Speaking of Judicial Philosophies. . . .
This is a blogpost from The Powerline Blog on July 26, 2005. Check it out!
Speaking of Judicial Philosophies. . . .
The Washington Times has the latest on the John Roberts nomination. Contrary to some press reports, Hillary Clinton says she has not made up her mind to vote for Roberts’ confirmation. The Democrats say they want to drag out the beginning of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing until September–the administration wants it to begin in August–and it appears that they have Arlen Specter’s support as to the schedule.
But here’s what I really want to comment on: The Democrats say they need more time so they can “learn more about Judge Roberts’ judicial philosophy, especially on whether he will defer to precedent or seek to undo modern American jurisprudence that many conservatives say has been wrongly settled.” We hear this a lot; the Democrats worry that Roberts and other nominees might not adhere to the doctrine of stare decisis, which, in general, holds that courts should follow their own precedents rather than revisiting settled principles.
But the Democrats’ loyalty to the principle of stare decisis is highly selective. In fact, most of the decisions most beloved by liberals have overturned precedents that held the opposite. For example, in Lawrence v. Texas, which in 2003 discovered for the first time a Constitutional right to homosexual sodomy, the Court expressly overruled its own decision in Bowers v. Hardwick, which was decided as recently as 1986. So as far as the Democrats are concerned, stare decisis applies only after the Court has made a liberal ruling. Liberal rulings are carved in stone, whereas “conservative” rulings–those that represent the traditional understanding of our Constitution and laws, as written–can and should be overturned freely. As Paul has noted, we aren’t sure exactly what Roberts’ judicial philosophy is. But we’re pretty certain it is more principled than the Democrats.
Posted by John at The Powerline Blog.
In Him,
David S. MacMillan III
Ashley said,
July 27, 2005 at 4:48 pm
……….
“…the Democrats worry that Roberts and other nominees might not adhere to the doctrine of stare decisis..”
…………
That idea of “stare decisis” is absolutely ludicrous and I don’t know how they could possibly argue it with a straight face. As this author pointed out, there are plenty of Supreme Court decisions the Dems have passionately wanted changed ( and some rightly so). Alberto Gonzales made headlines yesterday saying that the SC was not bound by Roe V Wade, which is a rather obvious statement; it’s a shame that he even has to make it. Or that it made the news.
card credit debt free help said,
May 27, 2008 at 12:18 pm
card credit offer visa…
All cheap credit card uk card credit machine wireless consolidate credit card debt comparison circuit city credit card application card credit pal pay plus…
inheritance cash advance said,
May 27, 2008 at 2:56 pm
merrick bank credit card…
Add credit card debt consolidation company card credit number valid consolidate credit card debt comparison bank card citi credit payday loan on line…
jeu de poker hors ligne said,
May 29, 2008 at 1:24 am
telecharger jeux de poker gratuites…
In particular regles poker tapis telecharger jeux poker texas le jeu poker gratuites français jeu poker omaha gratuites jeu de streap poker…
winning video poker said,
June 8, 2008 at 3:44 pm
poker regeln einfach…
Con el telecharger jeux poker gratuites poker en linea libre juego poker on line winning video poker poker java game…
juego linea said,
June 16, 2008 at 3:07 am
cell phone ringtones…
As mentioned poker on line español download ringtones juego dados ringtones for us cellular phone jugar poquer internet…
nextel ringtones said,
June 21, 2008 at 6:16 am
free ringtones for prepaid phone…
Recientemente free nokia 1100 ringtones slot machines torneos de poker gratis ringtones for cellular one phone free online baccarat…
poker on line in italiano said,
July 11, 2008 at 5:17 am
free mp3 ringtones maker…
A veces free mp3 ringtones maker cingular free from ringtones free nokia ringtones 7 card stud rules betandwin poker…
ma471zda said,
August 25, 2008 at 3:13 am
c55t