A LOOK AT POSSIBLE SUPREME COURT CANDIDATES : Ferdinand F. Fernandez

Moderate Republican

U.S. appeals court judge

Ferdinand F. Fernandez, 54, a member of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Los Angeles, was named to the appellate bench in 1989 by President Bush. At the time of his appointment, he was serving as a federal district court judge.

Fernandez was first nominated for the appeals court in 1988 by former President Ronald Reagan, but Congress failed to act on the appointment before Reagan left office. Bush then resubmitted the nomination.

Before joining the federal bench, Fernandez, a moderate Republican, served as a Superior Court judge in San Bernardino from 1980 to 1985.

He has been described by legal colleagues as a “scholarly workaholic.” Lawyers who have appeared before him praise him for his scrupulous research and his ability to sift through the legal issues of complex cases.

His name came up during speculation on prospective appointees for the last vacancy on the high court, which was filled by David H. Souter in 1990. But, at that time, legal scholars said Fernandez’s chances for the appointment were slim because the court already had justices with Western roots--Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy.

At his Senate confirmation hearing for the appellate court post in 1989, Fernandez discussed his own experiences with discrimination as a member of the male-only University Club in Claremont.

He said that before becoming a judge he tried on three occasions to persuade fellow club members to drop their exclusionary rule. The other members voted him down on all three attempts, he said.

Fernandez said that he resigned from the club when he became a state court judge. He said he believed that it was incompatible to be a judge and belong to a restrictive club. “I thought it was just plain wrong and silly to discriminate against women in that fashion,” he said.

Fernandez is married and the father of two children. He is a graduate of USC and holds law degrees from both USC and Harvard University.