Promote from Within

Promote from Within

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is a very important position.  His duties include setting the Court’s Agenda.  In order to be effective, a Chief Justice must be responsive to his peers – the other Justices.  It seems to me extremely simple to realize that confirming a Chief Justice from outside the current “Brotherhood” dooms that Chief Justice to begin his tenure from a disadvantage so severe there may be no chance of recovery.

It may be that Mr. Roberts is such an insider and/or such an astute individual that he can feel his way through the connections which have been built up over time.  Maybe he’ll be able to sense the camaraderie and animosity which exists between the Justices on a variety of subjects.  Maybe he’ll know from some published history what alliances exits, and maybe he’ll have the deftness or intuition to be able to stretch those alliances without straining or snapping them.

I know that task would be beyond me.

It would be beyond, I think, almost anyone.

Regardless of his qualifications to be confirmed as a Justice, his non-membership makes him a poor choice for Chief Justice.

President Bush should have sought to promote from within.