Free Republic

Media Bias: When Sandra Day O'Connor said she regretted her decision in Bush v. Gore, the press threw another fit about the "stolen" election. They seem to forget their own studies proved the court's ruling didn't matter. [snip] After that election, USA Today, the New York Times and every other major news organization spent months manually recounting Florida ballots in hopes of proving that the court did, in fact, hand victory to Bush. And what did these recounts find?

Today (Tuesday) the San Francisco Chronicle ran an editorial entitled, “Why Alito is the wrong choice.” Instead of demonstrating what it says, it demonstrates why the Chronicle has failed to do its homework as reporters, in preparing its editorial. Here’s why: The editorial begins with this statement: In some ways, Alito's taciturn approach to questions about the great constitutional issues of our time was similar to that of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. But the distinction between the history of the two judges -- and the role of the justice they were nominated to replace -- are important. First,...

Harriet Miers has now withdrawn as a nominee for the Supreme Court. No one of the attacks against her would have been sufficient to cause withdrawal. Instead, she suffered the death of a thousand cuts. Who will be the new nominee, and how will she answer the inevitable attacks against her? Yes, “her.” I expect the President to nominate another woman to replace Justice O’Connor, whose resignation is conditional on confirmation of her replacement. Here’s my prediction of the new nominee’s opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee: Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee: We have now had, in short...

Two of my ministers have regularly conducted “mini-sermons” for the children in the church. When they do that, they demonstrate a universal truth. No one really understands a subject until he can explain it in plain English to a ten year old. I think the question of appointing new Justices to the Supreme Court cries out for that treatment. The Fry Cook Rule may provide the answer. One member of the Supreme Court has already resigned, Justice O’Connor. Three others may not be long behind her, Chief Justice Rehnquist, and Justices Ginsburg and Stevens. I won’t repeat what I’ve said...

Two Sandra Day O'Connors have served as Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court. It makes a world of difference which one President Bush chooses to replace. First, we look at the late O'Connor, the one who is retiring. The L.A. Times asserted this week that O'Connor “alone was in the majority of every one of the court’s 13 5-4 decisions this last term.” There are two tiny problems with this assertion. There were 24 such decisions this Term. And, Justices Souter and Scalia were in the majority in them more often than Justice O’Connor. See SCOTUSBlog for the facts....

Americans who want to keep government out of the bedroom, beware. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that makes it too easy for the government to seize your bedroom -- and kitchen, parlor and dining room -- then hand your precious home over to a corporation. The Fifth Amendment stipulates, "... nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Lawyers call it the Takings Clause. In its decision, the Supreme Court expanded the concept of "public use" to apply it not to a highway, or school, or railroad, but to economic development sanctioned...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 - One federal court upheld them as a symbol of the country's devotion to its legal heritage. Another federal court ordered them removed as an illicit message of religious endorsement. Fifteen months ago, Alabama's chief justice lost his job over them, and the two-ton granite monument that once sat in the rotunda of the state courthouse is now the star of a national tour. The profile of the Ten Commandments, it seems, has rarely been higher, or their ability to attract lawsuits greater. Now, as with all great controversies in American life, this one has finally reached...

Published October 28, 2004 ASSOCIATED PRESS Justice Sandra Day O'Connor yesterday extolled the growing role of international law in U.S. courts, saying judges would be negligent if they disregarded its importance in a post-September 11 world of heightened tensions. In a 15-minute speech at Georgetown law school, Justice O'Connor made no mention of the health of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, 80, who was hospitalized this week for thyroid cancer and is expected to return to work Monday. Justice O'Connor said the Supreme Court is increasingly taking cases that demand a better understanding of foreign legal systems. A recent example...

The two top news stories of the last week were the capture of Saddam Hussein in Tikrit, and the Supreme Court decision in D.C. approving the campaign finance “reform” act. The two are related some curious ways, the first being the incompetence of the American press in covering the story. Let’s begin with the capture of Saddam Hussein, who was pulled out of a “spider hole” on a farm near his home town and taken into custody by some Americans from Texas (how appropriate) without firing a shot. He looked like one of those shopping cart people who are found...

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor confessed last week that she has violated her oath of office in the past. That she intends to violate her oath in the future. And that she thinks this is good for America. Does that sound highly improbable? Wouldn't the national press have covered such a thing if it happened? Read on. The Constitution states the oath of office that Presidents must take before entering on their duties. Each President must swear (or affirm) that he will "to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." By...

LAW OF THE LAND Justice: Can Constitution make it in global age? On TV, Breyer wonders whether it will 'fit into governing documents of other nations' Posted: July 7, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com In a rare appearance on a television news show, Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer questioned whether the U.S. Constitution, the oldest governing document in use in the world today, will continue to be relevant in an age of globalism. Speaking with ABC News' "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos and his colleague Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Breyer took issue with Justice Antonin Scalia, who,...

The Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia is getting so close that the Forecaddie can pratcially smell the azaleas, but there may be more in the air than that.Something big, big, big.Here goes, the Forecaddy hears, from more than one source, that the Augusta National Golf Club will announce it's first female member April 9, the day before the start of this year's Masters 'tooniment.'The Chosen One? Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.The Man Out Front has been scratching his head trying to do the math on this one. Why would Augusta National turn it's prized...