During his confirmation hearings, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said, naively, that we wanted to build consensus on the court. After his speech at the Indiana University School of Law Wednesday, he was asked about that, in light of the fact that about one-third of the court's rulings last term were decided 5-4:
Roberts responded that justices differing in their interpretations of law cannot act like lawmakers and strike compromises halfway.
Compromise is a political concept, not a judicial one. You can meet halfway on the facts; it's a little harder to do so on matters of principle. The court's record is a pretty good indication of where the country is, split right down the middle.
About which: Conservatives shouldn't waste a lot of time and energy worrying about whether Justice Stevens will retire and whom President Obama might replace him with. The balance of the court would remain the same. Remember how some people prayed Bush 41 would stay healthy so Dan Quayle wouldn't become president, and how some people expressed the same sentiment regarding Obama and Joe Biden. If there's anybody in America conservatives should wish a long and healthy life for, it's Anthony Kennedy. As unpredictable as he is, he has voted on the conservative side more often than not. If he leaves the court, Obama can replace him with a liberal, and the whole balance of the court will shift.
