What Supreme Court justice will Roberts most be like, if any?

[mvd]

Poll question: What Supreme Court justice will Roberts most be like, if any?

If Bush himself chose Roberts, I'd think there's a chance of a Souter. Not because he wants one, but because he doesn't know any better. I'm worried that this is another calculated move from the neo-cons in general, and I personally would have voted no to his confirmation. I am quite worried that he'll be even worse than Rehnquist when it comes to what the administration wants. I think I'll choose "other" - I think he'll rule for what the White House wants a lot of times. :grr:

What chief justice do you think he'll be most like?

[rzemanfl]

1. Did Nazi Germany have a Supreme Court? If so, he'll be like

one of them.

[mvd]

3. Well, if not Roberts (who I also find creepy,) some of the..

names being floated out by Bush for his next choice are like that.

[Kenroy]

2. There's no way to know

that's the beauty of being on the court - once you're on, you're beholden to no one.

Did you notice today that the first person he thanked was Justice Stevens - not the President, not the Senate.... his new colleague.

The history of the court is rife with people who veered from the path their nominators intended.

As of this afternoon, Roberts has no obligation to anybody. His tenure will last much longer than this administration.

I hope he'll be a fair jurist. That's the best we can hope for.

[mvd]

4. But it's fun to speculate

Most everyone will be doing it. All the Stevens thing tells me is that he could be a polite conservative. But he still could very well be a conservative for the reason I mentioned.

[Kenroy]

5. well he IS a conservative

there's little doubt about that.

The question, though, is what that means for the court? A conservative justice isn't necessarily bad, as long as they follow the law. For instance, he might well be opposed to abortion, but he could also believe that the constitution protects such a right. If he upholds Griswold and Roe, despite his personal beliefs, then that would make him a great, conservative justice.

The conservative/liberal labels don't have the same meaning in the judiciary as they do in the other branches. He's at least given really good lip-service to the idea of respecting precedent, so that's encouraging.

But we'll see. At least half the court today has been a disappointment to the presidents who appointed them.

[mvd]

6. I realize that

But I think that he will show his conservative ideology. I hope I'm surprised, but he's the type that would be appointed to fool people.

[tompayne1]

7. i am praying he will be like souter.

[etherealtruth]

8. Hope springs eternal ...

I am going with David Souter because that's all my heart can take right now.

[mvd]

9. I'll join you

:hi: