[prairiebreeze]

Sanda Day O'Connor is out of the country.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/983023/posts

Woops! Now what say you all?? :)

Prairie

[RonDog]

Sanda Day O'Connor is out of the country.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/983023/posts

Woops! Now what say you all?? :)

From that thread:

To: ambrose

Justices of the Supreme Court are ALWAYS reachable, and ALWAYS on duty if the Court Rules so require.

I recall the legendary story about the late Justice Douglas. Some lawyers wanted his one-Justice recision on an environmental case. They hiked two days into the woods to find the Justice. He read their papers, and signed their Order. Then they hiked two days out to get that Order to the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

Given faxes and cell phones, I believe that Justice O'Connor is already reviewing this case through her Clerks, knowing that it will wind up in her lap. If she signs an Order on the Champs Elisee in Paris, it will be just as effective as if she signed it in her Chambers on 2nd Street in Washington, D.C.

John / Billybob

7 posted on 09/15/2003 1:31 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob (Everyone talks about Congress; I am doing something about it.)

[pogo101]

First off, Billybob is correct that her "away" status renders her unreachable.

But to address your point on a technical, what-if-somehow-she-can't-be-reached basis, SCOTUS Rule 22.3 provides that "[w]hen the Circuit
Justice is unavailable for any reason, the application addressed to that Justice will be distributed to the Justice then available who is next junior to the Circuit Justice; the turn of the Chief Justice follows that of the most junior Justice."

The "Justice next junior to" O'Connor is ANTONIN SCALIA.