"It shocked me, though, and I found it disturbing, almost comical, that he directly asked her if she had problems with her temperament. He actually asked, after reading those anonymous reviews, whether she had a bad temper. I don't think that discussion was revelatory either way and it's curious that he pursued it.
"Lindsey has this soft touch in saying he likes her personally. . . . He always had a smile on his face and an easygoing manner even when asking her tough questions. He knew where he was going and she knew where he was going. He's kind of folksy in doing what he feels he has to do. I thought he was stern but nice."
--
Erwin Chemerinsky
Constitutional law scholar, dean of UC Irvine School of Law and former visiting professor at Duke University School of Law
"Basically, she said what she needs to say in order to get confirmed. I thought she went out of her way to reassure the Republicans on the committee with the repeated mantra that judges don't make the law, they apply the law, that she's not going to be an activist judge, that she respects the limited role of judges.
"My sense is that she came off as smart, well-prepared and at times charming. She was appropriately deferential, yet I think she came across as knowledgeable. I just think she's done a great job.
"I think the most interesting part for me was the discussion about the comment she made at Duke about how appellate judges make policy. I was on that panel, sitting right next to her. Until she got nominated, I never thought twice of it. She was talking to Duke law students about whether they should be district court clerks or appellate court clerks and she was saying the courts of appeals are more interesting because they make policy. They do make policy."
-- Carol J. Williams
