NYT,pg1: In His Opinions, Nominee Favors Judicial Caution

[DeepModem Mom]

In His Opinions, Nominee Favors Judicial Caution
By ADAM LIPTAK
Published: July 22, 2005


A look at the 49 published opinions of Judge John G. Roberts, President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, reveals a distinct judicial philosophy, one that favors a strong executive, a cautious and self-effacing judiciary, limited federal power, and individual responsibility.

That aligns him in many ways with the conservative wing of the current court. But his insistence, in the two years he has sat on the federal appeals court in Washington, that judges must engage in considerable self-restraint could add a distinctive voice to a court that has not been shy in recent years in asserting its own dominance.

In a decision last year, Judge Roberts referred to "the cardinal principle of judicial restraint - if it is not necessary to decide more, it is necessary not to decide more."

He made the statement in joining a decision that the Drug Enforcement Agency had acted too aggressively in blocking the importation of ephedrine, which is used in both over-the-counter medications and methamphetamine. Judge Roberts said the majority's reasoning was too broad. "I cannot go along," he wrote of the majority's rationale, "for that gratuitous ride."

In other cases, similarly, he has shown himself to be a strict textualist, at least where legislation is concerned....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/politics/politicsspecial1/22cases.html

[Village Idiot]

1. If he favours "judicial caution,"

perhaps someone can explain to me his involvement in the Florida recount in 2000 as an advisor to Jeb Bush?

I see the 2000 Bush v. Gore decision as the most flagrent abuse of power the SC has ever undertaken. I really wonder what kind of advice this 'cautious" and "compassionate" conservative gave to Jeb Bush regarding the event of a recount?

[Demeter]

2. Roberts Has All the Earmarks of a Bush Poodle

He's a Bubble Boy himself--name one thing he's done that an average person could also do. That doesn't make him extraordinary--it makes him out of touch with reality. In his hermetically sealed, climate-controlled history, there is no sign of humanity.

[wli]

3. don't forget his Iran-Contra stint