An Incomplete Opinion

Now that the sun is setting and the temps are back in the 90s, I can think clearly again.

A friend called me this afternoon and asked me for my opinion on the Supreme Court nomination. I was surprised, and flattered that someone would want my opinion. I also thought it worth blogging.

It's been nearly 48 hours since President Bush named his nominee. I may be a courtwatcher, but I don't keep track of appellate judges, so I wasn't overly familiar with John G. Roberts. So I've done some reading up on this gentleman and his opinions.

I've come to the conclusion that it's too early to have an opinion.

In his legal career, Roberts has argued a variety of positions, some favorable, some not, some even in front of the Supreme Court. However, in his confirmation hearings for his current position, he made such statements as "Roe v. Wade is the law of the land" and that he was bound to uphold it, and that his arguments were on behalf of his clients, rather than a reflection of his own opinion. Therefore, we have no read on what this man is going to do now that he could potentially be SETTING the law of the land. So I will withhold full judgment until I hear what comes out of his mouth during his confirmation hearings.

However, I do have a few things I'm not happy about:

1: I'm not happy that W nominated a WASP male. Women and Latinos have seen their voices diminished again, even though both population groups are growing (see Census2000)

2: Since he was nominated by W, he will likely be more conservative than I want him to be.

3: This conservative has already ruled on cases that will likely come before the Supreme Court, so he will have to recuse himself in those decisions.

However, I won't visit the sins of the father on the son, if you will. I'll wait to see what he says for himself before I make up my mind, but he is starting out behind the eight ball.

(Pardon the lack of links - blogged via email)