Statement by Earthjustice Senior Legislative Counsel Glenn Sugameli on the withdrawal of Harriet Miers as a nominee for associate justice of the Supreme Court:

“Today, Harriet Miers’ Supreme Court nomination was withdrawn in the face of far right-wing criticisms that she would not be a guaranteed vote to strike down a wide range of laws. President Bush must not surrender his choice of a new nominee to the same rigid right-wing extremists.”

“The Constitution provides that the President shall nominate lifetime justices with the advice-and-consent of the Senate, not far right-wing groups and commentators.”

“When agency officials allow corporations to illegally pollute the air we breathe, or when industry claims that clean water protections are unconstitutional, Americans rely on fair and independent courts to apply, enforce, and uphold the laws that safeguard our environment. In choosing a successor to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the President should engage in genuine bipartisan consultation with Senators to select a mainstream nominee to our third branch of government: the independent judiciary.”