More opinions are to be announced Wednesday and Thursday. Expect the Noel Canning and Hobby Lobby cases then. That is all.
Burt Likko is the pseudonym of an attorney in Southern California. His interests include Constitutional law with a special interest in law relating to the concept of separation of church and state, cooking, good wine, and bad science fiction movies. Follow his sporadic Tweets at @burtlikko, and his Flipboard at Burt Likko.
Burt Likko
Pseudonymous Portlander. Pursuer of happiness. Bon vivant. Homebrewer. Atheist. Recovering Republican. Recovering Catholic. Recovering divorcé. Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Ordinary Times. Relapsed Lawyer, admitted to practice law (under his real name) in California and Oregon. There's a Twitter account at @burtlikko, but not used for posting on the general feed anymore. House Likko's Words: Scite Verum. Colite Iusticia. Vivere Con Gaudium.
Thanks to your generosity, we were able to upgrade our service plan. Hopefully this will help us address some of our performance issues.
on Open Mic for the week of 12/30/2024I forgot to mention this due to my post playoff clinching stupor yesterday but I saw Nosferatu on Su…
on A Public Funeral For A Man Out Of Step With The PublicThe Final Days of Real Sport
on My Top 12 Films Of 2024: One Critic’s Best Of The Year ListI thought about conclave.This movie had stunning cinematography. for what could be a simple adaptati…
on Joe Biden Agrees that Some People *DO* Deserve the Death PenaltyI’m honestly not sure if there’s anyone on the list of 37 that would be borderline. Depends on how b…
on Open Mic for the week of 12/23/2024People say H-1B visas are bad because they give employers too much leverage over workers (for the re… on Joe Biden Agrees that Some People *DO* Deserve the Death PenaltySo what the anti-death penalty want is not something that Biden is capable of doing. Their ultimate…
on Open Mic for the week of 12/30/2024It's like an Ancien Regime court where sleeping at the King's bed or being his Gentleman of the Stoo…
on Open Mic for the week of 12/23/2024I can actually speak with some authority on such things. Admittedly second-hand, but close at hand.…
on Joe Biden Agrees that Some People *DO* Deserve the Death PenaltyYou're over thinking this. The United States exists and would respond harshly to violent efforts to… on Joe Biden Agrees that Some People *DO* Deserve the Death PenaltyI suppose the big difference between the Zionists and the Anti-Zionists is that the Anti-Zionists be…
December 30, 2024
December 29, 2024
December 28, 2024
Alone at Last or The Curse of a Sleepy Eye
December 26, 2024
on Open Mic for the week of 12/23/2024 on Open Mic for the week of 12/23/2024 on Joe Biden Agrees that Some People *DO* Deserve the Death Penalty
on Jimmy Carter Passes at Age 100 on Open Mic for the week of 12/23/2024 on Open Mic for the week of 12/23/2024 on Open Mic for the week of 12/23/2024
on Open Mic for the week of 12/23/2024 on Open Mic for the week of 12/30/2024 on Joe Biden Agrees that Some People *DO* Deserve the Death Penalty on Open Mic for the week of 12/30/2024 on Joe Biden Agrees that Some People *DO* Deserve the Death Penalty on Open Mic for the week of 12/30/2024 on Joe Biden Agrees that Some People *DO* Deserve the Death Penalty on Joe Biden Agrees that Some People *DO* Deserve the Death Penalty
I have very mixed feelings about the Court waiting until the end of term to release the major decisions.
On the one hand, I am sure that these cases get debated through a luck of memo writing behind the scenes.
On the other hand, I can’t help but think that they do it so they can flee for vacation and avoid the heat of the kitchen from the results.Report
This term has not been nearly so end-punctuated as others. Several big cases like McCutcheon v. FEC (election contributions), Town of Greece v. Galloway (Establishment clause), Schuette v. BAMN (affirmative action), and Executive Benefits v. Arkison (role of bankruptcy courts) have all been handed down already.Report
@burt-likko
You are forgetting Real Housewives of the Supreme Court!
That was the case I was waiting for.Report
Egad. I pray that’s not really a thing.Report
While probably of interest to only a small subset of us, today’s decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA is significant. IANAL, but on first reading, “tortured” is the adjective that comes to mind. Well, Alito’s dissent (Thomas concurring) is clear enough: “The rest of you all got it wrong in Massachusetts v. EPA, you’re still wrong, and greenhouse gases simply can’t be regulated under the CAA.” Otherwise, it seems to set things up for a decade’s worth of challenges to every attempt that will be made to actually regulate greenhouse gases from fixed sources.Report
Maybe “cobbled together” is the adjective I’m looking for. I admit, this is one where I would love to be able to have a transcript of all the memos and conversations that went into putting it together.Report
Any predictions/thoughts on Harris v. Quinn?Report
They saved it for the last day, so that suggests it’s been some combination of exacting from a research perspective, and contentious from a disposition perspective. The 7th Circuit has gone 3-for-3 this term, and that bucks a 3:1 reversal ratio that’s been a highlight of the Roberts Court. I’d look for a 5-4 vote for reversal, I’m guessing Alito writing for majority on free association grounds, and Breyer leading the dissent on ripeness grounds.Report
Thanks for the thoughts. I imagine the fair share provision will be invalidated, but the decision won’t wipe out fair share generally, just in this case because of the weird medicaid issues. However, I don’t really know and am just spitballing. (I’ve listened to the oral arguments, but didn’t read the briefs, and ianal, etc.)Report
I’m expecting decisions in Hobby Lobby, Noel Canning, and McCullen tomorrow. And my term recap is mostly written now. Thing is, I have about a dozen trials starting about an hour and a half after the decisions are to be announced. So, bear with me tomorrow while I keep my own bills paid and we’ll have a recap ready to go.Report