May 19 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush would risk a deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court were he to choose someone ``way out of the mainstream'' to fill a possible high court vacancy, a Democratic senator said today as the Senate continued to debate judicial nominations.

``If the president wants to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court, he ought to be consulting with the Senate,'' Senator Charles Schumer of New York told a news conference. ``There could well be problems, particularly if he nominates someone way out of the mainstream. It's in his lap, not ours.''

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist is suffering from thyroid cancer and may be forced to retire from the Supreme Court after its current term, due to end next month. That could leave a 4-4 deadlock in crucial cases if Bush were to choose someone who might prompt a Senate filibuster, a parliamentary device that permits unlimited debate, Schumer said.

The Senate is in its second day of debate on the president's judicial choices and is moving toward a confrontation over the issue next week. Republicans are threatening to do away with the use of filibusters on judicial choices if Democrats continue to block seven of Bush's nominees to federal appeals courts.

A group of about a dozen Senate Democrats and Republicans met today and adjourned without reaching a deal to avert the showdown. They planned to resume discussions later in the day.

Averting a Showdown

Ohio Republican Mike DeWine told reporters after the meeting that the group is ``very close to an agreement.'' Still, he said, ``we may never get there'' unless there is a deal soon. ``You lose your critical mass at some point.''

Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat who is leading the compromise effort, said a key hang-up to a bipartisan agreement is the Republicans' insistence on letting them support the elimination of judicial filibusters if the Democrats in the group were to go along with the tactic to block any nominee.

``The key is developing this mutual trust and respect and being guided by good faith, and I think we are making progress on that,'' Nelson said.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada offered little encouragement to the chances of a compromise.

Asked by reporters what he would tell Nelson and other negotiators was his bottom line for an agreement, Reid said, ``No nuclear option.'' The term is used by lawmakers to describe the Republican proposal to abolish the judicial filibuster.

McCain Urging Compromise

Arizona Republican John McCain is also a leader of the compromise talks.

Schumer issued his warning about a Supreme Court deadlock at a news conference with the Congressional Black Caucus that decried the plan by Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist to strip Democrats of the power to use filibusters to block judicial nominations.

The caucus said in a letter to Frist that ``the filibuster was systematically used when Senate minority rights meant the denial of the rights of African-Americans.'' The tactic shouldn't be abandoned now when it is intended to protect minority rights, the group said.

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, again urged opponents of Bush's nominees to permit up- or-down votes on them and added, ``Any effort by the Democrats to indicate publicly they are not going to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee is gong to be helpful.''

Supreme Court Nominees

The last time the Supreme Court lacked a full complement of nine justices for the opening of its term -- traditionally on the first Monday in October -- was in 1991, when controversy over Clarence Thomas's Senate nomination delayed his confirmation until mid-October.

More significant gaps occurred during the 1987-88 term, when Anthony M. Kennedy didn't take his seat until February, and in 1969-70, when Harry A. Blackmun's May 12 confirmation ended a yearlong stretch with only eight justices. Blackmun's late arrival meant that a number of cases had to be argued the following term.

Both Kennedy and Blackmun were third choices to fill vacancies after controversy derailed the earlier nominees.

Frist is challenging the Democrats to permit a vote on the nomination of Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in New Orleans. She is one of the seven judicial appointees who were blocked by the Democrats in Bush's first term and whose names he resubmitted.

It takes 60 votes to break a filibuster, and Frist is proposing to change the rules to let a simple majority in the 100- member Senate cut off debate. Republicans control the Senate by a 55-45 margin.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 19, 2005 15:00 EDT