Wednesday Writs: SCOTUS, Gorsuch, and The Amalgamation of Bostock
When SCOTUS took up the cases, many feared the worst from a Court that is conservative-heavy. The 6-3, Gorsuch-authored opinion was a surprise.
Tagged: supreme court
Wednesday Writs: Mailing It In Edition
Qualified Immunity, a blockbuster summer for the Supreme Court, lawyers going to lawyer, and a $67 million dollar lawsuit over missing paints in Wednesday Writs.
Unqualified: The Winding Road of Qualified Immunity
Somewhere along the way, Qualified Immunity was twisted to shield officers from consequences of actions no one can argue were ambiguous in wrongness.
The People’s Court: Live-streaming the Supreme Court
People would be better off realizing how often a Supreme Court decision rests on a legal technicality or procedural element, as opposed to the merits of a particular position.
Wednesday Writs: Say It to My Face Edition
The confrontation clause — the right to face one’s accuser — is among the most well-known of our constitutionally guaranteed criminal rights.
Notorious but Cancer-Free RBG Returns
The ghoulish ritual of wielding the health & mortality of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg around as a political cudgel can be suspended, at least for now.
Politics, Empathy and the Kavanaugh Thing
It became readily apparent that the [Kavanaugh] fight was not about his judicial philosophy or whether the allegations of sexual misconduct were true. It rapidly became a war between our two political tribes in which the only thing that mattered was victory and in which each side was living in its own reality.
The Kavanaugh Dog and Pony Show Commenceth
This movie will end like the Gorsuch show did, the outcome having been scripted with the 2016 election results. The Democrats do not have the votes, and barring something very unforeseen there will be a vote on Judge Kavanaugh sometime in the next 30 days or so.
Poll: Majority of Registered Voters Support Term-Limits for SCOTUS
Politico/Morning Consult have some polling data out, taken after the Kavanaugh SCOTUS pick, and Sixty-one percent support term limits for Supreme Court justices, support that crosses party affiliation; two-thirds of polled Democrats and 58 percent of Republicans. 20% overall oppose limits.
“Travel Ban” Well-Within Trump’s Authority, Says Divided SCOTUS
The predictable split of the Court on this matter portends the inevitable split between the left and right leaning citizenry, as many decisions this term have done. With the strong, provocative rhetoric from our President which underlies the whole thing, it is hard to reconcile the two sides.
Year of the Gerrymander
Tipping point. An idea whose time has come. Don’t get caught on the wrong side of history.
Plausible Misconceptions
Ignorance is not only ignorance, and we need to understand why others make the mistakes they do.
Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! The 2016 First Monday In October Report Is Here!
A preview of selected cases appearing on the United States Supreme Court’s docket for the 2016-2017 Term.
Big Monday, 2015
The Supreme Court adjourns for the Term with decisions about redistricting, air pollution, and executions. Burt Likko summarizes each of them, and offers a sad observation about judicial comity losing one of its most prominent sentinels,
The Highest Profile Legal Writing Clinic Ever
The legal writing in Obergefell v. Hodges is both a model and a caution for future writers, especially those who, like lawyers, would write to persuade.
Delivering Due Deference
Chief Justice Roberts was nearly silent during oral argument, and then wrote the 6-3 majority opinion in today’s Obamacare case. Burt Likko replies to Justice Antonin Scalia’s accusations of through-the-looking-glass judicial activism.
