Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler

Ben Wittes says they are among “the very finest federal judges in the country,” and yet none of them will be serious contenders to replace David Souter.

The NYT reports: The Obama administration is moving toward reviving the military commission system for prosecuting Guant

There are two interesting mini-symposia on Souter this morning. The NYT‘s “Room for Debate” blog presents “The Judgment on Justice Souter,” featuring, among others, Akhil Amar, Lani Guinier, Kermit Roosevelt, and our own Orin Kerr. Tomorrow’s Washington Post will feature “Replacing Justice Souter,” with a line-up that includes Ben Wittes, Walter Dellinger, Ruth Wedgewood, and […]

The prevailing wisdom is that replacing Justice David Souter will not have a significant impact on the Supreme Court’s balance. For most high-profile, ideologically charged issues, this is probably true (at least in the near term). Justice Souter is generally quite “liberal,” and anyone President Obama nominates is likely to be quite liberal as well. […]

NBC News is reporting that Justice David Souter is, in fact, planning to retire, either at the end of this term or when his successor is confirmed. UPDATE: More from the AP: Justice David Souter has told the White House that he will retire from the Supreme Court at the end of the court’s term […]

The Justice Department has opened an inquiry into the proposed Google Books settlement. At the same time, the federal judge overseeing the proposed settlement has extended the deadline for authors to opt out as well as for other interested groups to file briefs with the court. So perhaps this settlement will get the scrutiny it […]

The Justice Department supports elimination of the sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine. Lanny A. Breuer, the new chief of the criminal division, told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee that the Obama administration would support bills to equalize punishment for offenders convicted of possessing the drug in either form, fulfilling one of the president’s campaign […]

Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals rebuffed the Justice Department’s assertion of the state secrets doctrine in an effort to dismiss a lawsuit against a company that allegedly facilitated the CIA’s extraordinary rendition of several individuals. The decision in Mohamed et al v Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. is here. Last night, President Obama indicated […]

The NYT reports that former OLC head Jay Bybee, who is now a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, released a statement in response to media reports that he regretted his role in drafting and approving some of the infamous “torture memos”: Judge Bybee said he was issuing a statement […]

While the headlines focus on the subject matter of today’s 5-4 Supreme Court ruling rejecting the broadcaster’s challenge to the FCC’s decision to sanction the broadcast of “fleeting expletives,” the real significance of FCC v. Fox Television Stations could be the decision’s impact on administrative law. As Eugene notes below, the Court avoided the underlying […]

The National Law Journal has an interesting article on the use of the 2004 Crime Victims Rights Act in environmental cases. To the chagrin of corporate defense lawyers, the 2004 Crime Victims Rights Act is increasingly turning up in the government’s environmental prosecutions, with victims fighting to be heard, especially at sentencing. The issue has […]

The Chevrolet Volt was a complete bust for General Motors, as Charles Lane explains in today’s Washington Post. GM wouldn’t be in quite so deep a hole if it had not sunk a billion dollars, and much of its corporate reputation, into a not-very-realistic plug-in electric hybrid vehicle known as the Chevrolet Volt. Likely to […]

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Senator Arlen Specter will switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party. This will have interesting implications for judicial nominations and the confirmation of some of President Obama’s more controversial executive branch nominees.

Today’s WSJ reports: The Obama administration and senior national-security officials are reviewing whether to release additional Central Intelligence Agency memos on interrogation methods, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Former Vice President Dick Cheney has requested that the administration declassify additional CIA memos that he said would show the tactics worked. Mr. Gibbs said on […]