PERSPECTIVE ON THE SUPREME COURT : Forget the Political Soul Mates : Choosing judges based on politics is a concept born in the Reagan years. It’s time to look for quality instead.

On the average, five federal judges retire every month, or 60 per year, and there now are 100 vacancies in district and appellate courts--12% of the 846 federal judgeships. What criteria will President Clinton employ in filling those vacancies and any on the Supreme Court in the next four years?

If he follows the pattern of his two immediate predecessors, he will choose only those whose political and social philosophies square with his own. I suggest that such a test is inconsistent with true independence of the judiciary, and, indeed, is contrary to the overriding objective sought by most modern presidents: making quality appointments and achieving and perpetuating diversity on the highest court in the land.

A brief review reveals that recent presidential appointees to the Supreme Court have been both liberal and conservative, Republican and Democratic, within the same Administration. In labeling justices, I concede it is difficult to ascertain what distinguishes conservatism from liberalism. It is largely in the eye of the beholder. All one can do is adopt popular conceptions.

Starting with President Woodrow Wilson: He appointed James C. McReynolds, a conservative, and Louis D. Brandeis, a liberal. Herbert Hoover, a Republican, had three appointments to the court: Owen J. Roberts, a conservative; Charles Evans Hughes, a moderate, and Benjamin N. Cardozo of New York, a Democrat called the greatest state court judge at the time.

Franklin D. Roosevelt had the most appointments of any chief executive in modern times. He apparently considered diversity, for he named liberals Hugo L. Black, William O. Douglas and Frank Murphy; moderates Felix Frankfurter, Wiley B. Rutledge and Robert H. Jackson, and conservatives James F. Byrnes, Stanley F. Reed and Harlan F. Stone. The latter is particularly significant, for Stone had originally been appointed to the court by Republican Calvin Coolidge, yet Democrat Roosevelt elevated him to chief justice.

President Truman’s appointees were difficult to categorize: Fred M. Vinson, Sherman Minton, Tom C. Clark and Harold H. Burton. Most commentators would rate only Clark, a moderate, as noteworthy for having affected judicial history.

President Eisenhower appointed Charles E. Whittaker and John Marshall Harlan, who were conservative; Potter Stewart, a moderate, and Earl Warren and William Brennan, who proved to be liberal.

President Kennedy had two appointments: Arthur Goldberg, a liberal, and Byron White, a conservative. President Johnson named Abe Fortas, a moderate, and Thurgood Marshall, an outstanding liberal. President Ford named John Paul Stevens, a registered independent.

President Nixon selected Chief Justices Warren E. Burger and William H. Rehnquist, both very conservative; Lewis F. Powell, a moderate, and Harry A. Blackmun, who has emerged as a liberal. President Carter had no appointments.

The foregoing establishes that until the Reagan and Bush administrations, appointments appear to have been made with diversity as at least one significant criterion. I believe a persuasive case can be made for diversity being preferable to having nine justices walking in lock-step on public policy and social philosophy. The heterogeneity of our society deserves representation not only in the executive and legislative branches of government, but also in the judiciary. That there is seldom one definitive answer to many major legal problems is confirmed by the number of 5-4 decisions.

Neither President Reagan nor President Bush was a lawyer. President Clinton is a law graduate. Perhaps that background will enable him to appreciate that, rather than mere political advantage, there is importance to posterity inherent in the selection process.

As a postscript: How has California fared in presidential appointments to the Supreme Court? In 150 years, only four justices have been selected from California. Stephen J. Field, a Democrat and member of the state Supreme Court, was elevated by President Lincoln. Joseph McKenna was appointed by President McKinley. Warren went to the high court from the state governorship, and Justice Anthony Kennedy is now serving, after being elevated by Reagan from the federal circuit court.