Abstract

The general requirement of public reason applies to judges faced with a conflict between faith and justice. Judges are officials of public institutions. Their deliberations result in political action by such institutions; their opinions constitute the justification for such actions. Therefore, judges should limit their deliberations to public reasons, and judicial opinions should not contain religious premises. This Part of the Article applies the theory to the problem of a nominee to the position of Supreme Court Justice who must consider what role her religious convictions should play in her future actions on the Court.