FEDERAL JUDGES AND THE HEISMAN TROPHY:

I readily admit to being a sucker for anything that combines my two passions in life–law and sports. Thus, I commend to you, a recent paper by my colleage Steve Goldberg commenting on the criteria for choosing Supreme Court Justices. Just as winning the Heisman Trophy does not seem to predict which college football players will go on to succeed in the NFL, Goldberg notes that serving as a judge on a lower federal court is not a reliable predictor of greatness on the United States Supreme Court. Very interesting thesis and especially important given the tacit assumption by most lawyers and court-watchers that Supreme Court Justices should be chosen from the ranks of lower courts.