Some well-considered questions for Supreme Court nominee Roberts suggested by the Christian Science Monitor:
Senators shouldn’t put Roberts in the position of dodging questions because they may pertain to future cases. But they can get to his judicial approach and other issues by questioning along these lines:
• Point to a few instances when you’ve had to put aside strong personal views – either in your White House work or your two years on the bench – to argue or judge a case.
• As the definition of rights – in education, the workplace, family planning, etc. – has expanded in US history, has it been better for state and federal legislators or for the courts to bring those to citizens?
• Even if a decision is based clearly on the Constitution, should a justice also weigh the consequences of that decision on broader society?
• Should the Constitution be a flexible document whose interpretation changes with the times?
• Public approval of the Supreme Court has eroded over the years. What should be done to reverse that slide?
• Name three books that would give Americans a better understanding of the role of the courts, especially the Supreme Court, in a democracy.