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06 Oct 2010 22:49

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U.S.: The Supreme Court has a field day with the Westboro Baptist Church

  • This is a case about exploiting a private family’s grief.The question is: Why should the First Amendment tolerate exploiting this Marine’s family when you have so many other forums for getting across your message?
  • Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Asking the best question of the day to Westboro Baptist Church lawyer (and member) Margie J. Phelps, who represented the church in their case against the family of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, whose funeral they protested way back in 2006. While wanting to favor free speech as much as possible, the justices clearly struggled with this case, with many trying to find a narrow path that allowed them to limit the private-person-damaging hate speech of a group like Westboro while not affecting other kinds of speech. Fortunately, Phelps made it easy on them, suggesting that wounded soldiers shouldn’t have a cause of action if they’re being protested against by a group similar to hers. At that point, the justices jumped on her. It’ll still be a number of months before we know how this one plays out, guys.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Oct 2010 11:52

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U.S.: Three ways the new Supreme Court docket could affect your life

  • goods eBay could be under the gun if Omega watches wins their copyright lawsuit against CostCo regarding the sale of goods from abroad. The issue: Does the first-sale doctrine apply to imported goods?
  • games California’s ban on the sale of violent video games to minors is also under the gun in the current Supreme Court session. The EFF and the MPAA, sworn enemies otherwise, want to see the ban overturned.
  • business AT&T is trying to say that it’s allowed personal privacy in a FOIA case; the FCC disagrees. If SCOTUS sides with the phone company, businesses could get a lot more evil under the guise of privacy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2010 05:43

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U.S.: We may get an early Supreme Court preview of the Prop 8 case

  • firstJudge Vaughn Walker decided that Wednesday would be the day he’d take the hold off of gay marriage in California.
  • thenThe supporters of Prop 8 decided to appeal the stay to the famously liberal U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • now The appeals court will decide by Monday, at which point it could go to Supreme Court Justice Antony Kennedy. source
  • » Why it’s a preview: Two reasons. First, Kennedy is the swing vote on the court, meaning what he decides could be an early harbinger of the full case. Second, Kennedy may ask for guidance from the court on where to go next. So, Prop 8 followers, we may find out soon whether or not gay marriage is likely to get legalized in the U.S.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Aug 2010 20:39

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U.S.: Get ready: Elena Kagan officially the new John Paul Stevens

  • 63 senators voted for Kagan; the rest got  screamed “NAY”
  • 111 the number of justices that have served the court; she’ll be lucky 112
  • 3 the number of women that have served; she’ll be the fourth source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jul 2010 23:46

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U.S.: Litmus test: The NYT compares your views to the Supreme Court’s

  • Liberal or conservative? The New York Times has this awesome feature about the Supreme Court and how your opinion compares to the American public at large. OK, so they didn’t give Iowa’s flooding big play, but this almost makes up for it. Almost. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2010 13:18

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U.S.: Elena Kagan’s nomination out of committee, on way to confirmation

  • 13-6 the vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee to back Kagan
  • one Republican, Lindsey Graham, broke ranks to support her source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jun 2010 12:02

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U.S.: Gun rights: Key points of today’s Supreme Court ruling

  • one The ruling strikes down a strict Chicago ordinance that didn’t even allow guns at home.
  • two The ruling is broad, and  says the Second Amendment is valid at state and local levels.
  • three The ruling had an even 5-4 split between conservative and liberal-leaning judges. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Jun 2010 10:53

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U.S.: Can U.S. humanitarian groups offer aid to terror-tied groups?

  • NO the Supreme Court said that was prohibited source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2010 12:06

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Politics: Elena Kagan could bring unique profanities to the Supreme Court

  • OK, that settles it. Anyone who uses the word ‘unf*&#ing-believable’ is an OK Supreme Court justice in my book. Think of the dissenting opinions!
  • Gawker blogger Adrian Chen • Responding to the Clinton Presidential library’s release of a number of Elena Kagan’s e-mails from her period in the administration. To answer the obvious question: Yes, she swore a lot back then. And yes, like Gawker, we hope she swears even more as a Supreme Court justice. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jun 2010 12:20

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Politics: What are Elena Kagan’s positions? Let’s guess and speculate.

  • Anyone want to dig through Elena Kagan’s old documents and take a guess as to how she’d decide major court cases? If so, the New York Times has a couple of papers they want you to read. It’s kinda like reading Sanskrit. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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