There is an interview with Geoff Johns at “CBR” (Comicbook Resources) where he talks about “Absolute Justice”. Here’s a snippet:

How did figure out the story you wanted to tell in “Absolute Justice,” and specifically the members who would be featured on “Smallville?”
They wanted to do Hawkman. They had a strong interest in Hawkman, so he was already on the table when I pitched JSA and they said, “We love Hawkman. We’ve been wanting to do Hawkman.

Catch Geoff’s full interview at CBR here.

SOURCE: Superman Homepage