Whose Opinions Are You Anxious to Read—Whether You Agree or Not?
This week, we noted an upcoming article in the George Washington Law Review in which two George Mason University law professors propose that Congress cure the U.S. Supreme Court of its “cult of celebrity” by passing a statute that requiring their opinions to be anonymous.
The idea is that judges who do not sign their opinions would have an incentive to “behave more like traditional judges and less like publicity-hungry politicians,” authors Craig Lerner and Nelson Lund write in their article.
At the New York Times’ Opinionator blog, Linda Greenhouse calls that proposal “completely out of the question, of course, but a useful thought experiment as we head into yet another nomination season.”
We subsequently took a poll to see where you stood on the proposal, and an overwhelming majority indicated they thought opinions should be signed.
So we would like to ask those who appreciate that SCOTUS opinions are signed: Whose opinions are you anxious to read—whether you agree with them or not? And why? If you want to praise the opinions of past justices, we’ll allow it. We also welcome your two cents on why you think opinions should or should not be signed.
Answer in the comments below.
Read the answers to last week’s question: Who Is History’s Top Lawyer or Judge?
Featured answer:
Posted by Tony Maccarini: “John Adams. Not only did he successfully defend the British Soldiers accused of murder following the Boston Massacre, but he drafted the first constitution in the United States (for Massachusetts) which James Madison used as a model for the U.S. Constitution. He also was the chief architect of much of the major legislation passing through the Continental Congress.”
