February 14, 2012

New Conservative Supreme Court Justice?

If there is any truth to the adage, "A conservative is a liberal who got mugged," then can we expect a change in jurisprudence on the part of Justice Stephen Breyer?

While being grateful that the justice and his wife were unharmed, a new rightward direction in his legal opinions would be a silver lining to the episode.

Probably not.

SCOTUS Posted by Boulder Refugee at February 14, 2012 9:51 AM

Jim Geraghty wonders the same and with as little optimism:

Thank goodness the justice, his wife, and guests are all right. Of course, past history suggests that not every Supreme Court justice who is unlucky enough to be the victim of crime shifts to the right:

The last time a justice was the victim of a crime was in 2004, when a group of young men assaulted Justice David Souter as he jogged on the street in Washington.

In 1996, a man snatched Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's purse while she was out walking with her husband and daughter near their home in Washington. Ginsburg was not hurt.

You notice nobody ever tries this stuff with Scalia. I've always wanted to hear a Supreme Court justice ask, "Do you feel lucky, punk?"

Posted by: jk at February 14, 2012 1:23 PM | What do you think? [1]