Harriet Miers |
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Harriet Ellan Miers (born August 10, 1945) is an American lawyer and former White House Counsel. In 2005, she was nominated by President George W. Bush to be an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, but opposition from both sides of the political spectrum led President Bush to withdraw the nomination at Miers' request.
Miers was born in Dallas, Texas, and spent most of her life there until she moved to Washington, D.C. (2001) to work in the Bush administration. She describes herself as a "Texan through and through." She is the fourth of the five children of real estate investor Harris Wood Miers, Sr., and his wife, the former Erma (Sally) Grace Richardson.
Miers entered Southern Methodist University intending to become a teacher. The economic plight of her family was so dire that she almost dropped out in her freshman year, but she was able to find part-time work that put her through college. Then her father had a debilitating stroke. When a lawyer helped organize her family's financial situation, Miers was inspired to enter law school. Miers graduated from Southern Methodist University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics (1967) and from its Law School with a Juris Doctor degree (1970).