The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court suggests the advent of modern technology is “powerful,” but is no substitute for independent thought. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered a half-hour-long public lecture at Drake University Thursday afternoon.
“Too much information can be as problematic as too little,” Roberts said.
Roberts called computer-based legal tools “powerful,” but Roberts suggested lawyers still need to be able to think for themselves to develop their arguments. “There is, I believe, a lot of value in thinking outside the box, but the key word is thinking,” Roberts said. “…You cannot think effectively outside the box if you don’t know where the box is.”
The Supreme Court begins its new term on Monday, but the justices will meet privately in temporary quarters. “We are in the midst of a comprehensive renovation of the Supreme Court Building, the first since my predecessor Charles Evans Hughes opened the building in 1935,” Roberts said. “…Now, there were a lot of reasons that we had to renovate the building, including the fact that we were literally losing our marbles. The occasional chunk of marble would dislodge and fall from above, threatening to shorten life tenure.”
Click on the audio link below to listen to all of what Roberts had to say.