Distant Echoes: Discussing Judicial Activism at Canadian and American Supreme Court Nomination Hearings

This paper begins by tracing Canadians’ concerns about judicial activism. Part II surveys how academics, commentators, and others have reacted to perceived overreaches by Canada’s highest court over time. By evaluating the comments made by Justices Marshall Rothstein, Michael Moldaver, Andromache Karakatsanis, and Richard Wagner at their nominee hearings, Part III shows the paucity of official public discussion on the topic. Changing countries, Part IV explains how judicial activism has been canvassed recently in American Supreme Court nomination hearings; this part assesses how the topic has been addressed during and since Chief Justice John Roberts’s confirmation hearing in 2005. Part V analyzes Justice Nadon’s comments and demonstrates how they depart from Canadian precedent and towards a deeper, more American focus on the topic’s vagaries. Part VI concludes with some thoughts on what Nadon’s comments may portend should televised ad hoc committee hearings for Supreme Court nominees be restarted.