White OKs Political Views as Factor in Picking Judges

Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White said Friday he sees nothing wrong with President Reagan’s using his political philosophy as a criterion for judicial nominations.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him appointing judges he thinks will judge the way he thinks issues should be judged,” White told a conference of Western judges and lawyers. “I know that point of view isn’t universally accepted, but that is my point of view.”

Critics of Reagan’s judicial appointments contend that they are influenced too much by political views and not enough by legal skills.

White attributed heightened public awareness of high-profile cases to media coverage.

“Abortion, sodomy, affirmative action, etc., these are cases people are going to be interested in, and the press is doing its job quite well,” he said.

“People should know as much as they can about a high-profile case,” said White, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1962. “They should analyze, evaluate, criticize, etc. The better job of reporting that is done the more people will understand.”

When asked about the qualifications for Supreme Court nominations, White said more lawyers and fewer judges should be appointed to the nation’s highest court.

“Lawyers are closer to the people,” he said. “A judge can get set in his ways from sitting on the bench and tend not to be as flexible as they once were.”