Constitutional Law
Obama’s Statement Against Roberts’ Confirmation Shows Constitutional Views
Posted Oct 8, 2008, 06:38 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Barack Obama voted against the confirmation of John G. Roberts Jr. for chief justice and issued a statement that shows his strong convictions on constitutional law.
A former law professor, Obama said precedents and statutes can provide a just outcome in 95 percent of the cases, the Wall Street Journal reports. But for the “truly difficult” cases, he said the "last mile can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy."
The story says Obama’s views show he rejects the philosophy of strict constructionists and sides with the views of the court’s more liberal justices. In his book, The Audacity of Hope, Obama noted the philosophy of Justice Stephen G. Breyer. “I have to side with Justice Breyer's view of the Constitution—that it is not a static but rather a living document," Obama wrote.
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