Thoughts on the Citizens United Delay
Closed Published by Kedar December 15th, 2009 in Constitutional Law, Court Procedure, Current Events, Election Law, John Roberts, Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court handed down only orders this morning, meaning the next possible time for it to release an opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is early next year. Several commentators, most notably John Elwood on Volokh Conspiracy and Tony Mauro for the Legal Times, have considered the possible reasons and consequences of [...]
Real Analysis of Citizens United Orals
0 Comments Published by Kedar September 9th, 2009 in Constitutional Law, Election Law, Supreme CourtIf you’re looking for expert, and I use that word very literally, you can find an excellent write-up by Rick Hansen of Election Law blog here. If you don’t believe me, even Eugene Volokh gushes about Hansen a bit here. Hansen posits up some interesting analysis and I absolutely agree with his parting shot that [...]
Initial Thoughts on Rearguments in Citizens United
0 Comments Published by Kedar September 9th, 2009 in Constitutional Law, Court Procedure, Election Law, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme CourtTo sum up my views on the oral arguments today: we saw it coming. Justice Sotomayor lined up in exactly the position she was expected take and the same goes for each of the other eight Justices. In the end, it looks like her position will be a minority one. Solicitor General Kagan did a [...]
Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District and the Future of Section 5
0 Comments Published by Kedar June 24th, 2009 in Constitutional Law, Election Law, Supreme CourtBy now, you should all know that the Supreme Court handed down their long-awaited decision in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder. In short, the Chief Justice Roberts wrote for a nearly unanimous court holding that Section 5 was bad and faced several constitutional problems, but the Court decided to give Congress [...]
Final Argument Transcript of the Term – Northwest Austin v. Holder
1 Comment Published by Kedar April 29th, 2009 in Constitutional Law, Election Law, Supreme CourtToday was the final day for arguments during OT08 and the Court heard arguments in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder. You can find the transcript here. The arguments made were certainly very interesting. Justice Scalia, while criticizing the near-unanimity with which Congress passed the VRA extension, made this observation: You know, [...]
Initial Thoughts on Northwest Austin v. Mukasey
0 Comments Published by Kedar January 10th, 2009 in Constitutional Law, Election Law, Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court granted review today in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Michael Mukasey, a case revolving around whether or not there is still sufficient justification to force municipalities to have their districts pre-approved by Congress. §5 of the Voting Rights Act, now 42 U.S.C 1973(c), forces certain ‘covered jurisdictions’ to have [...]
