Worst SCOTUS justice

[brucejoel99]

"Worst" depends on some metric: logical coherence? Reasoning? Preferred policy outcomes? Judicial philosophy?

With that in mind, & even though I personally despise Thomas for non-judicial reasons (read: Anita Hill), I'd push back on those dismissing him because you don't like his outcomes. Yeah, I disagree with him & his opinions a lot, but there's a strong argument that he's actually been the most intellectually-honest & consistent justice on the Court when it comes to originalism. I also greatly admire how he takes law clerks from places other than Harvard or Yale, in addition to his willingness to visit lower-ranked law schools (he literally taught a course at UF - which is where I'm currently attending undergrad - this past semester). He's done a lot to help SCOTUS be involved with more than just 2 law schools.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I actually sort-of appreciate him for who he is as a justice. He's extremely conservative & extremely consistent: he doesn't really forego his own view of the law in order to achieve a result in any particular case. My main problem with him, though, is that his view of the law bears little relation to reality. His theories have been squarely rejected &/or passed over by prior Courts, but he continues to write dissents or concurrences without regard to the established law. It's like SCOTUS has its own contrarian academic: he produces (sometimes) brilliant writing, even if it's usually completely out of touch with reality. I also dislike his frankly cavalier attitude towards stare decisis, but hell, I'll be damned if I don't find his level of conviction & consistency to his (idiosyncratic, bizarre, very wrong) particular view of law to honestly be noble. (Also, it's f**king hilarious whenever he cites his own previous dissents to support his positions.)

As for the worst on the current Court, probably Alito. Not only do I not like his legal philosophy, but - as others have pointed out - he just seems to be a hardcore right-winger with no real philosophy.

[brucejoel99]

As for the worst justice, its easily Sotomayor. She has absolutely nothing to recommend her. Her writing quality is poor, she's showed a willingness to be influenced by disapproving press on the left, and she is unquestionably the biggest partisan hack on the court. Its such a shame, because Obama's other appointee Kagan is one of the best members of the court.

100% disagree. Her opinions read like, "y’all are f**king naive if you think this is the way the law is actually enforced." She's the most removed from any ivory tower BS & isn't afraid to talk in detail about how the Court's decisions will impact real, everyday people.

[brucejoel99]

I am surprised no one (especially blue avatars) still has voted for John "whichever way the wind blows" Roberts.

Not at all surprising, because there's no credible claim to say he's the "worst justice:" he's very effective at running the Court, building coalitions, & maintaining the Court's legitimacy (which are the Chief's main jobs).