Court Nominee Supported Minority Program for State Bar

When Harriet E. Miers, President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, was moving toward the presidency of the State Bar of Texas in 1992, she enthusiastically supported an effort by the group to guarantee positions on its board of directors to female and minority lawyers, her two immediate predecessors said on Saturday.

The two former presidents said Ms. Miers had recognized the value in making sure the group's leadership reflected the state's diversity.

Ms. Miers's position at the time, which was reported in The Washington Post on Saturday, concerns some conservative groups, who fear that her support for diversity may veil sympathies for affirmative action and quota systems and indicate how she may vote on the Supreme Court.