In a biting criticism of the U.S. Supreme Court’s approach to fact-finding procedures, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s federal courts panel, voiced his complaints in a new law review. He pinpointed what he believes to be an “improper” process for fact-finding activities under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts.
Deeply embedded in legal tradition, fact-finding is generally the sole remit of lower courts. In accordance with this practice, the Supreme Court typically bases its decisions on the factual findings developed by those lower courts, which have been built from evidentiary hearings and trial proceedings. Sen. Whitehouse has, however, expressed his mounting concern with the Supreme Court’s habit of settling factual issues at their level without having these critical inputs.
For more details on Sen. Whitehouse’s observations and critiques, his law review contribution is provided for further reading on the subject in the original Law360 article.