White House floating new SCOTUS name?

As a quick addendum to Jeremy’s earlier SCOTUS roundup, there seems to be a new name floating around on the short list.

Citing “sources familiar with Obama’s deliberations,” the AP mentions California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno as the only male under serious consideration.

Moreno, 60, is a graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law School.

The first thought that comes to mind: Is this a White House trial balloon to see how women’s groups will react to the prospect of a male nominee?

From Moreno’s official bio:

Justice Carlos R. Moreno was sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California on October 18, 2001, following his nomination by Governor Gray Davis.

Justice Moreno began his career as a deputy city attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, prosecuting criminal and civil consumer protection cases and handling politically sensitive and legislative matters as special counsel to the city attorney. He then joined the firm of Mori & Ota (now known as Kelley, Drye & Warren) in 1979, representing institutional clients in the firm’s general commercial litigation practice.

In the fall of 1986, Governor George Deukmejian appointed Justice Moreno to the Municipal Court, Compton Judicial District, where Moreno handled general criminal matters and supervised the court’s civil department. In October 1993, Governor Pete Wilson elevated Justice Moreno to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he presided over felony trials in downtown Los Angeles.

Justice Moreno was then nominated to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton and in February 1998, he was unanimously confirmed to the United States District Court for the Central District of California by the United States Senate. Moreno served as a federal district court judge for over three years, presiding over a broad range of complex civil and criminal matters.