Source: Cedar Rapids judge being vetted for U.S. Supreme Court vacancy

Although he supported her promotion to a federal appeals court three years ago, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday that news the White House had ordered checks on Judge Jane Kelly of Cedar Rapids as a possible Supreme Court nominee wouldn't neutralize his stance against any choice of President Barack Obama.

The FBI was vetting Kelly, who serves on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, according to reports Wednesday in the New York Times and Bloomberg News that cited anonymous sources. It was not clear if the FBI also was vetting others.

Kelly's office declined to comment to The Gazette.

Kelly, 51, is a former federal public defender who was unanimously approved by the Senate — 96-0 — to serve on the appeals panel.

In a 2013 speech, Grassley called Kelly 'well regarded in my home state of Iowa' and quoted a retired appeals court judge for whom she clerked, David Hansen, who said 'she is a forthright woman of high integrity and honest character' with an 'exceptionally keen intellect.'

Last month, Kelly's name was floated among others as possibilities to fill the vacancy created when conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died Feb. 13. Although her candidacy might put pressure on Grassley to convene hearings before his Senate Judiciary Committee, the GOP senator held fast to his stance that no such hearings would be held in a presidential election year.

'It's not an issue of any particular candidate,' Grassley said in a statement to The Gazette at the time. 'The issue is how the November election is a unique opportunity for the grass-roots to have a real voice in who they want to nominate a lifetime appointment to the highest court, an appointment that will change the high court and impact individual freedoms in America in dramatic and lasting ways. If a Democrat wins the White House, I'm sure Jane Kelly would be on any Democrat's short list of candidates.'

Wednesday, with reports that Kelly was now undergoing FBI background checks, Grassley's office held pat.

Leaks that Kelly was advancing in the process came a day after Grassley and other Senate leaders met in the White House with Obama to discuss the court vacancy.

In that meeting, Obama asked Grassley and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for suggestions, but neither provided any names.

The White House has said Obama plans to pick a nominee even if Republicans refuse to convene a hearing, and top Democrats have launched a campaign to shame the GOP into at least scheduling a hearing.

If Obama, were to choose Kelly, she would be the third woman he has nominated to the Supreme Court. And she could enhance the mix of the court in other ways.

Carl Tobias, a professor with University of Richmond School of Law and federal judiciary expert, said it would be difficult for Grassley to resist her nomination.

'She has that experience on the appellate court …. important and valuable experience as a public defender, which is missing from the court,' Tobias said.

'If you look at the court, geographically, most of the judges are from the Northeast, except (Anthony) Kennedy, who is from the West Coast, and it would be good to have some diversity from the Midwest,' Tobias said.

Tobias said the FBI background check and American Bar Association evaluation, required for nominees, should be fairly short for Kelly, since she went through the process in 2013.

'The next step or question might be: Is she interested?'

Last month, Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval was mentioned as a possibility. But he quickly declined to be considered.

Any nominee of Obama's would have to accept that he or she may never serve a day on the court unless embraced by the next president.

Trish Mehaffey of The Gazette, and Bloomberg News and the Quad City Times, contributed to this report.