Chief Justice Rehnquist Dead

The Chief passed away in the night.

What now? The hearings on the Roberts nomination were set to start next week. That's all changed now--not the schedule, but the issues to be addressed. Because the Rehnquist Court is over, as of now.

Update: This is a short post, because I can't think of anything particularly profound to say. Also: The Chief had a major impact on the Court, but in many ways I think that, in terms of doctrine, his impact has been largely negative. Take the issue of the death penalty. Now, I'm not opposed to the death penalty in principle. I don't think that it's unconstitutional, in principle. But the dead Chief's strident opposition to robust federal court review of state capital convictions should give one at least a little pause. Especially given what we've learned about wrongful convictions from Project Innocence in recent years.

But I try to follow the rule, do not speak ill of the dead, and its corollary, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.