Richard Garnett Quotes

"He loves the court, ... So he must have felt, 'If I can stay on the job with a reasonable expectation I can maintain my health, then why not.'"

"Before Chief Justice Rehnquist, it really was like nine scorpions in a bottle."

"really did dramatically reshape the conversation about federal power."

"['Changed the conversation' But that doesn't mean his contribution at the court hasn't been historically significant.] Someone can have a huge effect on shaping our constitutional jurisprudence even if on some of the 'big cases' they are on the losing side, ... Chief Justice Rehnquist changed the conversation. He brought back to the table certain ideas about limited government, federalism, and texturalism."

"It's not the usual thing, but it doesn't strike me as being troubling. It would be a mistake to read it as payback."

"And if it comes to a point where he says, 'I can't do the job,' then I think he'll just quit. But we don't know if he's at that point yet."

"Even if the president wasn't up to it in alligators and his approval rating was 90 percent, John Roberts simply is the best guy for the chief justice's job. I think the thought of having John Roberts join him on the court kept the chief going despite his cancer. I think he's probably smiling about it now."