What Traits Should the Next Supreme Court Justice Have?
Picking the next member of the Supreme Court is not just a matter of putting a robe on someone who will reliably vote your way. It’s about getting someone so gifted with the power to animate ideas with relentless logic, crisp prose, and the occasional spark of je ne sais quois that she is able to convince everyone, everywhere, in all of history that she is right.
This takes extraordinary depth of knowledge and command of theory. By “theory” I just mean the ability to attend to the consistency of arguments and modes of argument across cases, issues, and areas of law. It is not always necessary or even possible to be entirely consistent—hence, the career of Justice O’Connor—but it is essential to evince command of the multi-layered logic of the law and to wield it deftly.
Rhetorical prowess is vital. Particularly, again, with respect to animating the logic of argument. It is not (or should not be) enough to state the case, state the law, and draw sound conclusions. The logic of an argument should be extracted, held up, and turned over and around in the light like a fine jewel.
At a second- or third-order level, I think relative youth and femaleness should be qualities of the next Supreme Court justice.
And lastly, one substantive point: the nominee should exhibit a healthy deference to legislative judgment.
In sum: knowledge, rhetorical prowess, youth, femaleness, deference to legislature.
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