Litigation

Did Justice Roberts Neglect ?Bully Pulpit??

By Peter Hardin

Did Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. miss a chance to use his “bully pulpit” and even teach the public about the judicial branch, when he recently compiled his annual report on the judiciary (see earlier Gavel Grab post)?

That  question was raised by some who remarked on the year-end report, and those comments were pulled together by veteran Supreme Court-watcher Tony Mauro in a post for The Blog of Legal Times:

• Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist used some of his annual reports to advocate Senate confirmation of judicial nominees, said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy, in a statement, contended the federal courts could do their work better if 120 vacant judgeships were filled more quickly.
• Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, and head of the congressional caucus on the judicial branch, similarly brought up to BLT the “extraordinary number of vacancies and the big impact that has on caseloads,” and he also mentioned two impeachment referrals of federal judges in the past year; Schiff said the chief justice might have emphasized the importance of high ethical standards.
• Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, told BLT that the chief justice’s year-end reported amounted to a “lost opportunity” to communicate with the public about the third branch. He called the report Justice Roberts’ “bully pulpit” for talking about judicial issues.

Full post as published by The Gavel on January 05, 2010 (boomark / email).