Topic: Where do you Place Yourself on the ideological spectrum?
Senator: Schumer
Date: SEPTEMBER 14, 2005
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SCHUMER: Judge Rehnquist, in his hearings to become chief justice 19 years ago, was asked where he sat on the ideological spectrum of the court. Judge Rehnquist replied, "On the conservative side. In fact, on the basis of the court's opinions," he said, not their personal preferences -- he had been on the court, I guess, 16 years? You would know better than me. But a good number of years. Thirteen, I guess...
ROBERTS: Thirteen.
SCHUMER: Yes. He said, quote, "I think the chief" -- Warren Burger -- "and I are probably the most conservative, and it may be that I am more so than he." That doesn't involve any previous case or bias.
So let me ask you the parallel question about the D.C. Circuit upon which you sit now. Where, Judge, do you place yourself on the ideological spectrum of the D.C. Circuit?
ROBERTS: Senator, I think that's a very hard question to answer for a number of reasons.
One, as you know, almost all of our opinions are unanimous. We don't parse ourselves out according to an ideological spectrum.
SCHUMER: Yes. Most are technical and -- yes, many are technical or commercial, you know, governmental, technical. But on the tough ones they're not.
ROBERTS: I don't know where I fall. I do know that I saw recently a study that was done, and it indicated that I agree more with some judges appointed by Democratic presidents than I do with judges appointed by other Republican presidents.
And it's not simply lined up according to the president who appointed you. There are judges there that I've joined, and in opinions where I've found myself where we have had dissents.
There are some -- I know one case we were talking about earlier, the Bombardier case. Judge Rogers and I were in one position -- Judge Rogers appointed by President Clinton -- and Judge Garland was in a different position. I know in another case that was decided that we've talked about, Barber, Judge Garland and I were on one side and Judge Sentelle dissented.
So to the extent there have been divisions, I think you could go and see, and they would be completely non-...
(CROSSTALK)
SCHUMER: So you're saying you're somewhere in the middle?
ROBERTS: ... political.
I'm saying that judges don't think of themselves along an ideological spectrum.
SCHUMER: Judge Rehnquist did.
ROBERTS: Well, I don't...
SCHUMER: OK.
ROBERTS: ... and the judges, I think, on the D.C. Circuit generally don't either.
SCHUMER: So I guess you wouldn't want to place yourself on the current Supreme Court either?
ROBERTS: No. I think that'd be...
SCHUMER: OK, let's try another route. I didn't think that would get too far, although, as I said, Judge Rehnquist did answer it. He is your mentor, and he answered it openly, fully, directly: He and Burger were the two most conservative, and he's more conservative than Burger.
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