Earlier this month I wrote a post about how advocating "educational diversity" on courts (usually described as appointing someone from "outside the Ivy Leagues") may, in some cases, be seen as means to obtain other kinds of diversity, like socio-economic. According to this story the President has interviewed the Mr. Justice Sidney Thomas, who sits on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.
A native Montanan who received his BA from Montana State University and JD from the University of Montana, Thomson definitely falls outside the "Ivy League" domain. So, on that count, Thomas' shortlisting is being praised (see: Instapundit).
Since news of this shortlisting is relatively new, it's hard to find much else about Thomas' background, but from what I have read, he is known in Montana (and on the Ninth) as "erudite" and "independent thinking".
And while I am not deeply familiar with Justice Thomas' work, I can say that I found his opinion in the Grokster Case at the Court of Appeal was thoughtful and well reasoned, at least with respect to the law of secondary liability as it was then understood (ie: before the Supreme Court ventured into newer "inducement theory" waters..).
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