Roberts: Good and Bad

I'm still not a big supporter of Judge Roberts. While there's plenty that would be much, much worse than him; there's others who would be better. It doesn't seem to matter, as he appears to be in the job (as he should be since the President selected him).

Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way around.

That's good. He is correct. In that statement he seems to see that judges DO NOT make the laws. I have a feeling, unlike many of the Senators he's addressing, that he has actually READ the U.S. Constitution.

Judges have to have the humility to recognize that they operate within a system of precedent, shaped by other judges equally striving to live up to the judicial oath.

That's not quite true. They CAN operate based on precedent, but they're not bound to -- other judges may have made errors in the past. Base all decisions at the Supreme Court level on the Constitution, and you'll NEVER go wrong.

It is that rule of law that protects the rights and liberties of all Americans. It is the envy of the world. Because without the rule of law, any rights are meaningless.

Good call there. Laws are designed to protect rights, not the other way around. Too many people today believe the Constitution and laws GRANT rights and they absolutely DO NOT.

I come before the committee with no agenda. I have no platform. Judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes

Well, I certainly hope so. But I'm not sure that anyone can truly claim that. It's sort of like the press claiming to not be biased -- it's simply not possible. Everyone is biased on certain ideas or their brain is a vacuum.

If I am confirmed, I will confront every case with an open mind.

I'd really rather he didn't. I'd rather have a judge that will consider every case in accordance with the Constitution, not with an open mind. And "open mind" implies that nothing has been decided before the case -- and we have already decided many things -- see that pesky Constitution.

I will decide every case based on the record, according to the rule of law, without fear or favor, to the best of my ability.

As long as he realizes that the absolute supreme law of the land is the United States Constitution -- not any societal claims, nothing the European Union does, nothing that's currently in fashion -- JUST the Constitution.

But talk is cheap. Who knows how he will really rule? After all, this guy is highly likely to be The Chief of the Supreme Court for the next 40 or 50 years.

Posted by: Ogre at 09:04 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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