They are not often reversed. I think that's partly because the 4th Circuit is relatively conservative as the Supreme Court is coming to be.

This court certainly doesn't lack self-confidence. It's a conservative activism for the most part, but the justices aren't afraid to decide where the legal lines are drawn.

They are willing to test the boundaries of present U.S. Supreme Court doctrine.

I think the document has to be read from a commonsense perspective. The constitution is not a suicide pact. In a sense, that has to be the answer.

We're talking about a constitution that is in its third century. That's really quite remarkable among any of the nations of the world. It suggests an essential stability of our political system that many may envy but not many can emulate.

In many ways, the U.S. Supreme Court remains the paradigm.