Confirmation Theater.

• Author: Bennett, Wayne
• Position: Letters - Letter to the editor

In "Confirmation Theater" (October), Radley Balko bemoans the fact that he cannot draw conclusions about Elena Kagan's legal views based on the positions she took as solicitor general. But if representing the government's position in favor of extraordinary rendition can be ascribed to Kagan as her own view, then should we conclude that criminal defense attorneys are pro-crime?

Balko also scoffs at Supreme Court candidates' frequent refusal to comment on issues they might have to rule on. Here in the United States, the Supreme Court does not offer advisory opinions, so why compel its candidates to do so? Federal courts in the United States only decide actual cases or controversies. Issuing advisory opinions violates Article III of the Constitution, as Chief Justice John Jay once explained to President George Washington.

Observers might think the Court is pro-this or anti-that, but the...