The Anchoress Defends The Miers Nomination

She did predict it, after all.

She also notes that Miers says pretty much exactly what judiciary-conservatives want to hear most:

I have always had a great respect and admiration for the genius that inspired our Constitution and our system of government...

The wisdom of those who drafted our constitution and conceived our nation as functioning with three strong and independent branches have proven truly remarkable. It is the responsibility of every generation to be true to the founders’ vision of the proper role of the courts in our society. If confirmed, I recognize that I will have a tremendous responsibility to keep our judicial system strong, and to help ensure that the courts meet their obligations to strictly apply the laws and the Constitution.

I don't know. Yes, it's fine rhetoric, but I could see a liberal like Souter saying the same sort of thing. It's easy to agree with a general proposition. As they say, God, or the Devil, is in the details.

One criticism I find a little weak is that she has no prior judicial experience. And, um, so what? She's a lawyer. A lawyer knows the law as well as a judge does. And in some cases, even better; after all, the judge mainly just reads the briefs of the litigants to get a handle on the laws he'll be interpreting. To the extend he does his own research, well, that's really mostly his clerks doing the research.

I would imagine that most good lawyers are better informed about the law in a particular case than the judge ruling on the various issues. Lawyers have a big financial interest in winning. Judges are just looking to not be overruled, so they can be promoted. That's an interest too, I guess, but the idea that judges are somehow "super-lawyers" is just silly. Judges are just lawyers who get to sit on a bench and make decisions rather than making arguments.

And I rather think that extensive time as a judge would bring one closer into the default judicial "mainstream," which is Warren-court liberalism.

Still, I'm not happy about this nomination.

posted by Ace at 02:44 PM

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