Ten Questions

When George W. Bush nominates a replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor, the Senate will have concrete guidelines on what questions to ask. Chuck Schumer, a member of the Judiciary Committee, has today released a letter signed by over 100 legal scholars consisting of 10 questions senators can use to determine if judicial nominees are "within the constitutional mainstream."

The American Constitution Society's Blog for Law and Policy lists the questions:

Do you believe in employing a canon of construction? If so, is there a particular canon to which you subscribe?

Do you believe it is appropriate for the Supreme Court to recognize constitutional principles that were not expressly written in the Constitution or explicitly recognized by the Framers?

What rights, if any, do you believe are protected by substantive due process?

Do you believe there is a constitutionally protected right to privacy, and, if so, under what circumstances does it apply?

Do you agree with the tiers of review currently employed under Equal Protection jurisprudence and the way they have been applied? Explain.

What in your view are the limits on the scope of Congress' power under the Commerce Clause and section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment?

What do you believe is the appropriate scope of state sovereign immunity and the Eleventh Amendment?

Define "judicial activism" and describe your views on it.

Do you believe there are judicially enforceable limits to the President's power as Commander-in-Chief in times of national crisis? If so, what are those limits?

In Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of evacuating Japanese-American citizens on the West Coast from their homes during World War II. What lessons do you believe the Court should draw from Korematsu and the World War II experience?

The full text of the letter is here.