Ms. Justice O'Connor on Chief Justice John Roberts

I can't remember anything quite like this before.  Sandra Day O'Connor writes a piece in Time on the man who replaced her on the Supreme Court.  It is altogether a positive assessment. 

As Justice Byron White used to say, the arrival of a new Justice creates an entirely new court. This is particularly true when the new Justice is also the new Chief Justice. The new Chief can bring tremendous changes in the operations of the court, from the way cases are discussed and opinions written to the very guiding ethos and atmosphere. Few have made the transition as seamlessly and effectively as Roberts. He knew our traditions well, as he had clerked in 1980 for then Associate Justice Rehnquist. His sense of humor and articulate nature and calm demeanor combine to make him a very effective Chief. I'm certain he will serve a long tenure in the role and be an effective leader not only for the Supreme Court but for all the federal courts in the nation.

This sounds well and good, but of course it doesn't go to judicial philosophy or the ideological direction of the Court.  Ms. O'Connor comes from a tradition in which decorum was a conspicuous feature and so she would be unlikely to write about such things.  But that makes one wonder why she wrote the piece at all.