Poetic Justice?

By PAUL GRAY/

A 15-member committee of the American Bar Association met in Chicago last Saturday to evaluate David Souter's qualifications as a potential Justice of the Supreme Court. Imposingly named the Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary, the panel has no official standing, but its three possible assessments of nominees -- well qualified, qualified or not qualified -- carry clout in the Senate during confirmation hearings and votes. Intriguingly, one of the new A.B.A. committee members who will help rate Judge Souter is William J. Brennan III, a partner in a Princeton, N.J., law firm and the son of the retiring Justice whom Souter hopes to replace.

With reporting by DAVID ELLIS