Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Jeffrey Toobin Talks About Mean Ole Chief Justice Roberts

Jeffery Toobin has written a piece despite it's bias and errors is worth reading. See in the New Yorker No More Mr. Nice Guy that is about Our Catholic Chief Justice.It also reminds us Conservatives that Bush in the future will get great credit for putting him on the Court.

Toobin is not one my favorite writers on legal matters and the Court. That is not because he is far more liberal than I am. I can enjoy and gain insights from liberal and progressive legal minds. It is because anyone with any sort of legal education realizes that there is way too much fluff in many of his articles. Also one gets the idea he has no idea what he talking about at times. I note this article shows that. He states:

"Originalists, whose ranks now include Scalia and Thomas, believe that the Constitution should be interpreted in line with the intentions and beliefs of its framers."

Good Grief for All the Holy Saints in Heaven no that is NOT what Scalia and Thomas believe. The fact that Toobin who is all over the cable news networks as some Legal expert on the Court has not got down what Thomas and Scalia believe is mind boggling.

Anyway I urge people to get through the first part of the article which is well to put it plainly stupid. Toobin seems upset that Roberts asked some tough questions regarding a portion of the Civil Rights Act. Roberts was "belligerent.". Oh whatever. I listen to the oral arguments online and Roberts was nothing like what is described. Heck if anyone was "Belligerent" or "Pouncing" it was Ginsburg and Souter that are scared out of their wits that this act is about to go bye bye.

Also it is pretty funny that Toobin like other Liberals are not examining the fact that the section of the voting rights act he is referencing (which I as a Louisiana guy have to live under) actually disenfranchises people in real ways. There are reasons Republicans vote for extending this "temporary" measure in great numbers.

But one you get past all this it is a very good article. Toobin is pretty good when he does background on the Justices. The exception being an article he did on Kennedy that was just silly. I think this article shows how lucky we are that Bush appointed legal mind to the Court.

There are some fact I did not know. For instance for the 5 or 6 lawyers that read my blog Roberts gave the oral arguments as to the famous standing case Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation.

If you get past the first part of the article it is a pretty good read.

Update-
The Legal minds at The Volokh Conspiracy in this comment thead are not impressed either.

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