While I will readily accept that my end-of-term comments are even less relevant than usual because they are so belligerently late, I still think I have a few interesting things to point out about the nearly-finished term. First, and least controversially, Justice Kennedy still controls an important position in the middle of the Court. Justice [...]

A little over a year and a half ago, in a piece analyzing the Justice Department transition from Clinton to Bush, I wrote: Unsurprisingly, one factor that is very seldom discussed in Election 2008 coverage is how the candidates would treat the DoJ if elected, both ideologically and logistically. Perhaps it’s time for Wolf Blitzer [...]

AJ and James have had a little disagreement about the constitutionality / advisability of age-discrimination laws. I’m not sure that my ideas on the advisability of such legislation would add much to the discussion, but have a few comments to add as to the constitutionality of legislation that targets certain age groups. The Supreme Court [...]

Unlike the flagship conservative judicial philosophy of originalism, I think there is a lot of value in ‘strict constructionism.’ I’m pretty sure that most people would agree with me wholeheartedly because ‘strict constructionism’ is one of those universally good concepts along with ‘peace’, ‘love’, and ‘unix.’ Everyone (almost) agrees that peace is a good thing. [...]

I am going absolutely crazy with all the talk of Clarence Thomas and his total perversion of originalism. I’m not one to rant, but this is the closest I will ever come to declaring an absolute- Originalism is NEVER appropriate. Thats right, there is never an instance where it is appropriate to take our noses [...]

Stanley Fish wrote a very silly editorial on his blog over at the NY Times. His title proclaims ‘Clarence Thomas is Right.’ When I read the title, I first thought 1) Yes, Clarence Thomas is decidedly conservative and 2) No, Clarence Thomas does not posses enough legitimacy to ever be considered ‘correct’. Fish flops over [...]

By now, you should all know that I’m not a fan of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District. In my humble opinion, the majority made a policy decision by contending that desegregation is good, but the way this community chose to go about it wasn’t effective. The [...]