Posted on 10/01/2005 3:17:29 PM PDT by baseball_fan
...CARL LEUBSDORF: Looking back at the recently completed [2000] Supreme Court session, what do you think were the most important things that it did?
JOHN ROBERTS: Well, as a ... taking this term as a whole, I think the most important thing it did was make a compelling case that we do not have a very conservative Supreme Court. Take the three biggest headline cases -- you know, Miranda, school prayer, abortion -- the conservative view lost in each of them.
CARL LEUBSDORF: Now, how can that be after we have nine justices, of whom seven were appointed by Republican presidents, and only two by Democratic presidents?
JOHN ROBERTS: Well, it's an old story that the appointees, once they're on the court they tend to go their own way, and it's not always the way that the presidents who appointed them predicted would be the case.
(Excerpt) Read more at pbs.org ...
This lack of predictability puts things in a new light as the appointment of another supreme court justice arrives. Roberts' view that judges need to restrict their role to calling strikes and balls and not trying to pitch or bat is as close as one can come it looks like in protecting against usurpation of power by the judiciary.
Unfortunately, there's not any guarantees that Roberts will rein in the usurpation of legislative and executive powers by SCOTUS.
I guess it will all depend on how he defines each of those terms. We don't really know because he refused to tell us.
He refused to tell us because that was the game plan from the beginning. There was so much to clarify both from a conservative perspective and a liberal perspective about this man and the hearings basically left us knowing no more about him than when he was announced.
I was frankly amazed the social conservative movement basically backed this tactic.
Me too. Sad. It's like almost no one can admit what they really see. They only see what they want to see.
He's replacing someone who couldn't do that, so whatever his intention he can't do it either. Now the replacement for O'Connor - he or she could, if Roberts doesn't go over to the dark side.
He's replacing someone who couldn't do that, so whatever his intention he can't do it either. Now the replacement for O'Connor - he or she could, if Roberts doesn't go over to the dark side.
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