|
WMU Home > About WMU > WMU News > Radio News Service 
Temperament of Supreme Court justicesJune 25, 2009 Wrap, suggested lead: As confirmation hearings approach for Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor, some have criticized her management style, saying she is overbearing and critical of her law clerks. As Mark Schwerin reports, the court has had many justices who were anything but congenial. (1:03/Schwerin/STD) To hear some people talk about Sotomayor's fitness to serve on the high court, you might think that Supreme Court justices are always cooperative team players. But that's not the case, says Dr. Ashlyn Kuersten, a WMU associate professor of political science and Supreme Court expert. (:34/Kuersten.............................Constitutional principles.) Kuersten says justices are not appointed to the Supreme Court to be likeable or influenced by political considerations. From Western Michigan University, I'm Mark Schwerin. Actualities: CUT ONE: Kuersten says Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is perhaps the best example of a current justice who airs his criticism freely. (:42/Kuersten...........................................Constitutional law.) CUT TWO: Kuersten says four of President Roosevelt's appointments to the court were difficult to work with. Justice William O. Douglas once referred to his law clerks as "the lowest form of human life." (:37/Kuersten.......................................................human life.) CUT THREE: Kuersten says Justice Hugo Black, also appointed by FDR, was a secret member of the Ku Klux Klan, but became one of the court's biggest champions of civil rights. (:37/Kuersten..............................................separate but equal.) For additional comments or an interview with Kuersten,
call (269) 387-5690. WMU Radio News Service Media contact: Mark Schwerin, 269 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu |