I just thought I’d mention that I got a chance to listen to some of Judge Roberts confirmation hearings on C-Span radio on the way into work this morning. Not really a comprehensive way to form an opinion, but I think I like the guy. I get the impression that he knows the law, loves it, and respects it.
I’m probably not going to describe this correctly on the fly, but as a student of history, I’m somewhat in awe of the development of the common law and how deep and powerful it has been in the development of our democratic republic. So many other ostensible democracies seem to fail, in my mind, because of the lack of a common law system to fill in the gaps, shore up the weaknesses, grease the wheels, and many other supportive metaphors besides. His responses indicated to me that he probably shares this view.
I think our political ideologies may differ, but that might not matter so much because we’re both comfortable letting the well-worn ruts in the common law be our guide. It’s easy for me to say this since I don’t have a great personal stake in hot-button issues like abortion and the death penalty. Of more concern to me is what Roberts response would be to the current executive assertion of authority in the War on Terror(ism/ists)(tm). Apparently he joined in an opinion in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that is troubling in its scope and in its grant of a blank check to the executive in alleging without much independent review that an individual is, in fact, an enemy combatant.
So, maybe my impression of him is too cursory, maybe he is just too slick for me to form an accurate impression, maybe he’ll change his colors once he gets a lifetime appointment, but for now, I think I like the guy.
Leave a Reply