Patterico's Pontifications

10/11/2005

If I Could Ask Harriet Miers Just One Question at Her Confirmation Hearings

Filed under: Judiciary — Patterico @ 9:12 pm



No, it wouldn’t be “Why, oh why won’t you just withdraw your name from consideration?”

It would be this:

When in your career have you taken an action that you found personally repugnant, but that you were required by law to take?

With John Roberts, we didn’t have to ask. There was already an example out there: the French-fry case. He clearly didn’t like ruling against the little girl arrested for eating a single French fry. But the relevant precedents required it, so he did.

That’s my kind of judge. Once I read the French-fry case, I was more sold than ever on the Roberts nomination.

Would Harriet Miers be that kind of judge? I have no idea.

So that’s the question I’d ask her.

7 Responses to “If I Could Ask Harriet Miers Just One Question at Her Confirmation Hearings”

  1. I’d ask her why a preident who runs as a pro-lifer seems to have a judicial philosophy that mandates that Roe be upheld.

    Its all in the quotes–on record, just three easy pieces. All be had to do was take him at his word.

    Paul Deignan (9e57a7)

  2. I dunno. That’s a question most lawyers would have trouble answering if they haven’t been judges.

    I think many questions need be asked of Miers. I’m still at the stage of wanting factual information about her career in private practice, let alone her judicial philosophy, if any.

    Crank (3fed2a)

  3. I actually think it’s an easier question to ask lawyers who haven’t been judges. Unlike judges, we private practitioners don’t have the luxury of “discovering” the law really means what we wish it did. Sometimes, our duties to our clients require us to help them take advantage of laws we know to be unjust. Other times, we’re forced to tell our clients they must/can’t do X, not because X/~X is fair, but simply because an arbitrary, poorly drafted or downright stupid law says so.

    Nevertheless, I agree it’s a good question, which should be asked of every nominee, including Miers.

    Xrlq (428dfd)

  4. Patterico:

    When in your career have you taken an action that you found personally repugnant, but that you were required by law to take?

    And if it were I, I would answer “I do it every damned year on April 15th!”

    Dafydd

    Dafydd (f8a7be)

  5. Heh.

    See — if you had asked Roberts that question, he would have been quick enough to come up with an answer like that.

    Patterico (4e4b70)

  6. DDG-67

    Today’s dose of NIF – News, Interesting & Funny … and remember the USS Cole

    NIF (59ce3a)

  7. For me it is, “Under what if any circumstances is it appropriate to grant a preference to a “minority” child of a wealthy family who attended private prep school and an Ivy League college for a professional school admission over a lower middle class white student? Is it proper to remedy discrimination; to “enhance” an educational experience through “diversity” of color (and/or ideas) or to [rpduce a more “balanced” grpup of prpfessionals. No need to tell us what you think is constitutional — just give us your policy views as a former elected official.

    Bert Halprin (6a6f8b)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0745 secs.