The Final Opinions
0 Comments Published by Kedar June 27th, 2009 in Court Procedure, David Souter, Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court will hand down the final three opinions of the term tomorrow when it holds its last public session before its summer recess. The Court will also bid farewell to Justice Souter, as it will likely be his last time being seen publicly as a sitting justice. The three cases are Ricci v. [...]
Congressional Research Service Offers Summary of Sotomayor Opinions
0 Comments Published by Kedar June 27th, 2009 in Sonia SotomayorThe Congressional Research Service has published an interesting collection of Judge Sotomayor’s past opinions from the Second Circuit. They come to the conclusion that she is hard to categorize but that she generally has fairly rigid adherence to precedent. [h/t How Appealing]
Judge Sotomayor: Why Her?
0 Comments Published by Kedar May 26th, 2009 in Barack Obama, Sonia SotomayorPresident Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter is the type of decision we have come to expect from the Obama administration. It involved important political considerations and will likely prove to be good enough for liberals but not off-putting for conservatives.
Let me start off with the assumption that she will [...]
Obama Likely to Announced Nominee in the Next Week
0 Comments Published by Kedar May 24th, 2009 in Supreme Court, VacancyMost news sources are now reporting that President Obama is narrowing in on his nominee for the Supreme Court and will likely announce his decision next week, just before leaving on a lengthy foreign trip in early June.
More specifically, Fox News is hypothesizing that the pick will be announced either Tuesday morning or Friday night [...]
President Obama Gives Commencement Speech Addressing Abortion
0 Comments Published by Kedar May 17th, 2009 in Abortion, Barack Obama, Politics, VacancyPresident Obama gave the commencement speech at Notre Dame earlier today and spoke primarily about abortion and other social issues. You can find a full recap from the New York Times here.
I don’t ordinarily take note of political speeches coming from the White House, but I have to think about whether or not the President [...]
The Upcoming Weeks
1 Comment Published by Kedar May 16th, 2009 in Barack Obama, Court Procedure, Supreme CourtThe Court will be holding conference for the next seven consecutive Thursdays (as opposed to the normal friday conference meeting). We will likely see at least a few opinions and accepted cases every week from now until the Court breaks at the end of June. In the short-term, the Court’s opinion hotline also tells us [...]
Official Statements from Eight Members of the Supreme Court on Justice Souter’s Retirement
0 Comments Published by Kedar May 1st, 2009 in Court Procedure, David Souter, Supreme Court, VacancyThe Court issued a press release in which Justice Souter’s colleages expressed their best wishes towards him. I’ve reprinted them in full below:
STATEMENTS FROM THE SUPREME COURT
REGARDING JUSTICE DAVID H. SOUTER’S RETIREMENT
May 1, 2009
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.:
Justice Souter has served with great distinction on the Court for nearly 20 years. His desire [...]
Justice Souter Formally Announces His Retirement; Will Not Remain Beyond OT08
0 Comments Published by Kedar May 1st, 2009 in Court Procedure, David Souter, Supreme Court, VacancyJustice Souter has officially given President Obama notice of his intent to retire at the end of the current term. His notification seemed to suggest that he will not remain in his position until his successor is seated.
Thanks to SCOTUSblog, we can see the Court’s press release here and Justice Souter’s letter here.
You can read [...]
More On Justice Souter’s Role in Building Consensus
0 Comments Published by Kedar May 1st, 2009 in Sandra Day O'Connor, Supreme Court, VacancyDespite all the talk of Justice Souter’s importance to the Court, the proposition that Justice Souter has had a minimal impact on the Court’s most controversial issues is generally true. Since the beginning of OT06, Justice Souter has issued just 1 of 39 5-4 opinions and this lone 5-4 majority opinion was handed down less [...]
Possible Impact of Justice Souter’s Replacement
0 Comments Published by Kedar May 1st, 2009 in David Souter, Supreme CourtIt would be naive to think that Justice Souter’s replacement won’t have a major impact on the future of the Supreme Court. At a minimum, if President Obama were to simply hit the refresh button on Justice Souter and replace him with a 55-year old version of himself, the liberal wing of the Court would [...]





