In a letter to Specter and Leahy, the liberal Alliance for Justice complained that Miers "has produced almost nothing in writing to provide the American people a window into her judicial philosophy."
"Given her sparse public record, it is unclear whether she has a basic working knowledge of the issues that the Supreme Court regularly confronts," wrote Nan Aron, the group's president.
At yesterday's news conference, Specter appeared to be annoyed with Miers on several points. He said his staff gave him a "big binder" of legal cases she had handled in private practice, but "she gave us a skimpy little group" of material describing those cases in response to the questionnaire's request for details of her most important cases. "No reason we should know more about her cases than she does," he said.
Specter said he remained perplexed by a disagreement Monday stemming from his meeting with Miers in his office, after which their accounts differed on what the nominee had said about Supreme Court rulings that preceded Roe .
In dealing with 11 Supreme Court nominees, Specter said, "I've never walked out of a room and had a disagreement as to what was said." He smiled politely as Leahy said, "I've never known him to make a mistake on what he heard."
Meanwhile, several constitutional law scholars said they were surprised and puzzled by Miers's response to the committee's request for information on cases she has handled dealing with constitutional issues. In describing one matter on the Dallas City Council, Miers referred to "the proportional representation requirement of the Equal Protection Clause" as it relates to the Voting Rights Act.
"There is no proportional representation requirement in the Equal Protection Clause," said Cass R. Sunstein, a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago. He and several other scholars said it appeared that Miers was confusing proportional representation -- which typically deals with ethnic groups having members on elected bodies -- with the one-man, one-vote Supreme Court ruling that requires, for example, legislative districts to have equal populations.
Some Republicans played down the significance of the Specter-Leahy letter. "Requesting more information from a nominee is part of the confirmation process," said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), past chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Another committee Republican, Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), said seeking more information on Miers's White House work was "a reasonable request."
Leahy held open the possibility that Democrats would seek a one-week delay between Miers's hearing -- expected to last four or five days -- and a committee vote on whether to recommend her to the Senate. Committee member Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the decision will depend on how much additional information about Miers the White House releases. "We want to see how much information is forthcoming between now and the 7th," he said.
In a speech last night at a Hispanic Bar Association dinner in Washington, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales sought to reassure Hispanics who "have expressed disappointment" in the Miers appointment.
"You and I know that there will be a Hispanic on the Court," Gonzales, who had been considered for the high court nomination, said in prepared remarks. "But I also know that Latinos want the same thing in a Supreme Court justice that the President wants: someone who can ably and faithfully interpret the Constitution and apply the law. And, I believe, we have that person in Harriet Miers."
Staff writers Amy Goldstein and Dan Eggen contributed to this report.
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