Posner admits he's 'brutal to lawyers' but defends his critique of Roberts' gay-marriage dissent
A well-known federal appeals court judge says he may sometimes be “a little brutal to lawyers” when expressing his views of their arguments.
But Judge Richard Posner, who made headlines by publishing a recent critique of U.S. Supreme Court dissents in last month’s same-sex marriage ruling, says the nation’s top jurists can take the heat.
Like his supreme court colleagues, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., whose dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges was described by Posner as “heartless,” isn’t overly concerned about criticism, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge told Law360 (sub. req.).
“I think lower court judges are particularly hesitant to criticize the Supreme Court because the notion is they are our bosses and they might take revenge on us,” Posner said. “I don’t think that’s true, and I don’t think they’re that petty. Put another way, I don’t think they’re concerned with us, the little people.”
For more sensitive souls who hope to avoid a blast of criticism in upcoming 7th Circuit arguments before Posner, the best method may be simply to answer the court’s questions.
“When the lawyers seem to be fencing with us, exaggerating or making things up, then I tend to get annoyed—maybe more visibly annoyed that some of my colleagues, who are more polite,” Posner said. “I try to curb that, but occasionally I do get irritable.”
Chicago civil rights attorney Thomas Durkin told Law360 that he frequently disagrees with Posner but enjoys arguing in front of him. “You can disagree with him, but I don’t think you can disagree with his willingness to think, analyze and speak his mind, and it’s refreshing.”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Posner tells BigLaw chief, ‘stop babbling,’ threatens to end argument in contraception mandate case”
