From Urban Politico. Ten reasons Ann Claire Williams could don robes in the High Court
#10) She is from Chi-Town.Well, actually she's originally from Detroit, however, she currently lives and works in Chicago and has strong ties there. What does this have to do with being a Supreme Court Justice, you ask? Absolutely nothing. BUT guess who else is from Chi-Town…? The guy who gets to pick the next Supreme Court Justice, that's who! So it should come as no surprise that, of the people on "the short list," 3 of them are from Chicago: Judge Diane Wood, Judge Merrick Garland, and Judge Ann Claire Williams.
#9) She was an Inner City Elementary School Teacher
Ms. Williams' first career was as a 3rd Grade Teacher in inner-city Detroit, Michigan. Again, what does this have to do with being a Supreme Court Justice? Nothing! However, politically speaking, it will be as valuable to the White House in making the sale to the American public as was Sotomayor's humble background as somebody who grew up poor in the Bronx. To this end, it is notable to observe that Ms. Williams earned her Bachelor's in Education from Wayne State and a Master's in Guidance Counseling from U. Michigan all while working FULL TIME. (you can almost hear the sound-bites now)
#8) She is a Federal Judge
Finally, something directly related to being a Supreme Court Justice. This would be a good place to mention some of those "unspoken rules" about who qualifies to be a member of this Court. Unspoken rule #763: it's not good enough to be a regular old state judge, you have to be a Federal judge. I know, picky picky! Of the 9 current Supreme Court Justices, all 9 have been Federal Judges prior to their appointment to the Supreme Court. It's one of those unspoken rules that tend to dictate who gets appointed and who doesn't. **side note: a lot of static was made on the Black Blogosphere last year when Judge Leah Ward Sears, former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, was overlooked by Obama for the seat that Sotomayor now has. As awesome as Sears is, at the end of the day she's still a State judge, which is to say she does not have a seat at the cool kids' table of the Federal judiciary. Sorry, folks but Obama didn't make these rules.**
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