Some liberal commentators have sought to portray the Supreme Court as radically conservative and out-of-step with the American people. Interestingly enough, the public does not appear to agree, and does not want a more “liberal” court. On April 30, the Washington Post reported on a new Washington Post-ABC poll: Even though Obama and the Democratic […]
Archive | Supreme Court
Closing in on a Court Pick
Politico‘s Mike Allen thinks so. Jan Crawford profiles the pros and cons of the final four — SG Elena Kagan, and Judges Diane Wood, Sidney Thomas, and Merrick Garland — while most of the buzz surrounds Kagan and, to a lesser extent, Wood. For what it’s worth, I remain skeptical that SG Kagan would be […]
A Great Law School Dean Doesn’t Have to be a Great Scholar
By Ilya Somin on May 7, 2010 3:55 pm in Academia, Baseball, Judicial Nominations, Sports and Games, Supreme Court
Conservative blogger Paul Mirengoff and liberal law professor Paul Campos argue that Elena Kagan is poorly qualified for the Supreme Court because of what they argue is a weak record of scholarship. Mirengoff expresses incredulity that “you could publish so little and still become the dean of a major law school.” I have a much […]
Important Relist in First Amendment/Business Case
Although determining whether the Supreme Court has relisted a case is somewhat dicey before the Court actually updates its docket, it appears as though the Court has relisted one very important business case that was on for Friday’s conference: Cablevision Systems Corp v. FCC, 09-901, CA2 (Walker, Cabranes, Raggi), which presents the question whether the must-carry […]
The Supreme Court’s Entrance, Justice Breyer, and Foreign Law
Justice Breyer is famously willing to look to foreign law for ideas on how to resolve legal questions, saying that there’s no reason not to look at how foreign judges have solved sticky problems when he is confronted with similar issues. So I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Justice Breyer looks to foreign practice […]
Sixth Circuit Now 0-4 in Habeas Cases This Term
This morning the Supreme Court released its opinion in Renico v. Lett. By a vote of 6-3, the Court overturned a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granting habeas relief to Reginald Lett, who had been convicted of murder in Michigan. Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion begins with the following […]
What Will Kagan Say about AZ Immigration Law
While controversy rages over Arizona’s recently passed illegal immigration law, the Supreme Court is considering whether to hear a legal challenge to an earlier Arizona immigration measure signed into law by then-Governor Janet Napolitano, and wants to hear the Solicitor General’s views. As the LA Times reports: In November, the justices asked Kagan to file […]
Debate on constitutionality of Obamacare
By David Kopel on April 30, 2010 1:03 am in Congress, Constitutional History, Economic LIberties, Federalism, Health Care, Supreme Court
Held on April 28 at the University of Colorado law school, under the sponsorship of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado. Arguing in favor of constitutionality was Jean Dubofsky, former Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. Arguing the other side was me. The video is here. (Video and audio are often out of sync […]
SCOTUSReport.com
The Federalist Society has launched SCOTUSReport.com, a new website focused on President Obama’s forthcoming Supreme Court nomination.
Reading The Tea Leaves for the Supreme Court’s November and December 2009 Sittings
With the Supreme Court’s two opinions today in Merck & Co. v. Reynolds and Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., there are now only four cases outstanding from the Court’s December sitting, and all of them are potentially blockbusters: Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB (involving the constitutionality of the Public Companies Accounting Oversight Board, created by […]
After Stolt-Nielsen v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp.: Deciding When Class Arbitration Is Permissible
There may not be much interest among the general readership in today’s opinion in Stolt-Nielsen SA v. AnimalFeeds International Corp., but it’s an important decision for businesses. The Court held by a 5-3 vote (with Justice Sotomayor recusing herself), along the familiar ideological lines, that the Federal Arbitration Act does not permit imposition of class […]
The Short List
Jan Crawford reports on President Obama’s short list of nine potential nominees to replace Justice John Paul Stevens.
The Supreme Court and Presidential Signing Statements: United States v. Stevens
One of the things that struck me during the kerfuffle about presidential signing statements during the Bush Administration was the widely held belief that presidential signing statements were immediately and consistently implemented throughout the Executive Branch. In my experience, signing statements are typically used simply to “lay down a marker” with Congress by saying where […]
In What Sense is the Personal Health Insurance Mandate “Unconstitutional”?
When discussing the “constitutionality” of a governmental action, one must distinguish between three senses of “constitutionality”: (1) What the Constitution says and means; (2) what the Supreme Court has said and meant, and (3) whether there are five votes on the Supreme Court to uphold or invalidate the action. Because of my well-known view that […]
The Democratic Strategist misdescribes some legal issues
By David Kopel on April 13, 2010 12:44 am in Constitutional History, Health Care, Politics, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom, Supreme Court
The Democratic Strategist (co-edited by William Galston, Stan Greenberg, and Ruy Teixeira) aims to provide “serious, data-based discussion of Democratic political strategy.” Today, a special “Urgent” issue was published, regarding the Supreme Court and warning about the “covert extremist agenda” of the Republican right. The report raises an alarm about the legal agenda currently promoted […]