Word: connorism
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...much his individual virtues but how they marry: a great talker who listens well, a natural talent who works unnaturally hard, a regular guy who moonlights as a legal star. In his prime-time introduction of his nominee to take the place of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, President George W. Bush drove right past the fact that Roberts is a reliably conservative fellow who would not "legislate from the bench" and lingered instead on the career and character that would make him so valuable on the court, and so invulnerable to attack...
...past --or a path in the future unknown for now even to Roberts. Some Justices, like conservatives Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, have consistently played to type; some, like John Paul Stevens and David Souter, ignored the beliefs of the Republican Presidents who picked them. And some, like O'Connor, have evolved over their tenure and been powerful precisely because they could be unpredictable. There is no way to be certain what effect the court will have on each new member. Appointed for life, they answer to one another and their consciences, and so for now one can only imagine...
...burning question now, with O'Connor gone, is, How will the court rebalance? Six of the eight current Justices plus O'Connor were appointed by Republican Presidents, yet that court has restricted use of the death penalty and affirmed-- while narrowing--abortion rights, church-state separation and affirmative action. "O'Connor was accurately described as mainstream conservative in 1981," says a lawyer who has known Roberts for 20 years. "John is reasonably described as mainstream conservative today. That's not because they are the same. It's because mainstream conservatives are a little more conservative today than they were then...
...many cases decided 5 to 4 or 6 to 3, the pragmatic O'Connor was a swing vote, so how would having Roberts replace her affect the court's chemistry? He's not likely to simply take her place, says Lee Epstein, a co-author of an upcoming Supreme Court nomination history, Advice and Consent. That position goes to Justice Anthony Kennedy, the next most movable target. For now, the only label all but tattooed on Roberts' forehead simply reads, CONSERVATIVE BUT NOT AN IDEOLOGUE--which makes it impossible to know the brokering role he might assume. It is possible...
...Wednesday, Justice O’Connor called Roberts “first rate...