We can take a few days out to mourn Justice Rehnquist. He was a towering figure in the judiciary,
served his country with honor, dignity and distinction for over 30 years. He was grounded in his beliefs and was a staunch defender of an independent judiciary. People of all philosophies and viewpoints greatly respected Justice Rehnquist and will miss him.
There is a clear conflict of interest for the Justice Department,
From conflicts of interest to inexplicable delays the actions so far of the attorney general and the Justice Department make it far less likely that the culprit will be found and that justice will be served.
What kind of justice will John Roberts be?
The vote is a shot across the bow in terms of the Justice Department and how it conducts itself, in terms of upcoming Supreme Court nominations, and the push-and-pull within the Bush administration. Will it be bipartisan or will it be pulled to the right?
It was a strong and nice statement, but didn't answer the fundamental question what kind of justice will he be.
Now we must take the evidence we have and try to answer the fundamental question: What kind of justice will John Roberts be?
I think it's appropriate to take a breath and commemorate Chief Justice Rehnquist, ... To rush forward with the hearings during this period of mourning would be somewhat disrespectful.
At the hearings, I gave Judge Roberts every opportunity to distance himself from Justice Thomas's most extreme views, ... He refused.
I'm prepared to do everything I can to stop the nomination of Justice Pickering. We can do a lot better.
Given the even greater importance of this new position, we hope the White House will reconsider its refusal to release relevant and important documents that will shed light on what kind of Chief Justice Judge Roberts would become.