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17 May 2010 11:09

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U.S.: Key Supreme Court decision No. 2: Limiting life sentences for juveniles

  • 5-4 the Supreme Court’s decision, which says that juveniles can’t be sentenced to life in prison for non-murder crimes
  • 111 number of juvenile prisoners with sentences of this nature nationwide; 77 of them are in Florida alone source
  • » Quick analysis: Despite the fairly tight vote breakdown, this may be the less controversial of the two decisions announced today. (It was nearly 6-3, but Chief Justice John Roberts disagreed with the categorical ban of the sentences.) Most of the sentences of this nature were happening in one part of the country, and the prisoner at the center of the case, Terrance Jamar Graham, was sentenced to life in prison on a 2005 parole violation after he took part in an armed robbery – a harsh sentence for a case of that nature.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 May 2010 10:53

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U.S.: Key Supreme Court decision No. 1: Holding sex offenders indefinitely

  • The federal government, as custodian of its prisoners, has the constitutional power to act in order to protect nearby (and other) communities from the danger such prisoners may pose.
  • Justice Stephen Breyer • Writing the majority opinion on the case, which the court decided 7-2. This does not affect all sex offenders, but ones who could remain “sexually dangerous” to the community after their release. Which means that sex offenders, who already have been zoned out of many jurisdictions in areas throughout the country, will likely lose even more rights thanks to this decision. (Good, the commenters on the CNN article we linked to say.) There are some heavy issues with this decision and are curious how controversial it will prove. Will it overcrowd the prison system further? Will it encourage more rehabilitation of sex offenders within prison? Either way, this is a heady case. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2010 10:12

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Politics: Elena Kagan’s big public problem? People don’t know her yet

  • 40% of people have a positive or fair opinion of Kagan
  • 36% have a fair or negative opinion of the Supreme Court nominee
  • 24% are wondering who the heck you’re talking about source
  • » How does this compare? Not very well, actually. People’s positive opinions of Kagan are lower than any of the other four nominees since 2005, including a full seven points below Sonia Sotomayor. The reason for this, mostly, is the high number of “no opinions” – most of Bush’s choices scored around 15 percent there.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 May 2010 10:11

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Politics: Some on the left are all grumbley about Elena Kagan

  • Why do the conservatives always get the conservatives, but we don’t get to get the liberals? What the hell is that all about?
  • Sen. Tom Harkin • Speaking before Kagan’s nomination, when it merely seemed likely she’d get the nod. Harkin isn’t alone on this stance. Many on the left were hoping that someone as liberal as Thurgood Marshall would get nominated. He’s the last outspoken liberal the court has had, and he was nominated in 1967. Instead, they’re all like, she’s not as liberal as Antonin Scalia is conservative! Gah! *GRUMBLE!* source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

11 May 2010 09:58

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Politics: Old Elena Kagan: Supreme Court confirmations need to be tougher

  • 1995 Kagan wrote a paper while at the University of Chicago suggesting that Supreme Court nominees rarely got asked tough questions.
  • 2009 Kagan, a year before her own nomination, backed off her own tough stances. Who wants to bet they’ll come up? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 May 2010 20:55

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Politics: Andrew Sullivan asks what more than a few people are thinking

  • Is Obama actually going to use a Supreme Court nominee to advance the cause of the closet (as well as kill any court imposition of marriage equality)? And can we have a clear, factual statement as to the truth? In a free society in the 21st Century, it is not illegitimate to ask. And it is cowardly not to tell.
  • Super-blogger Andrew Sullivan • Breaking into detail about a question referring to Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan: “So is she gay?” Sullivan, isn’t exactly trying for the homophobia card or anything like that – dude’s HIV-positive and long-openly-gay, so his cards are already on the table. But he raises a good point. If the never-married Kagan is in fact gay, this means that she could be in a position to shape gay rights a certain way as a Supreme Court justice. And Obama should be forthright about this. (For balance purposes, we should note that Hanna Rosin of Slate’s Double X suggests this debate is in fact not OK.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 6 Comments • Permalink

10 May 2010 10:20

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Politics: Here’s the conservative spin on SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan

  • Among Supreme Court nominees over the last 50 years or more, Kagan may well be the nominee with the least amount of relevant experience.
  • Ethics and Public Policy Center president Ed Whelan • Regarding Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Technically, he’s right – she hasn’t been a judge unlike any of the other justices. In fact, she’s an aberration because many presidents have been wary of nominating a Supreme Court justice without a history of judicial decisions under their belt. That said, her resume is pretty stacked otherwise. We’re guessing that someone who’s worked as the dean of Harvard’s law school and as the Solicitor General probably knows a thing or two about making astute legal decisions. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

09 May 2010 22:24

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U.S.: Five reasons why Elena Kagan is an obvious SCOTUS pick

  • one She’s 50, exactly the right age to run for the court. She’d grow really old there.
  • two Loaded with a stellar resume he has an East Coast background, like other justices.
  • three She’s solicitor general. She already argues high court cases for Obama.
  • four She’s already faced the Senate already, meaning confirmation will be fairly easy.
  • five People have been talking about her getting the job like it’s already a given. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2010 22:14

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Politics: Elena Kagan’s the SCOTUS nominee? Duh, guys. Twitter reacts



Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 May 2010 16:03

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U.S.: High Court justices upset that they can’t walk in through the front

  • I write in the hope that the public will one day in the future be able to enter the Court’s Great Hall after passing under the famous words ‘Equal Justice Under Law.’
  • Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer • On the new security measures for the main entrance to the Supreme Court – a giant stairwell designed by Cass Gilbert back in the 1930s. Now, instead of being able to enter that bastion of law and justice as it was designed, people now have to enter through the side and go through security. Both Breyer and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg complained about the changes, with Breyer saying about Gilbert’s design, “Time has proven the success of Gilbert’s vision: To many members of the public, this Court’s main entrance and front steps are not only a means to, but also a metaphor for, access to the Court itself.” We wonder what the more right-leaning justices think about this change. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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