In the final round of selecting Justice Stevens' successor, the rumored short list came down to one candidate with a good record on criminal law, two with awful records, and one with no record at all. The President chose door number four.

Will the confirmation process give us a lighthouse in the fog? Based on recent experience, the answer is almost surely no. The reason I hedge with "almost" is that one of the major critics of the practice of nominees shedding no light is now the nominee.

The WaPo has this document under the heading, "Views on death penalty, obscenity." Um, not really. It is a questionnaire from the SG confirmation, in which she says nothing about her views on the death penalty but affirms that as the advocate for the U.S. she will argue its position as expressed in legislation.

So we know almost nothing at this point. Stay tuned.