Free Republic

Panella's Abortion Flip-Flop Makes Him Unworthy BY CHRIS FREIND State Supreme Court candidate Jack Panella obviously doesn't learn from history. When former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney entered the 2008 Republican presidential primary, he seemed to have everything going for him: top campaign staff, unlimited money, a solid national organization, and a (seemingly) attractive message. Yet his campaign was over before it began. Why? Because more than anything, he had a major credibility problem. You see, despite Mitt's talk of being a political outsider, he danced the Washington Two-Step as well as anyone. Somehow, Romney's core beliefs undertook a number of...

For a historian, newly retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter seems exasperatingly shortsighted. He didn’t want cameras filming the court’s public business during his 19 years on the nation’s highest tribunal. Now, he doesn’t want scholars prying into his papers for 50 years. Who’ll be around by then who knew him?

"For all you “conservatives” who kept insisting that there was NO difference between John McCain and Barack Hussein Obama, this is all your fault! You have no one but yourselves to blame when this Wise Latina (in other words, Aztlanist shill) legislates from the bench. To his credit, John McCain at least opposed Sotomayor’s nomination. " [I have a different take on this. Conservatives were absolutely justified in opposing the "pro-amnesty" rino John McCain. Those of us who did choose to vote for the ticket, voted for Palin, not McCain. If it were not for her, McCain would have been...

At Rick Warren's Saddleback forum, Obama was asked which current Supreme Court Justices he would not have nominated. His answer: Justices Thomas and Scalia. [my favorites]. He also voted against John Roberts. What does that say about who he would nonminate? What does that tell us about Sotomayor?-videos

Two Questions for Supreme Court Appointees I would sincerely like to have all Supreme Court appointees answer these two questions. Question #1 : Please explain the meaning of the words, Powers herein granted, as read in Article 1, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States. Ref: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Question #2 : Please explain the meaning of the words, powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, as read in the tenth Amendment of...

NEW YORK -- Cesar Perales has fought his share of critics over the years, in legal battles for minorities denied jobs, bilingual classes in schools and more Latino police officers. But none of those efforts compares with the tempest his Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund has stirred because of the dozen years that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor served as one of its board members. Conservatives have called the group's stances against capital punishment and for abortion rights, as well as its advocacy of affirmative action in worker discrimination cases, "extreme" and "shocking." Some have suggested Sotomayor's longtime...

Sotomayor Cases Reviewed by the Supreme Court • Affirmative Action: Ricci v. DeStefano 530 F.3d 87 (2008) - pending (now reversed 5-4) Sotomayor was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in February 2008 to uphold a lower court decision supporting the City of New Haven's decision to throw out the results of an exam to determine promotions within the city's fire department. Only one Hispanic and no African-American firefighters qualified for promotion based on the exam; the City subsequently decided not to certify the results and issued no promotions. In June 2008, Sotomayor was part of a 7-6 majority...

There are few anecdotes about him, and pictures, at least ones that have appeared publicly, are scarce. The younger Khamenei operates behind an elaborate security structure, an overlapping world that stretches from Iran's Revolutionary Guards to the motorcycle-riding Basiji. That accumulation of control was used to outflank reformists such as Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hossein Ali Montazeri, revered figures of the Islamic Revolution who years ago had questioned the senior Khamenei's qualifications as supreme leader. The violence that has erupted over the last week -- state media have reported that 10 to 19 people have died -- were in part the...

Court to tackle clarity of Miranda warnings againBy Michael J. Sniffen, Associated Press Writer Mon Jun 22, 5:36 pm ET WASHINGTON – "You have the right to remain silent." Most people only hear those words while watching cop shows on TV. They usually zone out for the rest of the now familiar Miranda warning to people under arrest. But in the real world, the Supreme Court is still listening to the words that follow. It agreed Monday to hear another case over just how explicit that phrasing must be. In its landmark 1966 Miranda v. Arizona ruling, the high court...

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered no concession to opposition supporters who are demanding the elections be canceled and held again. He blamed Great Britain and Iran's external enemies for the unrest, vigorously defending the ruling system in his first public comments since supporters of challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi flooded the streets. "The enemies (of Iran) are targeting the Islamic establishment's legitimacy by questioning the election and its authenticity before and after (the vote)," Khamenei said. During the address to a packed hall that included President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Khamenei said that if the Iranian people did not feel free they...

Supreme Court » He promises to be tough but fair on nominee.Washington » Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said after a private meeting with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday that he likes her and is impressed with her skills, but he still plans to grill her during confirmation hearings. Hatch met with Sotomayor for nearly an hour in his office on Tuesday, the eighth speed date of the day for the 2nd Circuit Appeals Court judge whom President Barack Obama tapped last week for the Supreme Court. After the closed-door meeting, Hatch said he is keeping an open mind,...

We should debate Judge Sotomayor’s qualifications to serve on the Supreme Court. We should examine her view of people not as individuals, but as members of groups. We should examine her view of judges as makers of policy. But before we begin the debate, we first need to decide what language to use. Will it be English or Spanglish? Must we pronounce her name as if we were speaking Spanish? Must we refer to her as a Latina, not as a Latino, and certainly not as an American?

If you haven't signed the petition against the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor, please do so today! ----------- Organized for Life has stepped up as the leading force against President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Souter. Minutes after the announcement of Sotomayor's nomination, Organized for Life's PAC, OFL Action, opened a petition site at www.stopsotomayor.com to oppose the addition of another potentially pro-abortion justice to the Supreme Court. Sonia Sotomayor has a record of legislating from the bench that stands against the will of the majority of Americans. Fifty-one percent of Americans call themselves pro-life. Eighty-two...

what the role of the Federal Courts are and whether or not "activism" is something to be avoided, potential nominee to the highest court in the land, Sonia Sotomayor, gave her views on the subject..

Will Republicans be able to oppose the first Hispanic woman for the court?Obama played the race card, followed by the sex card and the liberal card today when he picked federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday. Was his choice a person to serve ALL Americans on the court or one specifically selected to advance the rights and agenda of specific groups and ideology? You decided: Curt posted the video of Judge Sotomayer declaring that courts are where "policy is made." That will be news to the Senators who review her qualifications.Sotomayer...

WASHINGTON – A leading Democratic senator warned Sunday his party could support a potentially polarizing obstruction of President Barack Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court if he names an "activist" to the bench. Parties in opposition to a sitting president traditionally call for moderation in a pick to the country's highest court, but moderate Democrat Ben Nelson issued a blunt warning from Obama's own party that the president should not choose someone seen as out of the mainstream. "I don't care whether they're liberal or conservative," Nelson told Fox News Sunday in an interview. "I just want to make sure...

... The capacity to recognize another person's reality is not just liberal. The conservative jurist Richard Posner has described empathy as an important instrument in a judge's tool kit. It doesn't trump reason; it informs reason. The irony in the attack on empathy is that the most dramatic flameout of a nominee was Robert Bork. The public as well as the Senate turned against Bork precisely because he seemed to regard the Supreme Court as nothing more than an intellectual chess game played with pawns, not people. Since then, conservatives have gone out of their way to describe their picks...

If President Obama nominates to the Supreme Court a highly qualified individual with a distinguished record that demonstrates judicial restraint, integrity and a commitment to the rule of law, his nominee will be welcomed in the Senate and by the American people.But if the president nominates an individual who will allow personal preferences and political views to corrupt his or her decision making, he will put before the public a central question: Are we willing to trade America's heritage of a fair and neutral judiciary -- anchored in the rule of written law that applies equally to all people --...

(2009-05-13) — In search of a Supreme Court justice with the rare combination of legal gravitas and heart-felt empathy, President Barack Obama has reportedly included former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards on his short list to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter. Mr. Edwards, who sought the 2008 Democrat presidential nomination, became famous in legal circles for his impassioned closing argument in a 1985 medical malpractice lawsuit during which he pretended be the unborn baby, speaking to the jury about his intrauterine distress. “The president wants to see passionate empathy on the high court,” said an unnamed White House insider....

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the key Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, says that he could support a gay Supreme Court justice, The Hill reports. “I’m not inclined to think that’s an automatic disqualification,” Session said of the prospect of a gay justice. Gay rights groups have called on President Obama to install an openly gay justice. “I may disagree with some legal opinion on those issues, but I think fundamentally it will be up to the president to submit somebody who would unite the country and would be a clear statement of a mainstream judge who commits himself to...

Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter has announced his retirement, and so the nation now “braces” for who will succeed him—who His Majesty will nominate. Drum rolls, now. The whole process is such a politically-correct joke. So, who cares, really? For the last half-century, the Supreme Court basically does what they see fit to do, anyway. So, what America really needs to focus on is shoe color and hair style at this point. The days of stare decisis are largely done now. This is kangaroo at its best. Where is Billy Bush? Get that little bugger over to the Supreme...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Friday he will replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter with someone who shares the president's respect for "constitutional values" and hopes to have "him or her" seated on the nation's highest court by the start of the next term in October. In a dramatic flourish, Obama interrupted spokesman Robert Gibbs' daily press briefing to announce that he had just talked to Souter. The news of Souter's planned retirement had broken by then, but the White House had said nothing until the president came in. Obama thanked Souter for his dedicated service, and quickly...

Justice Souter has barely announced his retirement and already the pundits, politicos and prognosticators have leapt to the keyboards, predicting how the judicial bull chips will fall. Activist on the right predict Obama will nominate a hard leftist who views the Constitution as a minor impediment to centralized power. Left-of-center court watchers believe the same thing and actively pray for it. Some say it won’t make a difference because such a candidate would merely replace one steaming bowl of fetid judicial excrement with another. ... Souter joined the bare majority opinion in Kelo v. City of New London. This case...

News is breaking that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is retiring. There will be a fight over his replacement, for sure. And Arlen Specter switching may have given Republicans a trump card to block an unacceptable replacement.... Under Senate Judiciary Committee rules Specter could allow a nominee out of committee if Specter was a member of the Republican minority, but as part of the majority, he's just another vote. So the Democrats will need to get another Republican Senator on the Committee to capitulate....

Elena Kagan, the Obama administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, is passing up the chance to make her first high-court argument in a big case over minority voting rights. Instead, Kagan, confirmed by the Senate last month as solicitor general, will wait until the fall to make her debut, Justice Department spokeswoman Beverley Lumpkin said Tuesday

Double jeopardy in before US Supreme Court HOUSTON A former Enron Corp. executive is hoping a little known component of the Fifth Amendment's double jeopardy clause will help him avoid a retrial on charges related to financial fraud at the once mighty energy giant. Attorneys for F. Scott Yeager are set to present oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday on the issue of whether double jeopardy prevents prosecutors from retrying individuals after a jury votes not guilty on some charges, but fails to reach a verdict on others that share an element with the acquitted charges. Prosecutors...

Well before his 30th birthday, Tulsa native Jamie McDonald will have worked for one White House administration and in two branches of the federal government. Last year, he was working in the White House counsel's office. This summer, he will return to Washington, D.C., for the opportunity of a lifetime — being a clerk for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

KENTUCKY. US Senator Jim Bunning (R) is already expected to face a tough fight for reelection next year, as leading Bluegrass State Democrats are lining up to run. Over the weekend, Bunning helped to contribute to his reputation for making erratic comments. Speaking at a Lincoln Day event over the weekend, Bunning said that US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg will be dead from pancreatic cancer within the next nine months. Bunning also complained the NRSC isn't doing enough financially to help him and other embattled conservative incumbents. In related news, The Hill reports that State Senate President David...

Many illegal immigrants steal social security numbers and use them as their own. They can not easily get a real social security number assigned to them. They must give something to their employer when they are hired. They may be using yours. Under a new law that was intended to strengthen efforts to combat identity theft, some prosecutors are taking these illegal immigrants to court on a charge that could bring two years in jail. Immigrants' rights groups have cried fowl and took one of these cases to the Supreme court. They argue these criminals don't know they are using...

US Chief Justice Roberts to speak at UA Wednesday By Aaron Mackey Arizona Daily Star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.30.2009 advertisementU.S. Chief Justice John Roberts will deliver a free public talk at the UA law school next week, though seats to view the address are in short supply. Officials with the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law said the room where Roberts will speak as part of an annual lecture series is at capacity, and additional viewing rooms are filling, too....

I’ve filed a petition for review No, 199 MM 2008, to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, seeking a writ of mandamus and an immediate injunction ordering the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth to demand proof from Senator Barack Obama of his sworn statement, filed with his application for placement on the ballot, that he is qualified as a natural born citizen under the United States Constitution.

First, Donofrio admits that Obama was born in Hawaii. Second, he tortures the law and the Constitution to come up with the twisted interpretation that Obama wasn't a Naturally born citizen because Obama's FATHER was a British subject. Third, if the Supreme Court HAD taken the case, then MILLIONS of people born inside the US with one or both parents not being US citizens would no longer be considered US citizens. The Supreme Court isn't going to waste it's time on such stupidity. Now, when someone actually appeals to the Supreme Court and questions the LOCATION of Obama's birth, THEN...

CHICAGO — The U.S. Supreme Court will consider Friday whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, a continuation of a New Jersey case embraced by some opponents of Obama's election. The meeting of justices will coincide with a vigil by the filer's supporters in Washington on the steps of the nation's highest court. The suit originally sought to stay the election, and was filed on behalf of Leo Donofrio against New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells.

  U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas By James Wright AFRO Staff Writer(December 3, 2008) - In a highly unusual move, U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has asked his colleagues on the court to consider the request of an East Brunswick, N.J. attorney who has filed a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama’s status as a United States citizen.Thomas’s action took place after Justice David Souter had rejected a petition known as an application for a stay of writ of certiorari that asked the court to prevent the meeting of the Electoral College on Dec. 15, which...

CHICAGO — The U.S. Supreme Court will consider Friday whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, a continuation of a New Jersey case embraced by some opponents of Obama's election. The meeting of justices will coincide with a vigil by the filer's supporters in Washington on the steps of the nation's highest court. The suit originally sought to stay the election, and was filed on behalf of Leo Donofrio against New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells. Legal experts say the appeal has little chance of succeeding, despite appearing on the court's schedule. Legal...

She informed me that Mr. Donofrio’s application was first referred to the full Court by Justice Clarence Thomas on November 19, 2008. After that referral took place the full Court, and not Justice Thomas alone, distributed the application for an emergency stay for Conference of December 5, 2008

ELECTION 2008 Constitutional crisis feared over Obama's 'qualifications' The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to help the nation avoid a constitutional crisis by halting Tuesday's election until Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama documents his eligibility to run for the top office in the nation. Democratic attorney Philip Berg had filed a lawsuit alleging Obama is ineligible to be president because of possible birth in Kenya, but as WND reported, a federal judge dismissed the complaint claiming Berg lacks standing to bring the action. Philip J. Berg The 34-page memorandum that accompanied the court order from Judge R. Barclay Surrick...

(IsraelNN.com) The widely-disseminated Arab Moslem position that the Temple Mount is not Jewish has been debunked - by the Supreme Moslem Council (Waqf) of Jerusalem, in a Temple Mount guide published in 1925. Wakf guidebook, 1925, cover The Temple Institute Guidebook Puts the Lie to Current Arab Campaign In 1997, the chief Moslem cleric of the Palestinian Authority, Mufti Ikrama Sabri, stated, "The claim of the Jews to the right over [Jerusalem] is false, and we recognize nothing but an entirely Islamic Jerusalem under Islamic supervision..." Thus began a campaign to convince the world that the millennia-old natural association between...

The nine august justices of the United States Supreme Court — or at least the five conservative Republicans — chose the wrong time to make a sea change in constitutional law, admitting the Second Amendment to our pantheon of civil liberties. By demonstrating how willing they are to toss aside decades of jurisprudence in pursuit of a conservative agenda, they sent a chill into the souls of women all across the nation and resurrected fears that Roe v. Wade is next on the chopping block.

I have not beena big fan of Supreme Court rulings these days. As you well know (as an informed individual browsing and commenting on stevelackner.com) the Supreme Court of our land declared that the terrorists at Gitmo have habeas rights. Before that we had the Supreme Court of California finding the ridiculous right to gay weddings that never existed in the California or American Constitution. This week the California ruling took effect. My main focues will therfore be this ruling. Social liberals tend to deride those that oppose gay marriage as primitive neandrathal bible-thumping throwbacks. They rely on words like...

Aparently nothing today... Anyone know if they might release more today or is that it?

Good collection of links on the disaster that was yesterday's 5-4 decision conferring constitutional rights on our sworn enemies in the middle of a war.

When Wisconsin voters go to the polls this April Fool's day, the state Supreme Court may realize the joke's on them. After four years of judicial activism, one of the court's most liberal members, Justice Louis Butler, is up for re-election -- and voters get to send a message about what they expect from their judges.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans have a right to own guns, U.S. Supreme Court justices declared in a historic and lively debate that could lead to the most significant interpretation of whether the U.S. Constitution guarantees that right since the document's ratification two centuries ago. On the other hand, a majority of justices seemed to agree, governments have a right to regulate those firearms. There was less apparent agreement on the case they were arguing: whether the national capital's ban on handguns goes too far. The justices dug deeply Tuesday into arguments about one of the Constitution's most hotly debated provisions...

Oral arguments before the Supreme Court are a nasty business. Today the Supremes (depending on their disposition) heard or ignored arguments in the Heller Case, the Washington D.C. gun ban. The consensus among all of us who listened to the arguments is “we still don’t know how this is going to pan out.” Crap. Ginsberg, in her growing senile dementia, brought-up state bans on machine guns as a proxy for the ‘reasonable’ ban angle. Sorry guys. The fight has just begun and will last long after they have shoveled dirt on our faces. From the oral arguments and some insights...

ACLU denied, you know it's a good thing.

One of the most (superficially) persuasive arguments I keep reading for supporting McCain is that several seats on the Supreme Court will, almost surely, become vacant during the next President's term in office. McCain, it is said, will appoint conservative Justices, whereas Hillary (or Obama) will appoint liberal Justices. But, why believe this? There is no evidence for this. McCain clearly does not believe in conservative jurisprudence. After all, this is the man who is responsible for the biggest roll-back of constitutional rights in living memory.

An American Odyssey In his autobiography, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas shares about being forced to work every day after elementary school in the fields of his grandfather's farm. His grandfather, who raised him had a strict work ethic. Thomas' memoir is titled, “My Grandfather's Son”. Imagine it's early 1950s. You're driving down the highway on a hot summer day. In the corner of your eye as part of the landscape, you see a dirty, sweaty and barefooted little black boy picking cotton. In your wildest dreams, could you anticipate that this kid would become one of the most...

81 protesters arrested at Supreme CourtFri Jan 11, 3:56 PM ET WASHINGTON - Eighty people were arrested at the Supreme Court Friday in a protest calling for the shutdown of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Demonstrators wearing orange jump suits intended to simulate prison garb were arrested inside and outside the building in the early afternoon. "Shut it down," protesters chanted as others kneeled on the plaza in front of the court. They were charged with violating an ordinance that prohibits demonstrations of any kind on court grounds. Those arrested inside the building also were charged under...

OK folks. It was seven years ago tonight that Gore finally gave up his unethical bid to reverse a Presidential election. I thought it would be interesting to mosey down memory lane to recall not just the concession but the 36 days of rancor preceding. I'm hoping for the discussion to focus on the legal (and unethical) maneuvers by Gore and Co. during those 36 days as opposed to making judgements about Bush since the election. I'm confident that 99% of Freepers would still believe that Bush was better than any Gore Presidency.