T U E S D A Y , J U L Y 0 5 , 2 0 0 5More On The Looming Supreme Court Battlesby Michael in New York on 7/05/2005 04:30:00 PMThe NYT shows the dramatic changes for women in thejudiciary since O'Connor was named to the SCOTUS and thenfocuses in on the Senate battle over what is "appropriate" toask and points out that questioning of Senators has only beenaround since the Fifties.</p><p> Fair enough, but times change andnow people feel they have a right to know that Supreme Courtjustices are within the broad mainstream of judicial thinking.Senator Sessions of Alabama says you can't ask a nomineeabout Roe v.</p><p> Wade because that's asking them to "prejudge" aspecific matter.</p><p> I've heard this before, but huh? Why is askinga judge their opinion on a ruling delivered more than THIRTYYEARS AGO akin to asking them to say how they'll vote on acase that might come before the court in the future?The average citizen certainly has an opinion on court cases --look at the uproar over the seizure of land for public use rulingthat came towards the end of this term.</p><p> It's hard to imagine anintelligent judge or lawyer who wouldn't also have an informedintelligent point to make about the ruling. (And any nomineewho claims not to have ever expressed or even formed anopinion on Roe V Wade should be immediately rejected foreither lying or being an idiot.)And why must it be such an "ancient" ruling? Who interested inthe law doesn't have an opinion about the Supreme Court'soverturning of the Texas sodomy law and the implications ofthat judgment? Discussing past rulings doesn't in any waypreclude a judge from viewing a case that comes before thecourt in the future with fresh eyes.</p><p> But being incapable ofdiscussing these landmark rulings with intelligence andsensitivity surely marks a nominee as either incompetent or sofar out of the mainstream that they are afraid to voice theirviews in public.</p><p> Fund-raisingEmergency FundDepression TreatmentBlue Cross Mortgage RatesInternational BanksCarpet Cleaners Add New CommentYou are commenting as a Guest.</p><p> You may select one to log into: Logged in as Ben SmithGoing small - My story tonight: President BarackObama came alive about 50 minutes intoWednesday night’s news conference – whensomebo6 minutes ago HuffPost PoliticsHuckabee's Huck Pac In Turmoil With StaffTurnover, Mounting Debts - Former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee's political action committee, HuckPac, is undergoing a "restructuring," ExecutiveDirector Sarah Huckabee said Wednesday....20 minutes ago Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - 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