Word: fortases
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On the Team. On one point, everyone who knows Fortas is agreed: he is an excellent administrator, a quality that should serve him well in his new job. With only one of nine votes, the Chief Justice must lead the court more by persuasion than command. When he agrees with...
Mostly, however, the Chief Justice must rely on the power of his argument, just like any other Justice. If past performance is any guide, this is where Fortas will excel. "Warren made his influence felt by personal charm and his position," says Professor Kalven. "Fortas will do it by being...
Even if he does not change the thrust of decisions, Fortas, an extraordinarily subtle and precise analyst, is likely to improve their quality. One justified criticism of the Warren court is that the decisions, though progressive and humane, were often so poorly written and negligent of precedent that they were...
That complaint is never made about Fortas' opinions, which Yale's Fred Rodell compares with those of Brandeis', one of the court's greatest craftsmen. "All Brandeis' briefs were beautiful," says Rodell. "There were no holes in them, no questions left unanswered, nothing missing. He could foresee every possible question...
Will the Fortas court be as active and adventuresome as the Warren court? The answer lies, ironically, not so much with Fortas as with Homer Thornberry, whose direction on the Supreme Court, despite a general record of moderate liberalism, is unpredictable. If he proves to be as liberal as Warren...