David Garrow Justice Quotations

I come away with a very strong impression that Roberts will be a much more classical judicial restraint justice than any of the current justices. He betrays no real policy agenda.

The court will be in an extremely unsettled and uncertain situation until Justice O'Connor's successor is confirmed and seated. No one including the justices themselves will know for sure whether the nine justices who hear a case will be the same nine who will decide it.

Politically or ideologically oriented evaluations of Chief Justice Rehnquist should not overlook what a successful and popular chief justice he was within the Court as the justices' presiding officer, .. The contrast between Rehnquist's undeniably happy Court and that of his predecessor, Warren E. Burger, could not have been greater.

the serious constitutional heavy lifting is done in the Justice Department.

The phrasing of it is so atypical, almost original. I think it's an important indicator of what kind of justice he might be.

A committed conservative with interpersonal skills equal to or superior to Rehnquist's would be a far more effective chief justice than a nominee of equal intellect who lacks those graces.