Secrecy shrouded search for nominee

President Reagan’s choice of Sandra D. O’Connor as a Supreme Court nominee was surrounded by extraordina ry secrecy, including finding a location to mtcrview candidates that was safe from discovery by reporters. In deference to Justice Potter Stewart’s desire to keep his resignation private until mid-June, top Justice Department and White House officials were told to begin a search for nominees on a contingency basis, without learning that a vacancy was imminent. Justice Department officials who asked not to be named said Tuesday that Stewart met privately with Attor• ney General William French Smith in late March, less than a week before President Reagan was shot March 30. Stewart told Smith he was retiring but did not want to make it public then. As the selection process intensified, in deference to Stewart and later to preserve the announcement for Reagan to make, Smith ordered one of his aides to arrange for a meeting place where top Justice Department officials could interview candidates without being observed by reporters. The aide was not told who was being interviewed. The same secret location was used on the afternoon of June 30 for an interview with O’Connor by Smith, White House chief of staff Jim Baker, his deputy Michael Deaver, presidential counsellor Edwin Meese, and White House counsel Fred Fielding. None of those in the June 30 meeting would say it it was held at a house, government office or hotel room. In an interview, Fielding declined to disclose the location