Democrat Seeks a Consensus in Replacing Any Justice

Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont has urged President Bush to avoid a traumatic national battle over the Supreme Court by consulting with him and other leading Democrats before choosing a nominee, should a vacancy occur.

In two recent letters to the White House, Mr. Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said that if Mr. Bush took advantage of a vacancy on the court to select a staunchly conservative judge, it would produce a political war that would upset the nation and diminish respect for the courts.

Mr. Leahy and Mr. Schumer noted that the chairman of the committee, Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, had taken some credit for advising President Bill Clinton in his selection of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer for the Supreme Court.

In his book "Square Peg" (Basic Books, 2002), Mr. Hatch asserts that he advised Mr. Clinton not to select Bruce Babbitt, one of his cabinet officers and a former Arizona governor, because that would produce a divisive fight. Mr. Hatch said he recommended Judge Ginsburg and Judge Breyer, Mr. Clinton's eventual appointments.