Roberts, Alito Help Define New Supreme Court

Is Chief Justice Roberts bringing Justice Kennedy back into the conservative camp?

... As the high court nears the end of its 2006-2007 term, the impact of Bush’s appointees is becoming clearer.

In high profile-decisions, Roberts and Alito have bolstered the conservative wing, which includes Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas and occasionally Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Former Reagan administration Justice Department official Doug Kmiec, who is professor of constitutional law at Pepperdine University, said, "The headline of the term so far" is that "Anthony Kennedy in the presence of John Roberts and Sam Alito has rejoined the Reagan judicial philosophy." (President Reagan nominated Kennedy to the court in 1987.)

Roberts-Kennedy alignment
"Justice Kennedy and the chief justice are thinking along similar lines," Kmiec said. "I don't think that's an accident. I believe it is a conscious result of the respect the new Chief Justice has given Justice Kennedy and the simple fact that they like each other."

He added that when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, whom Alito replaced, was on the court, "Kennedy was largely in conversation with her. She was the one with whom he would bargain over terminology. In her absence, Justice Kennedy, of course, has been pursued by both sides of the court, but in virtually every case, Justice Kennedy has discovered that he is more in affinity with the Roberts-Alito side of legal thought."

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My Comments:
Roberts bringing Kennedy back from the dark side? We can only hope, but I'm not convinced.