Gruender likely court nominee

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Attorney Ray Gruender is undergoing the review process as a potential nominee for a vacancy on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Sen. Kit Bond's office confirmed Monday.

Gruender is President Bush's likely nominee for the position, Bond spokesman Ernie Blazar confirmed. If Gruender is nominated, the Senate must confirm his selection.

Blazar said Gruender was one of a small handful of people whom Bond, R-Mo., had recommended to fill one of two appeals court posts.

Gruender, 40, declined comment Monday.

Gruender, a Washington University law school graduate, has no experience as a judge.

Former U.S. Attorney Stephen Higgins, who hired Gruender in 1990 as an attorney at Thompson Coburn law firm, said that would not make a difference.

"Ray has been a superstar all his life," Higgins, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"He has no visible ego. He is deliberate. He is thoughtful. He is very, very smart. He's had extensive experience as a litigator -- and has the benefit of knowing what courtrooms look like. I don't think (his lack of experience as a judge) is a disadvantage in the slightest."

Bush nominated Gruender in August 2001 to be the U.S. Attorney for Missouri's Eastern District. He was confirmed by the Senate two months later. He had served as acting U.S. Attorney since April 2001 and was an assistant U.S. Attorney from 1990 to 1994.

Gruender made an unsuccessful bid as a Republican candidate for St. Louis County prosecuting attorney. He was in private practice with Thompson Coburn until 2000, when he returned to work in the federal prosecutor's office.

Last month, St. Louis Democratic congressmen Dick Gephardt and William Lacy Clay, along with Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., wrote a letter asking Bush to nominate Ronnie White for the vacancy created when Circuit Court Judge Theodore McMillian took senior status effective July 1.

Gephardt and Clay had twice previously asked Bush to appoint White to federal vacancies, most recently in January when another vacancy on the 8th Circuit came open. Bush refused both times.

White was nominated by President Clinton to serve on the federal bench. But then-Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., now attorney general, led a Senate fight that ended in 1999 with the defeat of White's nomination.