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10/25/05 Reality Check for Miers' Critics I pointed out in a recent column that no fewer than 36% of Supreme Court Justices have never had a day of judicial experience. Now it might be instructive to point out that the calls for more documentation and answers are pointless in the current climate of confirmation battles. What do we learn from knowing what cases a lawyer has argued? We learn how he or she represented the specific interests of a specific client at a specific time. What do we learn about his or her opinion on constitutional questions? Virtually nothing. What do we learn from knowing what advice a lawyer has given? We learn how he or she viewed the specific interests of a specific client at a specific time. What do we learn about his or her opinion on constitutional questions? Virtually nothing. What do we learn from knowing what a lawyer's opinion was thirty years ago? What his or her opinion was thirty years ago. What do we learn about his or her current opinion on constitutional questions? Not enough to hang your hat on. Do we know how John G. Roberts will vote on any important case that will come before him? No. But Miers' critics pretend we do (most of them--Judge Robert Bork admits we know very little about what kind of justice he will be, so there is hardly agreement among Miers' critics about how we should have gone). David Souter's resume was such that everyone thought he was a "strict constructionist." He was what the conservatives now want: a "known quantity" (see for example http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0330_Souter_Nomination.html ). But here's the rub: he was an unknown quantity masquerading as a known quantity. So if you don't want another Souter, you may want a Miers--someone the President actually knows. In other words, a bad appointment is an appointment that does not win confirmation or one that does not turn out the way the appointer intended. If George W. Bush took someone else's word for a "good appointment" and it turned out to be wrong, he would have made a bad appointment. Period. He has the right and obligation to make the appointment he has the highest confidence will be good. Conservatives need to stop treating him like he owes them something. The President of the United States owes us all his best decision, not one group or another that feels they own him. Modified: 10/26/2005 |
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