Where's the passion in the opposition to Roberts?

[Janet Alexander]

Here's my reason.

Many previous Republican nominees to the Supreme Court and the Courts of 
Appeals and many of the rumored candidates for the O'Connor vacancy have 
been barely qualified or unqualified (this includes the sainted O'Connor, 
who at the time of her appointment was a little-known judge on an 
intermediate state appellate court, as well as Clarence Thomas, Janice 
Rogers Brown, etc.), strident ideologues with little or no judicial 
experience, or extreme activists who itch to overrule precedents because 
they prefer a different substantive result.  John Roberts is none of 
these.  He is a brilliant lawyer with an incomparable understanding of and 
respect for the Court as an institution, and his legal experience is 
practical, not merely theoretical.  He's by far the most qualified person 
who has been mentioned as a potential Bush nominee.  Of Supreme Court 
nominees, he's probably had the most distinguished career as a practicing 
lawyer since Thurgood Marshall.

I have no doubt that Roberts will vote in ways that will distress me, and 
that because he is so able he may sway other votes his way.  Unlike others 
on this list, I fervently hope that doesn't include overruling Roe.  But 
the Republicans won the presidential election, not the Democrats, and the 
president is entitled to appoint conservative judges.  I have hope that 
because Roberts is a principled, meticulous lawyer he will make principled, 
meticulous judicial decisions.  I believe that because of these qualities 
he may be more open to persuasion by good arguments (and less susceptible 
to bad arguments) than most of the less qualified people the President 
might have appointed.

So I hope Democrats use the confirmation process to articulate a vision of 
principled constitutional construction and the importance of existing 
constitutional rights, and not just to oppose Roberts because he worked for 
corporate clients, or advocated his clients' positions, or because he is a 
conservative.  He's not the justice I would have chosen, but he's 
undoubtedly extremely well qualified by intellect, experience and 
temperament.  Does any liberal seriously think this president, with a solid 
Republican Senate majority, would appoint anyone we could expect more 
from?  We Democrats and liberals should save the all-out attacks for 
unprincipled or unqualified nominees.

         Janet Alexander


At 05:53 PM 7/24/2005 -0400, Earl Maltz wrote:
>I didn't know very much about John Roberts except by reputation until he 
>was nominated by the Court.  However, even I knew that he was a committed 
>conservative whose commitment to the cause was apparent on the face of his 
>actions and was vouched for by virtually every heavyweight in the 
>movement.  Now I find out that he has questioned the constitutionality of, 
>of all things, the Endangered Species Act.  Now I, for one, would shed no 
>tears would shed no tears for the demise of that particular statute.  My 
>question is, why is Roberts being portrayed as the third coming of 
>John  Marshall Harlan by all but the most liberal elements of the 
>Democratic party (plus one insane;y conservative Senator from 
>Kansas).  Why is there no widespread passion in the opposition?
>
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Janet Cooper Alexander
Frederick I. Richman Professor of Law
Stanford Law School
Stanford CA 94301-8610
650.723.2892
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