Ricardo H Hinojosa

Conservative U.S. district judge When Ricardo H. Hinojosa was sworn in as a U.S. district judge in Texas eight years ago, he became, at 33, the youngest federal judge in the nation. Now, at 41, he finds himself touted as a prospective Supreme Court nominee. Were he to gain the appointment, he would become the youngest justice by 10 years (Justice David H. Souter is 51.) This is the second time in two years that Hinojosa has been mentioned as a possible high court appointee.

President Bush said Saturday that he had narrowed his list of potential nominees to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, amid suggestions that he planned to finish the winnowing process and announce his decision on Tuesday. Speculation about likely successors to Marshall, the high court's only black justice, remained focused on several Latino federal judges as well as Clarence Thomas, a black judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

President Bush said Saturday that he had narrowed his list of potential nominees to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, amid suggestions that he planned to finish the winnowing process and announce his decision on Tuesday. Speculation about likely successors to Marshall, the high court's only black justice, remained focused on several Latino federal judges as well as Clarence Thomas, a black judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Conservative U.S. district judge When Ricardo H. Hinojosa was sworn in as a U.S. district judge in Texas eight years ago, he became, at 33, the youngest federal judge in the nation. Now, at 41, he finds himself touted as a prospective Supreme Court nominee. Were he to gain the appointment, he would become the youngest justice by 10 years (Justice David H. Souter is 51.) This is the second time in two years that Hinojosa has been mentioned as a possible high court appointee.

After an extraordinary series of middle-of-the-night phone calls, the Supreme Court at the insistence of four justices agreed early last Wednesday to rule on whether the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted murderer in Texas who may be innocent. But, at the same time, the high court turned down an appeal for a stay of execution of the man, whose lawyers say can be proved not guilty by new evidence.

President Bush, under intense pressure to nominate a member of a minority group to succeed retiring Justice Thurgood Marshall, vowed Friday that he will keep in mind the need for "the representation of all Americans" on the otherwise all-white Supreme Court. At the same time, Bush said he wants to "go for excellence" and declared there should not be "a quota system" for the court.

President Bush announced Monday that he will nominate Clarence Thomas, 43, a conservative black judge with a controversial record on civil rights, to replace Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court's foremost advocate of civil rights for a quarter-century. The nomination sets the stage for what is expected to be a stormy Senate confirmation battle, with hearings probably scheduled for September. Thomas, a judge on the District of Columbia's U.S.

Justice Thurgood Marshall, the only black to serve on the Supreme Court and the last of its classic liberals, announced Thursday that he is retiring, citing his "advancing age and medical condition." Marshall will mark his 83rd birthday next week. In a letter to President Bush, he said he could not keep up with the "strenuous demands" of the job. His departure will leave a void on the high court.