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But he wasn't on the Supreme Court when he wrote that earlier opinion, so the earlier opinion tells us nothing about what he'd do if he was on the Court. In th
by Lazare 8y ago
But he wasn't on the Supreme Court when he wrote that earlier opinion, so the earlier opinion tells us nothing about what he'd do if he was on the Court.
In theory we have confirmation hearings to give us some idea of how someone would behave on the Court, but as a practical matter they've never really done that, and in the current partisan environment they certainly don't do that.
- lisper 8y agoSo what? He's interviewing for a seat on SCOTUS. So to the OP's question: > I have to wonder what criteria you believe he should be using to decide his position when answering questions like this. My answer is: the criteria he should be using are the ones he would apply if he were seated on SCOTUS.
- Lazare 8y agoAre you really arguing that every single judge should decide every single case as if they were on the Supreme Court? That's 1) not how the system works and 2) not how it really can work.
- lisper 8y agoNo, of course not. But that's how I want candidates for the supreme court to answer questions at their confirmation hearings.
- Lazare 8y agoYou were replying to someone who said "I have to wonder what criteria you believe he should be using to decide his position when answering questions like this.", but that was referring to the questions he answered when he wrote the mentioned opinion years ago, not questions he answered during the hearing. Your comment seems misplaced, since we're talking about opinions not confirmation hearings.
- lisper 8y agoFair enough.