Posted on 07/04/2005 11:38:18 AM PDT by alessandrofiaschi
Some of the Supreme Court justices who defied expectations of the presidents who appointed them:
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, appointed by Republican Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, sided with businesses and voted against the president in a case challenging the Sherman Antitrust Act. Roosevelt reportedly said of Holmes afterward, ``Out of a banana I could carve a firmer backbone.''
-Felix Frankfurter, appointed by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, became a strong advocate of judicial restraint, clashing with liberal members who sought an active court role in protecting minorities and monitoring fairness in the political process, such as legislative redistricting.
-Earl Warren, appointed by Republican Dwight Eisenhower in 1953, presided as chief justice over a court that assaulted racial segregation, outlawed school prayer and expanded individual rights against arbitrary government searches.
-William Brennan, appointed by Eisenhower in 1956, became the liberal architect of the Warren Court's decisions, and later secured majorities supporting affirmative action and overturning flag-burning laws.
-Harry Blackmun, appointed by Republican Richard Nixon in 1970, became the author of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that women had a constitutional right to an abortion and later opposed the death penalty.
-John Paul Stevens, appointed by Republican Gerald Ford in 1975, became a leader of the court's more liberal bloc in pushing a strict line between church and state, greater federal authority over states and protecting abortion rights.
-Anthony Kennedy, appointed by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1988, was a key swing vote in decisions promoting gay rights, barring prayer at school graduation and outlawing the death penalty for people who committed crimes as juveniles.
-David H. Souter, appointed by Republican George H.W. Bush in 1990, generally sides with the court's more liberal members in promoting abortion rights, upholding affirmative action and limiting use of the death penalty.
What a PUKE piece!
What? Use another language, please.
Sandra Day O'Connor and Hugo Black could be added to the list.
He means this article induces vomiting from anyone with reason.
OK! This is a PROJECTILE VOMIT POS!
I can't imagine why the Brits care a whit about "disappointing US Supreme Court Justices." Have they run out of British stuff to write about?
Has a Democrat President in the last 50 years ever picked a good judge?
The list of GOP disasters is a long and depressing one.
Sounds like all the screw-ups were Republican, except supposedly Felix Frankfurter. However, the Guardian is totally wrong in that instance. FDR appointed Frankfurter precisely for his judicial restraint ideology, so that he would uphold the New Deal.
LOL! I think you misconstrue the sarcasm of that graphic.
While her obvious ire at the majority decision in Kelo may have accelerated the decision, she had been planning to retire shortly for some time. This was known within "Beltway" circles for at least the last six months.
While it's true that it was expected that Chief Rehnquist would retire first, as he's in obviously poor health, anyone in the know expexted O' Connor to retire within a year or two after. She just got fed up, and stole a march...
the infowarrior
Byron White, picked by President Kennedy, was one of the better members of the court.
Yes. John Kennedy appointed his former college buddy, Byron White, who turned out to be a staunch conservative.
I suspect the BATTLE for STEVENS's seat will be EPIC if he vacates during GW's tenure.
Perhaps she wanted to give the president and Republican controlled congress as much time as possible to push through a reasonable replacement for her. With the stall tactics imposed by the Democrats she may have figured a year and a half would be pushing the minimum time needed to accomplish the feat.
Just a guess but as reasonable as any other I've heard.
I gave the same explanation, i.e. a sort of O'Connor's "strategy", into another post. I think she wants to preserve an almost conservative "vote", because we all don't know any many months will be necessary for her replacement. And in October/November other important decisions will be taken by SC. Remember also that this one is not Rehnquist's Court, but Stevens's bynow.
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