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Granholm seen as possible fresh face

DETROIT, May 17 (UPI) -- Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm would provide a fresh perspective to the U.S. Supreme Court if she is nominated by President Barack Obama, analysts say.

If Obama is seeking to add someone who has had first-hand experience with the struggles of every-day Americans, the governor of the economically hard-hit state of Michigan would provide that. But if it's more important to the president to add someone who is already a judge or to name a person of color to the Supreme Court, Granholm would be out, The Detroit News reported Sunday.

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Reports indicate Granholm is among the candidates being considered by Obama to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

"Here is someone who would bring to the court legal skills -- she's litigated, she was the manager of a large law firm called the Attorney General of Michigan -- and she knows how people are really hurting because of the auto industry and a bad economy," Russell Wheeler of the Brookings Institution told the News.

"Granholm's an excellent candidate," added Richard Friedman, a law professor and Supreme Court expert at the University of Michigan. "The problem is there are many excellent candidates and only one vacancy."

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