Yugoslavia

Pre-Judge: A very, very bad thing to do, it seems. Preferable: “an open mind.” In the Bork episode, Republicans savaged Democrats for having “pre-judged” his suitability before the hearings. Then Democrats savaged Bork for having prejudged constitutional issues that might come before him on the court. The whole point of having a judicial philosophy--good, remember?--is that it leads you to understandings on specific issues. Abortion, for example, has been the predominant constitutional issue for almost two decades.—Michael Kinsley (Judicial Buzzwords)