Rook Black
Live Long and Pants.
ROOK: "I know this game."
(FADE IN: ROOK BLACK, he's walking down a hallway, tiled floor, wood paneling. He's wearing a charcoal gray suit, black cowboy boots. He wears the Triple Crown Championship around his waist (under the blazer), and walks in a distinctive Texan amble (somewhere between mosey and stroll) with his hands clasped behind him.)
ROOK: "It's what I said to myself as I was reading the decision today. It was a cunning move. For some time now, the Chief Justice was only distinguished by his intelligence and his allegiance to the conservative side of the court. Justice Kennedy's code of striking down anything that interferes with personal liberty or autonomy put him squarely on the conservative side, meaning that he wasn't swinging. And the conservative Justices had it locked down."
ROOK: "Why did Roberts make this play? Was it an act of disloyalty as Scalia claims while raging at everyone to get off his lawn?"
ROOK: "Not exactly."
(ROOK reaches into a hutch and produces courtroom gavel, 5x actual scale. He takes a few swings with it, testing it's weight and heft. It's a weapon in his hands.)
ROOK: "Might it have been a sign of a shifting move to the center?"
ROOK: "No, I don't think so. Historically, the centering of Justices happens much further along on their maturation on the high court's bench. It's too soon to think that Robert's views have evolved."
ROOK: "It's the nature of a Judge to sift through bull****. But it doesn't mean they can't throw together bull**** of their own."
ROOK: "And Robert's move ..."
ROOK (smiles): "... is the finest quality bull**** that I've seen in perhaps my entire life."
ROOK: "And like I said before, I know this game."
ROOK: "Because I do the same thing."
(ROOK stops.)
ROOK: "Trust me. Takes one to know one."
ROOK: "It's bull**** because this was the most important case of Robert's Judicial Career. As the lines were drawn on it, it'd get shot down on Conservative Solidarity, and lead to a backward political debacle. The court would look partisan, and therefore weak. It'd be a black mark on his record. It'd be a black eye on his face."
ROOK: "No, he had his ego placate. Roberts had to have his legacy as Cheif Justice, and he had to have that legacy shine."
ROOK (smiles): "I am familiar with this sentiment."
(ROOK continues to amble.)
ROOK: "So he did what any person in charge of a evenly divided body would do to exploit the scenario for their own ends. He broke rank, and played both sides against each other, so that his will alone would rule the middle."
ROOK: "The decision itself smells strongly of this tactic. One one side for one aspect, on the other for the next, until the net gain is not that The Supreme Court of the United States made a hard decision, but the Chief Justice Roberts saved the day, applying a Judicial Twist on what the expectations where and breaking new ground."
ROOK: "Because Chief Justice Roberts loyalty is not to his party, or conservative values, or anything so absurd. He is loyal to himself, to his place in history, and to his legacy. And he made himself the star of the ACA's Judicial drama, and wrote himself as the hero at it's center."
ROOK: "It makes me smile to see such a well crafted piece of work. A maneuvering that plays for the game for the long odds, the long con, and the history that it creates."
ROOK: "It will be some time before you'll get to see his next move, but he's young, and he's got some juicy pieces of law coming down the pipe and I'm certain that when the time comes he'll do whatever is necessary to make sure that he is at the center of it all, holding each side in check, and making the ruling by his absolute lonesome."
ROOK: "And for his prize, he'll have history at his mercy, and a shining legacy to show for it."
ROOK: "Just. Like. Me."
(ROOK walks out of frame, chuckling to himself.)
(FADE IN: ROOK BLACK, he's walking down a hallway, tiled floor, wood paneling. He's wearing a charcoal gray suit, black cowboy boots. He wears the Triple Crown Championship around his waist (under the blazer), and walks in a distinctive Texan amble (somewhere between mosey and stroll) with his hands clasped behind him.)
ROOK: "It's what I said to myself as I was reading the decision today. It was a cunning move. For some time now, the Chief Justice was only distinguished by his intelligence and his allegiance to the conservative side of the court. Justice Kennedy's code of striking down anything that interferes with personal liberty or autonomy put him squarely on the conservative side, meaning that he wasn't swinging. And the conservative Justices had it locked down."
ROOK: "Why did Roberts make this play? Was it an act of disloyalty as Scalia claims while raging at everyone to get off his lawn?"
ROOK: "Not exactly."
(ROOK reaches into a hutch and produces courtroom gavel, 5x actual scale. He takes a few swings with it, testing it's weight and heft. It's a weapon in his hands.)
ROOK: "Might it have been a sign of a shifting move to the center?"
ROOK: "No, I don't think so. Historically, the centering of Justices happens much further along on their maturation on the high court's bench. It's too soon to think that Robert's views have evolved."
ROOK: "It's the nature of a Judge to sift through bull****. But it doesn't mean they can't throw together bull**** of their own."
ROOK: "And Robert's move ..."
ROOK (smiles): "... is the finest quality bull**** that I've seen in perhaps my entire life."
ROOK: "And like I said before, I know this game."
ROOK: "Because I do the same thing."
(ROOK stops.)
ROOK: "Trust me. Takes one to know one."
ROOK: "It's bull**** because this was the most important case of Robert's Judicial Career. As the lines were drawn on it, it'd get shot down on Conservative Solidarity, and lead to a backward political debacle. The court would look partisan, and therefore weak. It'd be a black mark on his record. It'd be a black eye on his face."
ROOK: "No, he had his ego placate. Roberts had to have his legacy as Cheif Justice, and he had to have that legacy shine."
ROOK (smiles): "I am familiar with this sentiment."
(ROOK continues to amble.)
ROOK: "So he did what any person in charge of a evenly divided body would do to exploit the scenario for their own ends. He broke rank, and played both sides against each other, so that his will alone would rule the middle."
ROOK: "The decision itself smells strongly of this tactic. One one side for one aspect, on the other for the next, until the net gain is not that The Supreme Court of the United States made a hard decision, but the Chief Justice Roberts saved the day, applying a Judicial Twist on what the expectations where and breaking new ground."
ROOK: "Because Chief Justice Roberts loyalty is not to his party, or conservative values, or anything so absurd. He is loyal to himself, to his place in history, and to his legacy. And he made himself the star of the ACA's Judicial drama, and wrote himself as the hero at it's center."
ROOK: "It makes me smile to see such a well crafted piece of work. A maneuvering that plays for the game for the long odds, the long con, and the history that it creates."
ROOK: "It will be some time before you'll get to see his next move, but he's young, and he's got some juicy pieces of law coming down the pipe and I'm certain that when the time comes he'll do whatever is necessary to make sure that he is at the center of it all, holding each side in check, and making the ruling by his absolute lonesome."
ROOK: "And for his prize, he'll have history at his mercy, and a shining legacy to show for it."
ROOK: "Just. Like. Me."
(ROOK walks out of frame, chuckling to himself.)
