Conservative Justices Might Make Conservative Rulings
USA Today's Joan Biskupic seems genuinely surprised that the appointment of a conservative Chief Justice and conservative Associate Justice to the Supreme Court by an ostensibly conservative president might shift the Court in a rightward direction. Now, granted, we don't really know because very few rulings have been handed down since Alito joined the court. But Biskupic can read the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on December 20, 2006 14:02
Wiretapping Judge and Conflict of Interest
Judicial Watch has investigated the financial records of Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, who last week ruled the NSA electronic surveillance program unconstitutional, may have a conflict of interest. According to her 2003 and 2004 financial disclosure statements, Judge Diggs Taylor served as Secretary and Trustee for the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan (CFSEM). She was reelected to this position in ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 23, 2006 07:58
Supremes Uphold Kansas Death Penalty Statute
The Supreme Court today upheld Kansas' death penalty law, affirming that states have substantial latitude in determining how to apply capital punishment. New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito broke a tie Monday to rule that Kansas' death penalty law is constitutional. By a 5-to-4 vote, the justices said the Kansas Supreme Court incorrectly interpreted the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on June 26, 2006 10:54
Whistleblowers Not Protected by 1st Amendment
The Supreme Court ruled today that government employees do not have First Amendment protection for speech made in conjunction with their official duties and may therefore not sue for adverse job action on that basis. The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it harder for government employees to file lawsuits claiming they were retaliated against for going public with allegations of official ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 30, 2006 11:56
Stacking the Courts with Right Wing Nutjobs
Dahlia Lithwick is foaming at the mouth over the prospect of President Bush appointing "nut job" judges to the bench to placate the Radical Right. What we're witnessing now are the early signs of flirtation that will lead the president to an inevitable embrace of his conservative base. And they have a message for him, too: Get naked now. Social conservatives are ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 18, 2006 13:01
Supreme Court Upholds Soloman Act 8-0
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Soloman Act, ruling that the federal government has a right to insist that colleges who take federal money allow recruiters on campus. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that colleges that accept federal money must allow military recruiters on campus, despite university objections to the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays. Justices rejected ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on March 6, 2006 11:05
The Growing Role of Bloggers
Jim Geraghty engages in a bit of blogger triumphalism in a Washington Times op-ed crowing over the withdrawal of Harriet Miers and subsequent confirmation of the more base-friendly Samuel Alito. When Miss Miers was nominated, the right half of the blogosphere wasn't quite united in opposition -- radio show host and blogger Hugh Hewitt fought a relentless battle to boost Miss ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on February 8, 2006 16:55
Alito Splits With Conservatives on Death Row Appeal
Justice Samuel Alito's first official act will have conservatives scratching their heads. New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito split with the court's conservatives Wednesday night, refusing to let Missouri execute a death-row inmate contesting lethal injection. Alito, handling his first case, sided with inmate Michael Taylor, who had won a stay from an appeals court earlier in the evening. Chief ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on February 2, 2006 00:39
Supreme Court Justices and SOTU
Dan Milbank has an amusing look at the dilemma facing Samuel Alito at his first State of the Union Address as a Supreme Court Justice: when to clap. At times, Alito followed the lead of the other three justices who sat with him in the front row. When Bush said "We love our freedom, and we will fight ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on February 1, 2006 08:39
Assessing Alito: Who Won?
Steve Bainbridge argues, persuasively, that the Gang of 14 was a success: "There were 14 more votes for cloture than for confirmation, proving that the deal was able to prevent a filibuster of a qualified but controversial candidate." Still, Michelle Malkin points out, correctly, that Alito was only able to be nominated because conservatives rallied together to derail Harriet Miers' appointment. Digby ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on January 31, 2006 15:51
