Guess it is Baseball Season: SCOTUSblog writer Kristina Moore gives us the "Box Score" for the number of times the the phrase "balls and strikes" and "umpire" or "umpires" emerged during Judge Sotomayor's confirmation hearings yesterday. According to Moore, an "incomplete" review of the Senator's written statements and oral testimony revealed "balls and strikes" was used 11 times, "umpire" or "umpires" showed up 16 times, and "playing field" was used twice. Baseball references date back to Chief Justice Roberts' 2005 confirmation hearings where he stated "Judges are like umpires." If the analogy appears again, this just might be one more thing to contribute to the legacy of the Roberts' Court.
But The Hearings Covered More Than Baseball: As Stuart Taylor Jr. points out on the Ninth Justice, some interesting remarks were made by senators during yesterday's hearings. Taylor's post quotes some of the "more notable remarks" offered by 10 of the 19 committee members during the hearings. He also comments on each of the statements, often demonstrating how each comment was skewed by the Senators' political views. For example, Taylor shows Republicans relied on Judge Sotomayor's "wise Latina" comment, while Democrats appeared to use the hearings to criticize Justices Alito and Roberts. At Blog of Legal Times, The National Law Journal's editor in chief, Dan Brown, recaps this morning's confirmation with Tony Mauro. In the post, Mauro comments that Judge Sotomayor remained calm during questioning, but predicts more "Republican pushback" this afternoon. He believes "Republican members of the committee will find her answers unsatisfying, especially her explanations of her controversial 'wise Latina' remark and others that have made it sound like she will bring her background and personal views to her decision-making." But as Nathan Koppel points out over at Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, we know Judge Sotomayor does not plan on following the President's "follow-the-heart" principle. Koppel writes that Judge Sotomayor stated "Judges cannot rely on what is in their heart," and grimaced "as if she had smelled rotten garbage."
Victim Access to Presentencing Reports: Doug Berman has a quick post to yesterday's Sixth Circuit decision in In re Siler, No. 08-5215 (6th Cir. July 13, 2009). In Siler, Lester Siler sought access to the Presentence Reports (PSRs) of defendants who had violated Siler's constitutional rights while arresting him. When the defendants, Campbell County law enforcement officers, pled guilty ot federal charges, the Silers sued them for civil damages. Following discovery in the civil case, the Silers motioned for the defendants PSRs from the criminal cases. Both the district court, and the Sixth Circuit, denied the motions. The Sixth Circuit reasoned "[t]here is no apparent authority for the release of such documents in this context[,]" and the court "did not abuse its discretion...because PSRs are confidential, nonpublic documents, and the Silers did not show that they had a special need to have access to them."
But The Hearings Covered More Than Baseball: As Stuart Taylor Jr. points out on the Ninth Justice, some interesting remarks were made by senators during yesterday's hearings. Taylor's post quotes some of the "more notable remarks" offered by 10 of the 19 committee members during the hearings. He also comments on each of the statements, often demonstrating how each comment was skewed by the Senators' political views. For example, Taylor shows Republicans relied on Judge Sotomayor's "wise Latina" comment, while Democrats appeared to use the hearings to criticize Justices Alito and Roberts. At Blog of Legal Times, The National Law Journal's editor in chief, Dan Brown, recaps this morning's confirmation with Tony Mauro. In the post, Mauro comments that Judge Sotomayor remained calm during questioning, but predicts more "Republican pushback" this afternoon. He believes "Republican members of the committee will find her answers unsatisfying, especially her explanations of her controversial 'wise Latina' remark and others that have made it sound like she will bring her background and personal views to her decision-making." But as Nathan Koppel points out over at Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, we know Judge Sotomayor does not plan on following the President's "follow-the-heart" principle. Koppel writes that Judge Sotomayor stated "Judges cannot rely on what is in their heart," and grimaced "as if she had smelled rotten garbage."
Victim Access to Presentencing Reports: Doug Berman has a quick post to yesterday's Sixth Circuit decision in In re Siler, No. 08-5215 (6th Cir. July 13, 2009). In Siler, Lester Siler sought access to the Presentence Reports (PSRs) of defendants who had violated Siler's constitutional rights while arresting him. When the defendants, Campbell County law enforcement officers, pled guilty ot federal charges, the Silers sued them for civil damages. Following discovery in the civil case, the Silers motioned for the defendants PSRs from the criminal cases. Both the district court, and the Sixth Circuit, denied the motions. The Sixth Circuit reasoned "[t]here is no apparent authority for the release of such documents in this context[,]" and the court "did not abuse its discretion...because PSRs are confidential, nonpublic documents, and the Silers did not show that they had a special need to have access to them."
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