Pondering Judge Roberts’ mold

Tom Goldstein in this post wraps up his commentary for the night by suggesting that Judge Roberts as a Justice is likely to “be like William Rehnquist, his former boss.”  Put another way, it seems that President Bush may have actually nominated a Justice more in the mold of Chief Justice Rehnquist than in the mold of Justices Scalia or Thomas. 

For lots of issues and cases — including many criminal justice issues and cases — the differences in these molds may often prove inconsequential.  But, as I have stressed in posts here and here, the differences between Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Scalia and Thomas in the Apprendi–Blakely–Booker line of cases is quite pronounced and consequential.  After Judge Roberts is confirmed (which seems a near certainty), I hope that SCOTUS will start grant cert on many of the pressing post-Blakely and post-Booker questions so that we can swiftly discover Judge Roberts’ true sentencing mold.