Three years ago, when Owen was first nominated to a U.S. appeals court, the Senate Judiciary Committee -- then controlled by Democrats -- held a daylong hearing and criticized the Texas judge for decisions viewed as friendly to business.
There was the case of Dena Read, a woman who was raped in her home by a Kirby vacuum salesman. The company had not checked his background, which included being fired from a previous job for sex offenses. The woman won a $160,000 jury verdict, and the Texas high court upheld the award on a 6-3 vote.
Owen dissented, arguing that the salesman was an independent contractor. For that reason, Kirby should not be held liable, she said.
All 10 Democrats on the committee voted against her confirmation in 2002, saying she had a record of tilting the law in favor of business. Bush reacted angrily to the defeat. "I don't appreciate it one bit, and neither do the American people," he said.
After his reelection, Bush renominated Owen to the U.S. appeals court in New Orleans; the committee, now controlled by Republicans, endorsed her on a party-line, 10-8 vote.
Her confirmation on the Senate floor may depend on whether the Republicans can outlaw filibusters and approve her by majority vote.
Owen, who was born Oct. 4, 1954, in Palacios, Texas, grew up in Waco and earned her undergraduate and law degrees from Baylor University.
She has been active in a small church in Round Rock, near Austin.
Pastor Jeff Black said most of the congregation of 300 did not know Owen was a state supreme court justice until her nomination become a subject of national controversy.
"She is very quiet and conscientious," said Black, who founded St. Barnabas the Encourager Evangelical Church in 1997. "She teaches Sunday school and is the head of our altar guild. Our people thought she was a nice, single lady who loves children, probably the most unlikely person to be the center of controversy."
When Owen was scheduled to go to Washington for her confirmation hearing, the pastor called her to the front of the church.
"We had her come up and we prayed for her," he said. "And that's how it has been since then. When anyone asks what we can do for her, she says, 'Let's just pray that God's will will be done,' " he said.
