Posted on 07/24/2006 10:44:01 AM PDT by JSedreporter
On July 1st, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) finished its term until October. The history books may refer to the present court as the “Roberts Court,” named so after current Chief Justice John Roberts, but many analysts are talking about Justice Kennedy.
“It is impossible to overstate the importance of Justice Kennedy,” Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News told the audience at the Heritage Foundation last Thursday.
A panel of journalists, including Mr. Stohr, Charles Lane of The Washington Post, and Stephen Henderson of McClatchy Newspapers, focused most of their remarks on “Justice Kennedy’s Hamlet moment,” as Mr. Henderson put it.
Justice Anthony Kennedy has been viewed as a swing vote in the Supreme Court for many years. He often ruled along the same lines as former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Justice O’Connor resigned her position last year and was replaced by Justice Samuel Alito. In this term, Justice Kennedy has started to come out of the shadows and take an active role on the Court.
“I think [Justice Kennedy] knows what he thinks he’s doing,” Mr. Henderson stated. He later went on to say, “He is aware of his importance.”
Mr. Lane agreed with Mr. Henderson by pointing out that Justice Kennedy “is a different kind of decision maker than Justice O’Connor.”
The next term could be especially important for Justice Kennedy’s decision-making skills. Mr. Lane noted that “The Court granted cert” to the partial birth abortion ban as well as two cases that deal with the “race conscious assignment” of students, giving the highest judicial panel in the land the chance to take a new look at these cases.
There has been “no real circuit split on these issues,” Mr. Lane informed the audience. He then added, “It’s going to be interesting to see” how the Court handles these two cases.
Mr. Lane encouraged the audience to pay especially close attention to the two cases that deal with race conscious assignment of students.
In the upcoming cases, the school systems want to create diversity within the school community by bringing in students of other races from outside schools. Unlike the busing of students during the 1960s and 1970s, the school system is not being forced to integrate but rather doing it voluntarily.
“Think about what a complete reversal that is from 1954.” In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled segregation illegal at schools in the Brown v. Board case.
Matthew Murphy is an intern at Accuracy in Academia.
My birthday is in September. All I'm asking for is Breyer's, Ginsburg's, Souter's, or Stevens' retirement. I'm a reasonable woman.
May I amend that, slightly?
My birthday is in September. All I'm asking for is Breyer's, Ginsburg's, Souter's, AND Stevens' retirement.
Amended.
My "concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life" involves the retirement or removal by impeachment of Kennedy, Souter, Breyer, Ginsburg, and Stevens.
Oh, wouldn't that be a hoot. Two or more lib retirements??? Maybe one retiring, one passing on. The left would have a collective HERD!!!
Hee hee! That's how I originally wrote it, but I didn't want to ask for too much. You know, like I don't wish for Democrats to die, I just want them to develop Tourette's Syndrome.
Simply stated about these expert opinions on everything, "there's too much analyzin' goin' on here........"
SCJ Kennedy is a Liberal yokel, and this swing vote crap is useless. Call Scalia a swing vote, or call Thomas a swing vote; i.e., whenever a decison goes 5-4, whoever wants to be the "5" any day can be called the swing voter.
He wrote the opinion in the Gitmo tribunal case that was one of the most disgustingly obvious abuses of power I've seen from the court in a while.
He has a habit of quoting foreign law, apparently forgetting that the Supreme Court has no authority to make treaties with other nations.
He has arrogantly decided that the constitution doesn't matter. All that matters is what the majority of the court decides, then all that remains to be done is to rationalize it.
LOL!!
May I borrow that for my tag line?
Pretty please?
With a couple of minor changes there's even room for attribution:
Me wish for Democrats to die? No, I just want them to develop Tourette's Syndrome. ~American Quilter
Of course you may, and thanks for the compliment! Sorry it took me so long to respond--work is interfering with my FReeping.
This 'uns a keeper!
This is very flattering--I've never been cited on FR before! I like your home page, by the way.
Thanks for the kind words. And you're welcome!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.