Courting controversy: Judge out front on hot-button issues

"It's just not something we see a lot of, but I don't think it's wrong or something judges shouldn't engage in," Metos said. "It certainly takes a lot more time and energy to do it that way than simply waiting for the parties to raise the issues.

"He is an extremely smart judge, extremely energetic," he said. "I think that's the combination that gets him classified as the active or proactive judge."

The judge, who looks younger than his 45 years, rocks in his chair throughout hearings, steepling his fingers and pressing them to his lips in thought. He asks questions that often catch their target off guard and is always quick with a quip or a hypothetical scenario.

"I enjoy the challenge in terms of — you find yourself arguing both against the government, but you also have to anticipate where the judge is coming from and answer his questions," Metos said.

During his confirmation process, Cassell was strongly opposed by liberal politicians and organizations. The Alliance for Justice questioned his ability to rule fairly when he had "dedicated his legal career to restricting the rights of criminal defendants," and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., expressed "grave doubts about his intellectual forthrightness and his capacity and willingness to put aside the extreme views he has long held."

However, legal observers have since had a difficult time pinning the judge down to either side of the aisle.

Cassell's resume certainly paints the portrait of a conservative jurist. He clerked for former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger and current Justice Antonin Scalia at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and served as a deputy attorney general in the Reagan administration.

And although Luna hails him as "one of the most accomplished conservative scholars and advocates in the United States," he says Cassell has taken a new persona since taking the bench.

"Because he is a conscientious man who understands the difference between being an advocate and being a judge, he has avowed a particular perspective as a judge and it's neither conservative nor liberal," he said.

The opinions Cassell has issued since joining the bench bear that out, Luna said. They are always well thought out and well researched, and they always follow the law rather than any one political perspective.

Metos agrees. "I wouldn't say he's a conservative, per se. Some of his views don't follow the standard conservative line, others do. So it's sort of hard to pigeonhole him. He's pretty much his own person."

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com