Roberts' Rules of Government

There's been much discussion of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' judicial philosophy, politics and religious beliefs. But little has been said about his views on the operations of the executive branch--where he held positions in the Reagan and Bush administrations.

The Washington Times sheds some light today, reporting that "a review of his 48 written opinions ... shows a judge who gives the executive branch wide latitude, as long as officials don't act capriciously." For example, Roberts was in the group of nine judges who ruled unanimously that Vice President Cheney didn't have to provide the Government Accountability Office with internal records of his energy policy task force.

Roberts is "what I would call a federal-power conservative," Thomas Goldstein, founder of Goldstein & Howe, a District-based law firm that specializes in Supreme Court cases, told the paper. "I don't think he's a states-rights conservative, and I don't think he's an anti-government conservative. And this may reflect his time in the executive branch."