The Fullas#i+ Decade, in which everyone is fullas#i+, continues (cont'd)

Indeed, much of the commentary on the court's performance during the past term was harsh, and it did not come only from liberals. Judge Richard Posner, the conservative icon who sits on the federal appeals court in Chicago, offers some pointed and unusually personal criticism of Chief Justice Roberts in his book, "How Judges Think," published three months ago.

The chief justice's self-description during his confirmation hearing as a simple baseball umpire might have been a "tactical error" for one who evidently "aspires to remake significant areas of constitutional law," Posner writes, adding, "The tension between what he said at his confirmation hearing and what he is doing as a justice is a blow to Roberts's reputation for candor and a further debasement of the already-debased currency of the testimony of nominees at judicial confirmation hearings."