Eminent Domain

My ideological hero on the Court gave a speech recently at the University of Alabama. I totally agree with him about the focus that abortion gets as far as federal judgeships go. Here's what he says...

Speaking to law students at the University of Alabama, Thomas said former clerks and other lawyers often tell him they're not interested in federal judgeships because of the potential for bruising confirmation battles.

"I think that's a problem when the stars are beginning to say, `Thank you, but no thanks,'" said Thomas.

While I agree that abortion is an important issue that many people feel strongly about, it is not the end all of Constitutional law. What about the Commerce Clause and federalism? What about the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause? What about substantive due process? What about incorporation? What about the use of foreign law? These issues get a back seat to abortion far too often. It's a shame that judicial nominees can just be tagged with a label on one issue. The courts deal with much, much more than that.

Justice Thomas also had nothing but glowing compliments for the the Chief...

"He is younger, he is smart, he is a nice guy," Thomas said. "He is absolutely fabulous, and we are lucky to have him."

That's a pretty impressive statement. I think it's more than Thomas just wanting to get good opinion assignments for the next few years. It's a positive signal that Chief Justice Roberts is the kind of Justice that Thomas wants to work with on the Court. And that's good news to me.