Pondering Judge Roberts' mold

Tom Goldstein in this post wraps up his commentary for the night by suggesting that Judge Roberts as a Justice is likely to "be like William Rehnquist, his former boss."  Put another way, it seems that President Bush may have actually nominated a Justice more in the mold of Chief Justice Rehnquist than in the mold of Justices Scalia or Thomas. 

For lots of issues and cases — including many criminal justice issues and cases — the differences in these molds may often prove inconsequential.  But, as I have stressed in posts here and here, the differences between Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Scalia and Thomas in the Apprendi-Blakely-Booker line of cases is quite pronounced and consequential.  After Judge Roberts is confirmed (which seems a near certainty), I hope that SCOTUS will start grant cert on many of the pressing post-Blakely and post-Booker questions so that we can swiftly discover Judge Roberts' true sentencing mold.