Memory Problems
by TChris
While it's difficult to predict the kind of Supreme Court Justice that John Roberts might become, it is increasingly apparent that his memory is a bit fuzzy. First he didn't remember being on the steering committee of the Washington chapter of the Federalist Society. Then he neglected to disclose that he had been a registered lobbyist for the cosmetics industry.
In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, Roberts explained that his firm had registered him as a lobbyist because he met with government lawyers as part of his work representing the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Assn. At the time, the association sought to block a proposed labeling regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.
...Roberts explained that because his work for the association consisted of preparation for litigation, "the question about lobbying on the questionnaire did not trigger a memory of those meetings."
Still another oversight: his failure to disclose pro bono work he did in "Romer v. Evans, which struck down a voter-approved 1992 Colorado initiative that would have allowed employers and landlords to exclude gays from jobs and housing."
Roberts did not mention his work on the gay-rights case in his 67-page response to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire released Tuesday. The committee asked for ''specific instances" in which he had performed pro bono work, how he had fulfilled those responsibilities, and the amount of time he had devoted to them.
Maybe he needs to take vitamins to help his poor memory. After all, someone who has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court might be expected to remember how the argument begins:
Once upstairs in the courtroom and standing at the lectern, Roberts would pull out a piece of paper on which he had written, just to remind himself in case he forgot, the standard greeting lawyers use to begin their presentation: "Mr. Chief Justice and may it please the court."
Let's hope that, if confirmed, Roberts remembers the Bill of Rights -- or that he keeps a copy close at hand.
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