Who Are They Kidding?

I'm listening to Charles Grassley question John Roberts. Grassley just asked Roberts if a justice's personal values should influence his interpretation of the constitution, to which Roberts answered, predictably, no. Of course this is the standard line, but does anyone really believe that Justices aren't influenced by their own views? Would Scalia defend public expressions of religion so fervently if he was not himself a Christian? I doubt it.

It seems to me that all parties involved have tacitly agreed not to touch the topic of a Justice's personal beliefs, but common sense and history suggest that personal beliefs influence perception. Shouldn't we be allowed to probe them a bit?


--Matthew McCoy