I see that Dubya has nominated dark horse John Roberts to succeed Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Roberts has little experience as a judge, though the press was quick to point out that he has argued cases in front of the Supreme Court. I’m a bit worried about his coded description, “reputation for goodwill and decency,” which probably means he will put his own morals ahead of precedent, ahead of civil rights, and even ahead of the Will of the People.
I bet Anthony Scalia is disappointed – but if you want to get a conservative agenda in place for the long term you need to appoint young Supreme Court Justices. This article in the Washington Post, To Some, “Chief Justice Scalia” Has a Certain Ring, gives a good run-down on the logic of it.
For the White House, promoting Scalia, an opponent of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion, would be a large political plus with the Republican Party’s conservative base.
The downsides of a Scalia appointment are his age, 68, which might mean his tenure would be relatively brief, and the prospect that the Democrats, prodded by abortion rights constituencies, could mount a filibuster, making it impossible to confirm either Scalia or a new associate justice.
I wonder who we’ll get to replace Sandra Day O’Connor?
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