Roberts Nominated for Chief Justice

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Okay boys and girls, let’s go…</p>

2

<p>(2005-09-05) – Just hours after the death of William H. Rehnquist, Senate Democrats demanded that President George Bush nominate a replacement whose ideology and judicial philosophy match that of the late Supreme Court justice.</p>

<p>“When Sandra Day O’Connor retired, we insisted Bush appoint a centrist to replace her and maintain the balance on the court,” said one unnamed Senator. “Now, we demand that the president name a right-wing, conservative, originalist to replace Rehnquist for that same reason.”</p>

<p>The Senator explained that balance is the most important feature of the high court, trumping ideology, logic and the intent of the framers of the constitution.</p>

<p>“As much as we’d like to have another lefty like [Ruth Bader] Ginsburg, we must maintain balance,” the anonymous legislator intoned. “Even if it means overturning Roe v. Wade, we Democrats shall remain true to our principles.”
<a href=“http://www.scrappleface.com/MT/archives/002311.html[/url]”>http://www.scrappleface.com/MT/archives/002311.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>(2005-09-05) – The AFL-CIO today slammed President George Bush for working on Labor Day, thus denigrating the sanctity of a holiday which celebrates the contribution of labor unions to the greatness of the United States.</p>

<p>“Bush is no better than a scab, crossing a strike line to undercut the power of a work stoppage,” said John Sweeney, president of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). “By announcing today that John Roberts will replace Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Bush is making those of us who are resting look lazy, even though it’s legal for us to be drinking beer and goofing off today.”</p>

<p>The AFL-CIO confirmed that Mr. Sweeney will be paid ‘triple overtime’ for preparing and presenting today’s remarks, since union rules protect him from having to attack the president on weekends or national holidays.
[Also from Scrappleface]</p>

4

<p>Though Scalia seems to have been passed over, Roberts seems sane although I’m not sure he would meet the criteria of the Democrats; he doesn’t seem to have mind-melded with Rehnquist and as such could be a problem for both confirmation and the ever important balance (you’d think he were nominating a trapeze artist rather than a flat-footed Justice).</p>

5

<p>If Bush had kept Roberts as a replacement for O’Connor, he would be short 1 judge. By switching him to Chief Justice, we will now have a Full House (of 9), since O’Connor is staying until her replacement has been appointed.</p>

6

<p>Question for you constitutional law types: what power, if any, does the Chief Justice have over a “regular” justice? Is it just a ceremonial post?</p>

<p>I did find it interesting that most Chief Justices have been appointed from outside the court, rather than a “promotion” from within.</p>

7

<p>The “power” that the Chief Justice has is more than ceremonial. When an initial straw vote is taken at conference on a case, if the C.J. is in the majority, the C.J. determines which Justice also in the majority will author the Court’s opinion. That decision can ultimately mean a great deal in the wording and rationale used to arrive at a decision.</p>

8

<p>Is Roberts conservative like Rehnquist, Scalia and Thomas?</p>

9

<p>he did as far as I can tell appear to be a judge who would support Rehnquists arguments

</p>

10

<p>I’m not a constitutional lawyer, but I believe the CJ sets the court’s agenda for the term, which is significant. Roberts clerked for Rehnquist, and Rehnquist had hope to live to see him join him on the court.</p>

11

<p>

I wonder if they are buying beer and gas today…</p>

12

<p>I believe Driver had his/her tongue firmly in cheek with post#3. Or did I miss something?</p>

13

<p>Scrappleface is a satire blog, sort of like The Onion.</p>

14

<p><a href=“http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007208[/url]”>http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007208&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

15

<p>Interesting article, driver. I am keeping an open mind on Roberts so far, waiting to see what comes out in the hearings. I have questions about him, but I don’t feel I know enough yet to oppose or support.</p>

<p>As young as he is, he could be there for a long time, so I hope the hearings are careful and in depth. It is an important decision.</p>

16

<p>His own writings, memos, etc are what need to be looked at the most</p>

17

<p>Is it just me or does anyone else think that the chief justice should actually be a “promote from within” position in that the chief justice should actually have had some experience already with being a supreme court justice???</p>

<p>I assume they are not “political beings” but I would think that if I were a supreme court justice I might be just a a tad bit miffed about an outsider all of a sudden being the chief honcho. Just a thought…</p>

18

<p>The chief is almost always from outside.</p>

19

<p>I hope the hearings are cursory, not in depth, and that he is sworn in as soon as possible.</p>

<p>We already know the important things, and I don’t think he was a barker at a circus carousel.</p>

20

<p>Why the rush and why not in depth? What are you afraid of? If he has nothing to worry about, getting some answers for a LIFETIME job is worth some depth, don’t you think?</p>

<p>Why cursory? Why not want to know about his thoughts, his writings? Unless they are unimportant to you…</p>