ROBERTS' RULES

Good news: Edith Brown Clement is not, for the moment, a nominee for the Supreme Court. Bad news: I'm starting to miss her already. John G. Roberts' America is not one which does the best traditions of this country proud. People for the American Way has compiled some of the reasons why. Among the more troubling of his arguments: School-sponsored prayer at public school graduations poses no church-state problems because students swho don't like it can just stay home from their graduations. Congress can ban flag-burning without a free expression problem because bans don't prohibit the "expressive conduct" of burning the flag - they just remove the flag as a prop with which to do it. Arresting minors for crimes for which adults are given citations poses no equal protection challenge because minors are more likely to lie. On choice, Roberts authored a government brief in Rust v. Sullivan that Roe "was wrongly decided and should be overturned." As for the Lochner litmus test, he dissented from a D.C. Circuit Court case upholding the constitutionality of the Endangered Species Act. And at least in Law School, he apparently took a very broad view of the "takings" clause, opening the door to dangerous judicious activism targeting popular economic regulations which protect the economic security of the American people.