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September 20, 2005
Rehnquist Resurrected. Next!
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Marci Hamilton holds the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and is the author of "God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law." |
John Roberts is a man who has not revealed his personal views publicly his entire life. He pledged to follow the rule of law at his hearings. I think we can be absolutely certain that he is not an ideologue; no ideologue would have resisted the many temptations presented to him during his career to show such a tendency. Thus, this is not an appointment in the mold of Justice Scalia or Thomas. He is, in virtually every respect, likely to be a 1-to-1 trade for Chief Justice Rehnquist, at this point in time, but all indications are that he will be thoughtful and more open to a wide array of arguments than the Chief was.
The vital question is who will replace Justice O'Connor, if one wants to chart the Court's future. It has been disappointing that the White House has focused on such a small number of women, as though there are not enough qualified Republican women out there. Once Roberts' confirmation was a fait accompli, one would have thought there would have been a lengthy list of distinguished Republican women to consider. In the absence of such public speculation, one can only wonder if the list of white males under consideration for the Roberts nomination is still in play. Female or male, this is the seat that could cause a dramatic change in the Court if an ideologue is nominated.
Posted at September 20, 2005 12:42 PM