Who Will Author the Next Ten Cases?: At NRO Bench Memos, Ed Whalen links to a report from the attorneys at Mayer Brown that breaks down the cases argued during the Court's 2008 term by author, session and how the cases were resolved. The charts also demonstrate how many majority opinions each of the Justices has authored. Whalen examines the report and speculates that because we have only seen five or six majority opinions from Justices Kennedy and Alito we can "expect more from them" as the remaining 10 cases are decided.
Public Needs More Information on Judge Sotomayor: Amy Harder writes on the Ninth Justice that "The Jury Is Still Out On Sotomayor." According to two polls, one conducted by CBS/The New York Times and one by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal, poll respondents are still unsure whether Judge Sotomayor should be confirmed or rejected. The CBS/New York Times survey reported that 58% of respondents hadn't heard enough about Judge Sotomayor to form an opinion over whether she should be confirmed or rejected. The NBC News and Wall Street Journal survey found that 43% support Sotomayor and only 20% are opposed to her nomination. Harder reports that these results are better than any of George W. Bush's three nominees had.
AG Holder Advocates Access to DNA Evidence: Mike Scarcella reports on Blog of Legal Times that the day after District Attorney v. Osborne was decided, Attorney General Eric Holder took the podium as the scheduled keynote speaker at the 34th Annual D.C. Courts' Judicial Conference in Washington. In his speech, Holder "underscored" the Judicial Department's quest to expand access to DNA evidence in courts. Holder apparently told attendees that the Justice Department's mission is "to do justice, and science and DNA can help us accomplish this." Just yesterday, in response to the Court's decision in Osborne, Holder issued a statement that said, in part, "Constitutional rights are only one part of a fair and full system of justice. Simply because a course of action is constitutional does not make it wise." Holder said in the statement that the Court "merely spoke about what is constitutional, not what is good policy." Holder's statements lead the public to view Osborne a certain way, but helpful commenter Brent provides this link to an Internet video that, in his words, makes "the court's decision ... mak[e] more sense."
Judge Kent Impeached: Thanks to Doug Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy, and Howard Bashman at How Appealing for quickly posting news of Judge Kent's impeachment by the U.S. House (Berman's link is available here, Bashman's is here). Stewart Powell reports for the Houston Chronicle that the "House overwhelmingly adopted four articles of impeachment against the 59-year-old jurist..." Judge Kent is accused of "abusing his power as a judge by sexually assaulting two female court employees as well as lying about his conduct to a judicial inquiry, the FBI and the Justice Department." His case will now go to the Senate for trial.
Public Needs More Information on Judge Sotomayor: Amy Harder writes on the Ninth Justice that "The Jury Is Still Out On Sotomayor." According to two polls, one conducted by CBS/The New York Times and one by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal, poll respondents are still unsure whether Judge Sotomayor should be confirmed or rejected. The CBS/New York Times survey reported that 58% of respondents hadn't heard enough about Judge Sotomayor to form an opinion over whether she should be confirmed or rejected. The NBC News and Wall Street Journal survey found that 43% support Sotomayor and only 20% are opposed to her nomination. Harder reports that these results are better than any of George W. Bush's three nominees had.
AG Holder Advocates Access to DNA Evidence: Mike Scarcella reports on Blog of Legal Times that the day after District Attorney v. Osborne was decided, Attorney General Eric Holder took the podium as the scheduled keynote speaker at the 34th Annual D.C. Courts' Judicial Conference in Washington. In his speech, Holder "underscored" the Judicial Department's quest to expand access to DNA evidence in courts. Holder apparently told attendees that the Justice Department's mission is "to do justice, and science and DNA can help us accomplish this." Just yesterday, in response to the Court's decision in Osborne, Holder issued a statement that said, in part, "Constitutional rights are only one part of a fair and full system of justice. Simply because a course of action is constitutional does not make it wise." Holder said in the statement that the Court "merely spoke about what is constitutional, not what is good policy." Holder's statements lead the public to view Osborne a certain way, but helpful commenter Brent provides this link to an Internet video that, in his words, makes "the court's decision ... mak[e] more sense."
Judge Kent Impeached: Thanks to Doug Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy, and Howard Bashman at How Appealing for quickly posting news of Judge Kent's impeachment by the U.S. House (Berman's link is available here, Bashman's is here). Stewart Powell reports for the Houston Chronicle that the "House overwhelmingly adopted four articles of impeachment against the 59-year-old jurist..." Judge Kent is accused of "abusing his power as a judge by sexually assaulting two female court employees as well as lying about his conduct to a judicial inquiry, the FBI and the Justice Department." His case will now go to the Senate for trial.
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