Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Is it appropriate for a sitting Supreme Court Justice to publish a book on his/her interpretation of the Constitution?

5 comments:

rob said...

sure. isn't that what they do in their daily lives?

Unknown said...

I'm torn. If it's an ideological diatribe written by a ghost writer, no. But since these people are basically on the court until they die, saying they can't publish scholarly work while their on the bench is like saying they can never publish anything ever again. And I think there is a case to be made for the benefit of passing on the experience, perspective, and knowledge gleaned from sitting on the Court.

Mike said...

Careful. I think if its a serious work than yes. I worry about commercializing the Supreme Court.

Cate said...

i'm ok with it. for those of us who aren't super smart legal geniuses, we have to interpret and piece together an overarching value system based on their rulings in many cases. i like the idea of giving them a platform to explain their views. and they possess incomparable access and insight into decisions that can drastically change the very soul of the nation.

Leslie said...

I don't know how I feel about it. It seems like it would be a conflict of interest but I suppose any insight into how a justice interprets the Constitution is helpful. And Karen is right, it would suck to not allow them to publish anything. Ever.