom and at the highest 
levels of government, and she will be an outstanding addition to our 
Nation's highest Court.
    Harriet Miers was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, where she 
attended the public schools. When illness struck her family, Harriet 
went to work to help pay for her own college education. She stayed close 
to home in Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University and received a 
bachelor's degree in mathematics.
    She remained at SMU for law school and earned a place on the law 
review. After graduation, she was hired for a prestigious 2-year 
clerkship for a Federal trial judge. From there, she went on to an 
extraordinary career in private practice and public service and became a 
pioneer for women lawyers. She was the first woman to be hired at her 
law firm, the first woman to become president of that firm, the first 
woman to lead a large law firm in the State of Texas, the first woman 
head of the Dallas Bar Association, and the first woman elected as 
president of the State Bar of Texas.
    In her law practice, Ms. Miers handled hundreds of cases in State 
and Federal courts, from massive commercial litigation to criminal cases 
to civil disputes. She served in local government on the Dallas City 
Council and later held office in State government as well.
    As Ms. Miers rose through the legal ranks, she also put in long 
hours of volunteer legal work on behalf of the poor and underprivileged, 
and served as a leader for more than a dozen community groups and 
charities. Beginning in the 1990s, Harriet Miers was regularly rated one 
of the top 100 lawyers in America and one of the top 50 women lawyers in 
the country.
    Because of her skill and record of remarkable achievement, in 2001, 
I asked her to work in my administration. For the past 5 years, Harriet 
Miers has served our Nation in critical roles, including White House 
Counsel, one of the most important legal positions in the country. As 
counsel, Ms. Miers addresses complex matters of constitutional law, 
serves as the chief legal advisor during regular meetings of the 
National Security Council, and handles sensitive issues of executive-
congressional relations, among many other essential duties. She has led 
the effort to help nominate outstanding judges for the Federal 
judiciary. She was in charge of the process that resulted in the 
appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts.
    Harriet Miers would come to the Supreme Court with a background in 
private practice

[[Page 1524]]

and high-government service, and this puts her in strong company. 
Indeed, since 1933, 10 of the 34 justices came to the Supreme Court 
directly from positions in the executive branch, such as the one Ms. 
Miers now holds. And no Supreme Court nominee in the last 35 years has 
exceeded Harriet Miers' overall range of experience in courtroom 
litigation; service in Federal, State, and local government; leadership 
in local, State, and national bar associations; and pro bono and 
charitable activities.
    Throughout her life, Ms. Miers has excelled at everything she has 
done. She's been a leader and a trailblazer for women lawyers, and her 
work has earned the respect of attorneys across the Nation. I chose 
Harriet Miers for the Court both because of her accomplishments and 
because I know her character and her judicial philosophy. Harriet Miers 
will be the type of judge I said I would nominate, a good conservative 
judge.
    She shares my belief that judges should strictly interpret the 
Constitution and laws, not legislate from the bench. She understands 
that the role of a judge is to interpret the text of the Constitution 
and statutes as written, not as he or she might wish they were written. 
And she knows that judges should have a restrained and modest role in 
our constitutional democracy. Like Justice William Rehnquist and Justice 
Byron White, who were also nominated to the Supreme Court directly from 
legal positions in the executive branch, Harriet Miers will be prudent 
in exercising judicial power and firm in defending judicial 
independence.
    When she goes before the Senate, I am confident that all Americans 
will see what I see every day: Harriet Miers is a woman of intelligence, 
strength, and conviction. And when she is confirmed by the Senate, I am 
confident that she will leave a lasting mark on the Supreme Court and 
will be a Justice who makes all Americans proud.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:35 a.m. on October 7 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 8. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
October 7 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.