Who Is Priscilla Owen?
July 19, 2005 — -- Priscilla Richman Owen has been held up as an example of the kind of judge President Bush would like on the Supreme Court.
Owen, 50, currently serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
Supporters call her a no-nonsense, consistent conservative with long experience as a state judge, while Democrats criticize her positions on social and economic issues, pro-corporate decisions, and her pro-life stance.
Previously, she was a Texas Supreme Court justice, elected in 1994 and re-elected in 2000. She was nominated to her current position by President Bush in 2001, but her nomination did not come up for a vote in the U.S. Senate until 2005 due to resistance from Democrats, who filibustered the nomination until a compromise was arranged.
As part of a "compromise" deal in May, Senate liberals agreed to allow an up or down vote on Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor to become federal judges.
Prior to serving on the Texas high court, Owen was a partner in the Houston office of Andrews & Kurth LLP, where she practiced commercial litigation for 17 years.
She received degrees from Baylor University, and graduated cum laude from Baylor Law School in 1977.
Owen was born in Palacios, Texas, on Oct. 4, 1954.
In her 2000 re-election bid, every major newspaper in Texas endorsed Owen.
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