Steve Benen addresses this argument: The conservative Washington Times ran a headline yesterday that read, "Sotomayor reversed 60% by high court." The article quoted a right-wing activist saying, "Her high reversal rate alone should be enough for us to pause and take a good look at her record." Rachel Maddow had a great segment on this GOP talking point last … Read More
The Newest Anti-Sotomayor Meme
OMG! OMG! She's a member of "La Raza" which means "The Race"! Scary foreign-sounding name, so it must be a scary radical terrorist group or something. Seriously, that's the cry from the far right this afternoon: As President Obama's Supreme Court nominee comes under heavy fire for allegedly being a "racist," Judge Sonia Sotomayor is listed as a member of … Read More
Sotomayor, Minority Status, and “Empathy”
The Republicans are going to go ballistic about this quote from the Supreme Court nominee: "[W]hen a case comes before me involving, let's say, someone who is an immigrant — and we get an awful lot of immigration cases and naturalization cases — I can't help but think of my own ancestors, because it wasn't that long ago when they … Read More
Sotomayor Socialist
It's early yet, but I'll bet we're going to hear LOTS about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's 1976 Princeton yearbook photo. Who is this "Norman Thomas" that she quotes? From Wikipedia: Norman Mattoon Thomas (1884—1968) was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. Oh, hell's bells. UPDATE: And if you don't … Read More
So It’s Sotomayer
You probably know this by now: President Obama announced on Tuesday that he will nominate the federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, choosing a daughter of Puerto Rican parents raised in Bronx public housing projects to become the nation’s first Hispanic justice. Judge Sotomayor, who stood next to the president during the announcement, was described by Mr. … Read More
An Open Letter To The President
Dear President Obama, I understand that there may be a position opening on the Supreme Court. Just to let you know, I'm a lawyer. I know that's not a prerequisite, but I think it helps. And I'm a liberal, but dogmatically so. I can sit on a bench all day if that is what the job requires, although I hope … Read More
And Now The Madness Begins
Souter is planning to retire at the end of this term. Which means we're in for months and months of maddening news cycles about who Obama will nominate, will the Senate Republicans block, "up or down" votes, etc etc etc. UPDATE: Professor Orin Kerr has already provided the talking points for both sides: Republicans first: The Supreme Court is losing … Read More
How NOT To Avoid Jury Duty
The court was not amused.
Crimes Committed During “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
People are compiling a list. So far: By Ferris Truancy Many many many moving violations Odometer fraud (tampering): 49 U.S.C. § 32703(2) Odometer fraud (conspiracy): 49 U.S.C. § 32703(4) Computer tampering (when he changes his attendance record): 720 ILCS 5/Art. 16D – 3 Car theft Disorderly conduct (jumping on parade float): 720 ILCS 5/26‑1 Copyright violation (singing "Twist and Shout" … Read More
Strip-Searching Students
Ah, the days when I used to write in detail about Supreme Court cases in this blog are long in the past. A shame, really. But the Supremes did happen to hear a rather interesting Fourth Amendment case yesterday. I should preface by saying that the nation's highest court hears a lot of Fourth Amendment cases: in the neighborhood of … Read More
Bryan Fischer’s Religious Right To Hate Is Being Threatened
Renew America columnist Bryan Fischer writes ("Our choice: liberty or homosexual agenda"): On the pages of the Idaho Statesman, the Gem State's largest newspaper, Amy Herzfeld recently expressed her determination to continue pressing for legislation at the state level that will grant special workplace protections to those who engage in homosexual and transgender sexual behaviors. Laws that provide special rights and … Read More
Right Wing Bloggers Angry At Homeland Security For Monitoring Right Wing Extremists
It all started, as these things often do, with Michelle Malkin: Yesterday, Roger Hedgecock and the Liberty Papers posted an unclassified DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis report titled: Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment. Malkin called the DHS report (from “Obama’s” DHS) “a sweeping indictment of conservatives.” She seems to think this … Read More
In Which I Answer A Dumb Question From Clarence Thomas
So he was appearing at a rare speaking engagement: The event, on March 31, was devoted to the Bill of Rights, but Justice Thomas did not embrace the document, and he proposed a couple of alternatives. ‘Today there is much focus on our rights,” Justice Thomas said. “Indeed, I think there is a proliferation of rights.” “I am often surprised … Read More
At Some Point, We’re Going To Have To Address This….
Last Sunday, in a post about the Pittsburgh shootings of three police officers, I wrote: I’m afraid we are going to see a lot more of this… Well… On Tuesday, Clarence Douglas Phillips shot and killed his girlfriend near Raleigh, North Carolina. He then shot and killed a detective and wounded another cop in the shootout that followed. He died … Read More
Iowa, The Trailblazer
Some are astounded that the Iowa courts were so forward-thinking when they recognized, last week, the right of gays to be married. But I was re-reading the court's opinion, and noticed that the judges would like you all to know that Iowa has always been at the forefront of applying equal protection to minorities. Good for you, Hawkeyes.