Not only did John Roberts clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, but it appears that Judge Friendly was John Roberts'
role model as a lawyer:
Richard Lazarus, a law professor at Georgetown University, described himself as a liberal but said that was no impediment to being a good friend to Judge Roberts. Judge Roberts's mode and mentor, he said, was not Chief Justice Rehnquist, but rather the appeals court judge for whom he clerked, Henry J. Friendly, who served on the appeals court based in New York until his death in 1986.
"They were very much alike," Professor Lazarus said. "He was hired by Judge Friendly without an interview because John's credentials were like his. They won the same history prize at Harvard and each had the same position on the law review there."
Not only was Judge Friendly one of the great judicial figures in modern American History, but he is also widely considered to be a pragmatist and a moderate -- one devoted to delicate balancing tests which allow trial judges to weigh the facts of any dispute and come up with the most just solution. Here's how one law review article summed up Judge Friendly:
For twenty-five years Henry Friendly has occupied a preeminent position in American law. In nearly a thousand judicial opinions, and in other writings covering the legal landscape, he has uniquely combined the roles of judge and scholar. His opinions in the field of securities regulation--briefly and inadequately sampled above-are merely illustrative of the qualities that distinguish all his work: consummate craftsmanship; a principled common sense that pays attention to the practical consequences of decisions and to the efficient use of scarce judicial resources; avoidance of all-or-nothing approaches in favor of balancing, weighing, and the drawing of fine lines to reflect real but subtle differences; deference, where appropriate, to other decisionmakers, along with willingness, where necessary, to make hard moral choices; and obediance to higher judicial authority, without fear, from time to time, of testing its limits. In the tradition of Learned *33 Hand, Judge Friendly has given absolutes no quarter. 'Moderation is all.'
Frank I. Goodman, JUDGE FRIENDLY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO SECURITIES LAW AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: 'MODERATION IS ALL', 133 U. Pa. L. Rev. 10 (December, 1984)
If Judge Roberts truly considers Judge Friendly to be his role model as a judge, then Roberts will be nothing like the absolutists Scalia and Thomas. Instead, he will be a moderate pragmatist, interested in the practical consequences of his decisions.
Update [2005-7-20 21:46:3 by pontificator]: It appears that Judge Friendly, although a pragmatist, was also a "conservative Republican":
A conservative Republican, he was mentioned as a candidate for the United States Supreme Court in the late 1960's after President Richard M. Nixon took office. But the call never came.
During this time, he became part of a debate on the Fifth Amendment and the constitutional right against self-incrimination.
Judge Friendly argued that criminals were using the privilege to shield themselves from the law. He went on to discuss the Miranda warnings that the police are required to read to suspects. It was his feeling that police officers should have the right to question suspects before taking them into custody.
New York Times (NY)
Copyright (c) 1986 The New York Times. All rights reserved.
March 12, 1986
Section: B
HENRY J. FRIENDLY, FEDERAL JUDGE IN COURT OF APPEALS, IS DEAD AT 82
Friendly appears to have been a conservative in the way that Judge Posner (U of C Law Professor and 7th Circuit Judge), is a conservative (as opposed to Scalia and Thomas). Namely, he was a pragmatic conservative.
What this says about Judge Roberts, however, is anybody's guess.