Posted by Orin Kerr:
Would John Roberts Be A Controversial Nominee?:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_05_22-2005_05_28.shtml#1116982876
My co-blogger Jim [1]raises some excellent points about likely
opposition to John Roberts. Perhaps he's right; I'm not enough of an
expert in this stuff to know for sure. I do have two quick and
hopefully not-too-amateurish thoughts in response, though:
1) I'm not sure what to make of opposition from the Alliance for
Justice and other interest groups, as my understanding is that such
groups generally oppose most or all of a Republican President's
appellate nominees as a matter of course. The question is, to what
extent does opposition among advocacy groups such as the Alliance for
Justice necessarily mean opposition in the Senate?
2) My understanding is that Roberts was opposed more than some other
nominees in 2001 partly because he was understood as a strong Supreme
Court contender if he made it on to the Court of Appeals. Opposing
parties often try to keep Supreme Court contenders off the Court of
Appeals to shrink the President's farm team, as evidenced by
[2]Republican opposition to the elevation of Sonia Sotomayor to the
Second Circuit in 1998. Given that, I'm not sure Roberts would
encounter similar opposition if he were nominated to the Supreme Court
(especially to replace Rehquist).
In any event, I have waded in far beyond my expertise already. VC
readers, what are your thoughts? As always, civil and respectful
comments only.
References
1. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_05_22-2005_05_28.shtml#1116979759l
2. http://leahy.senate.gov/press/199806/980618b.html
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