Harriet Miers, whose nomination to replace Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor was met with bitter contention from conservatives and liberals alike, withdrew her name Oct. 27.

    Miers cited a dispute over the Senate Judiciary Committee’s request for the release of documents from her work as White House counsel as her reason for stepping down. The papers were withheld as privileged.

    Miers was heavily criticized for her lack of credentials as well as not being conservative enough. Her withdrawal comes a week before Senate Judiciary Committee hearings were to begin.

    Not much was known about Miers in the Beltway. Miers has never been a judge and therefore no one had any idea what her judicial philosophy was, or her knowledge of constitutional law, which was why senators requested the White House documents.

    She’s worked as a corporate lawyer since the 1970s and has been Bush’s corporate lawyer for more than ten years.

    Bush has said he will nominate a replacement as soon as next week. The list of women replacements is a short one, including federal judges Priscilla Owen,

    Janice Rogers Brown and South Carolina circuit judge Karen Williams. Owen and Brown were passed over twice for being too far to the right. Williams, also conservative, is less forceful in her views. Other contenders include hardline conservatives Harvey Wilkinson and Michael McConnell.