Letter: Experience not a prerequisite for greatness

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005 | 8:24 a.m.

The critics say that she is inexperienced. That she has never been a judge. That she's not smart enough for the Supreme Court. I say, look at our history. This country was built by inexperienced upstarts who turned hard work and tenacity into greatness.

Who would have thought that a country lawyer from the backwoods of Illinois, who had been a total failure in business and lost numerous local elections, would end up becoming president of the United States and saving the nation through sheer personal force, willpower, and the genius of the common man? Abraham Lincoln would never have qualified if the criteria had been political experience and university degrees.

Personally, I do not agree with anything Harriet Miers stands for. But that doesn't change the fact that she's being unfairly ridiculed, mainly by conservatives. Being a Supreme Court justice is much more than "judging."

Most cases heard by the Supreme Court are mundane and technical. Tax law, contract principles and pension fund issues are handled on a day-to-day basis by the justices and their talented staff of clerks.

However, on the big issues, like civil rights, abortion and criminal rights, a justice's inner resolve and personal philosophy count for much more than book smarts. It is because of these issues that a president selects someone to sit on the Supreme Court.

To say that Ms. Miers is unqualified because she didn't graduate from an Ivy League university or spend time as a federal judge is shortsighted and, frankly, un-American.

Gabriel L. Grasso Las Vegas The writer is a criminal defense attorney.