Category Archives: Major Print Outlets

Stuart Taylor, Jr.’s media appearances in print publications.

Posted on

Supremes: Roberts – And Then The Real Battle

by Debra Rosenberg, Daniel Klaidman and Stuart Taylor, Jr.

Newsweek

The confirmation battle over Judge John Roberts is about to take center stage. George W. Bush quickly nominated Roberts to serve as chief justice–a move the president had considered all along, according to one adviser close to the process who refused to be quoted because of the sensitivity of the deliberations. Roberts could face some tougher questioning as chief, but barring bombshells, the hearings could turn out to be a drama fit only for C-Span junkies.Far more compelling is the battle am

The confirmation battle over Judge John Roberts is about to take center stage. George W. Bush quickly nominated Roberts to serve as chief justice–a move the president had considered all along, according to one adviser close to the process who refused to be quoted because of the sensitivity of the deliberations. Roberts could face some tougher questioning as chief, but barring bombshells, the hearings could turn out to be a drama fit only for C-Span junkies.

Far more compelling is the battle among conservatives over who’ll fill Sandra Day O’Connor’s spot. In a new NEWSWEEK Poll, 66 percent of those surveyed said Bush should strongly conside…

The confirmation battle over Judge John Roberts is about to take center stage. George W. Bush quickly nominated Roberts to serve as chief justice–a move the president had considered all along, according to one adviser close to the process who refused to be quoted because of the sensitivity of the deliberations. Roberts could face some tougher questioning as chief, but barring bombshells, the hearings could turn out to be a drama fit only for C-Span junkies.Far more compelling is the battle am

Posted on

John G. Roberts: What Answers Is He Going To Give

by Debra Rosenberg, Daniel Klaidman and Stuart Taylor, Jr.

Newsweek

In 39 arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, John G. Roberts earned a reputation as an unflappable advocate for his clients. But this week, when Roberts testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in his own bid to join the high court, he’ll face a different challenge. Instead of sparring with nine erudite justices interested in ferreting out fine points of the law, Roberts will confront 18 senators eager to score political points and rack up minutes on the cable news channels. While the

In 39 arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, John G. Roberts earned a reputation as an unflappable advocate for his clients. But this week, when Roberts testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in his own bid to join the high court, he’ll face a different challenge. Instead of sparring with nine erudite justices interested in ferreting out fine points of the law, Roberts will confront 18 senators eager to score political points and rack up minutes on the cable news channels. While the senators will try to press Roberts for specifics on controversial topics like civil rights, abortion and congressional authority, Roberts will attempt to keep his answers as general as possible without seeming to stonewall. "There’s going to be …

In 39 arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, John G. Roberts earned a reputation as an unflappable advocate for his clients. But this week, when Roberts testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in his own bid to join the high court, he’ll face a different challenge. Instead of sparring with nine erudite justices interested in ferreting out fine points of the law, Roberts will confront 18 senators eager to score political points and rack up minutes on the cable news channels. While the

Posted on

Transition: Hail To The Chief

by Evan Thomas and Stuart Taylor, Jr.

Newsweek

Rehnquist’s wry aside, which broke the tension, was typical of the man affectionately known to his fellow justices as "the Chief." Rehnquist was quick and funny, and he made his job look easy. He had time left over to run betting pools on sporting and political contests, preside over poker games with other Washington luminaries, play bridge and charades, paint, swim, sing hymns, quote poetry and the classics from memory, and write four books on Supreme Court history. He was respected and admir

Rehnquist’s wry aside, which broke the tension, was typical of the man affectionately known to his fellow justices as "the Chief." Rehnquist was quick and funny, and he made his job look easy. He had time left over to run betting pools on sporting and political contests, preside over poker games with other Washington luminaries, play bridge and charades, paint, swim, sing hymns, quote poetry and the classics from memory, and write four books on Supreme Court history. He was respected and admired by his colleagues on both sides of the ideological spectrum. The late Thurgood Marshall, who opposed Rehnquist on almost any case, called him a "great chief justice." The Supreme Court is sometimes described as "nine scorpions in a bottle," but under Rehnquist’s nearly two decades as chief, the justices generally got along.

Posted on

Legal Affairs – The Roberts Court

by Stuart Taylor, Jr.

National Journal

In this time of terrorism, the most important marks to be made by John Roberts and President Bush’s next Supreme Court nominee on our law and society may not involve abortion, gay rights, women’s rights, privacy, affirmative action, religion, or crime. Instead, they may involve claims by Bush, and perhaps his successors, of extraordinary powers as commander-in-chief — at home as well as abroad — to fight the war against terrorism.

Posted on

Opening Argument – Five Reasons Not to Put Gonzales On the Court

by Stuart Taylor, Jr.

National Journal

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is a likable fellow and a competent lawyer. He rose from humble Mexican-American origins to join the U.S. Air Force and graduate from Harvard Law School. He has won the trust and friendship of George W. Bush. He wrote 20-some forgettable judicial opinions while on the Texas Supreme Court. And since 2001, he has sat in sphinx-like silence through many high-level meetings on the biggest legal issues facing the nation.

Posted on

Queen of the Center

by Evan Thomas and Stuart Taylor, Jr.

Newsweek

For an old ranching girl, you turned out pretty good," President George W. Bush told Sandra Day O’Connor when she spoke to the White House last week to say that she was retiring from the Supreme Court. The image of O’Connor as cowgirl is a powerful one, and she has done as much as anyone to foster it. In her chambers, decorated with Western rugs and paintings and artifacts, she served her clerks homemade Tex-Mex lunches on Saturdays. With her fixed and level gaze, her dry, flat voice cutting l

For an old ranching girl, you turned out pretty good," President George W. Bush told Sandra Day O’Connor when she spoke to the White House last week to say that she was retiring from the Supreme Court. The image of O’Connor as cowgirl is a powerful one, and she has done as much as anyone to foster it. In her chambers, decorated with Western rugs and paintings and artifacts, she served her clerks homemade Tex-Mex lunches on Saturdays. With her fixed and level gaze, her dry, flat voice cutting like the prairie wind, she came across to nervous Supreme Court petitioners like an Annie Oakley of the Bench, a fast draw with sharp questions and a don’t-mess-with-me manner. Her most memorable writing was not the language of her judicial opinions but her memoir of growing up on a ranch, the Lazy B. In her retirement, she will work on a children’s book about her childhood horse, Chico.