Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Law Supreme Court members feted by key lawyer
Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Nov 16, 2011 at 7:19 AM
They don't call the U.S. Supreme Court supreme for nothing. Ethical rules don't apply to them. Clarence Thomas' household can be enriched by payments from people with many direct interests in cases before the court, for example
Then there was this in the LA Times this week:
The day the Supreme Court gathered behind closed doors to consider the politically divisive question of whether it would hear a challenge to President Obama’s healthcare law, two of its justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, were feted at a dinner sponsored by the law firm that will argue the case before the high court.
The Bancroft law firm was one of the sponsors of the Federalist Society dinner honoring Scalia and Thomas. Paul Clement of that law firm likely will argue the case to strike down the health care reform law. Clement is also a leader in legal efforts to bar marriage for gay people and to enforce Arizona's punitive anti-immigration law. He can get a big howdy from his pals should he argue those cases, too.
In a sense, it doesn't matter. The Scalia-Thomas votes could have been mailed in.
Speaking of...
-
A futile jab at Citizens United
May 21, 2012Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued a statement today that he'd joined 22 other a.g.s in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its Citizens United decision lifting federal restrictions on corporate campaign spending. /more/
-
The Wednesday line
April 25, 2012Prize cabbage. Girls Gone Wild. Casino gambling. It was that kind of day in Arkansas. /more/
-
Reporter finds hope for health care in Supreme Court arguments
April 5, 2012Linda Greenhouse, the esteemed former Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times, continues to blog on legal matters for the newspaper and today offers a case that the partisan Supreme Court majority didn't necessarily demonstrate a reflexive anti-Obama stance in its questioning of attorneys during oral arguments on the health care reform law. /more/
-
The court and American health care
March 29, 2012Will the U.S. Supreme Court really rule unconstitutional a law that provides for health care for all Americans, whether they've been sick previously or been too poor to afford insurance premiums but not poor enough for federal assistance? /more/
-
Justices go after insurance mandate
March 27, 2012If the morning's tough questioning is any indication, it looks like the U.S. Supreme Court may kill the insurance mandate. /more/
- More »
Comments (11)
Showing 1-11 of 11
.
While yesterday Mz Bates found your Newt-Samonite remark outstanding, today
I find this one deserving of the archives:
"In a sense, it doesn't matter. The Scalia-Thomas votes could have been mailed in."
Lest anyone entertain any pretense of a "living Constitution."
like
dislike
write something about the lesbo Kagan who will sit on the Obama care case, even though she has stated she favored the law when she was a solicitor general. Biased Brantley at it again
Didn't you know, eLwood? She was added to the Supreme Court to improve their softball team. Therefore she is a lesbian.
I have no problem with the dinner. It likely was scheduled long ago and perhaps is even an annual event. If the Federalist Society is going to hail these men, the honorees may as well be there. And, as Max says, these are two votes the anti healthcare reform folks can take to the bank. I'd be okay with the ACLU or NAACP honoring a justice; I'm fine with the Federalist Society doing so at what turns out to be an historic moment.
Now, the funding of Mr. Justice Thomas's household by anti reform elements is a horse of a different color. . . . .
Methinks I remember some discussion in conservative circles about Kagan recusing from the case. Apparently that meme did not test well in Frank Luntz's focus groups.
Can you imagine what the republican noise machine would do if Breyer/Kagan attended a similar luncheon with a group of liberal lawyers? The world would stop. The media would MELTDOWN with questions of impropriety, etc...
This is why I send a token to the ACLU every year. If these two do not recuse, I hope the ACLU will go after them. When they do, I'll add to my token.
Max is right. It doesn't matter a bit that the Scalia-Thomas twins are bottom-feeding with the Federalists. They have already voted.
Whether Kagan is lesbo or not doesn't matter, if her personal opinion favors the health care law doesn't matter. What matters is she can make an unbiased decision based on the constitution, Scalia-Thomas not so much.
Hate to spoil your narrative, Max.
http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/…
And TAP, are you equally concerned about Kagan's conflict?
More by Author
-
Pipelines over people
Meet Julia Trigg Crawford, a Texas farmer. She doesn't want the Keystone XL pipeline to cross her property and imperil her water supply.
- May 8, 2012
-
The morning news roundup
I was a touch surprised that no news organization, including the daily newspaper — which has covered the subject extensively in the past — picked up the news reported here yesterday that a taxpayer lawsuit now seems likely to end the practice of state legislators supplementing their paychecks unconstitutionally with undocumented expense reimbursements.
- Mar 10, 2012
- More »
Event Calendar
-
Re: Yarnell's scooping again; reveals flavor list
I couldn't agree more! But the flavor I love the most is Death by Chocolate!…
- on May 25, 2012
-
Re: Riverfest eve open line UPDATE
I think about this print stuff a lot and believe I see the future though…
- on May 25, 2012
-
Re: Riverfest eve open line UPDATE
It is indeed sad to see the Times-Picayune in such a reduced state. The depressing…
- on May 25, 2012
Top Commenters
Blogroll
Slideshows
-
Police close the Occupy Little Rock camp, perhaps the last Occupy encampment on public land.
Site Index
News
Cover Story / Arkansas Reporter / The Week That Was / Smart Talk / The Insider / The Observer / Editorial / Max Brantley / Ernest Dumas / Gene Lyons / Bob Lancaster / Words / Guest Writer / Letters
Entertainment
A&E Feature / To-Do List / In Brief / Movie Reviews / Music Reviews / Theater Reviews / A&E News / Art Notes / Graham Gordy / Books / Media / Dining Reviews / Dining Guide / What's Cookin' / Calendar / The Televisionist / Movie Listings / Gallery Listings
This Week's Cover
Quick Links
Special Publications
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
