via Michael J.W. Stickings on a post over at The Reaction on a post by Mustang Bobby.
My initial sense is that Chief Justice Roberts (who, I think, thinks about his and his court’s place in history and how he and it will be perceived) will vote with the liberals and that marriage equality will win.
I have to admit, I agree with Michael on this point. When Roberts joined the liberals on ACE he signaled he was more interested in the long view than in maintaining an ideology.
It is important to note that he approached the ACA decision from two different choices, both apparently thought out.
(The Daily Beast) He certainly didn’t trust the dissenters, as he clearly instructed his law clerks to begin working on an alternative majority opinion (the final product was too polished and too long to have been written at the last minute). And he waited to see what was written.
(The Volokh Conspiracy) Notice also that his [Scalia’s] response to Roberts is tacked on at the end, rather than worked into the body of whatever he was writing (see page 64 of his dissent). For example, one would have expected Scalia to directly take on Roberts’ application of the Anti-Injunction Act, but his brief section on that act only mentions what “the Government” argues (see pages 26-28).
Do not for a minute think I believe Roberts is turning liberal. Instead, I believe he is going to make his best effort (we can argue over just how best his effort really is another day) at an unbiased approach towards interpreting the law. All law derives power from the people. At least as far as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is concerned. If Roberts wants to be seen as a defender of the Constitution, I believe he than needs to pay attention to the majority will of the people.
As an aside, has there ever been a United States Supreme Court Judge impeached and removed from the bench? And yes, I am going to do a Google search right after publishing this post.
Update: Well, I found my answer! Samuel Chase was impeached by the House of Representatives but acquitted by the Senate. So he was not removed.