Monday, March 06, 2006
Two thoughts about the Supreme Court...
1. The single most inane comment ever about an order denying cert. can be found in this AP story, about a case in which the Supreme Court refused to review a case about Ohio's law on grandparent visitation rights. The paragraph says: "The court did not comment in rejecting the appeal. Justices John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer are grandparents. And Justice Clarence Thomas was raised by his grandparents."
In other news, the Court also denied a request to review the EPA's ambient air quality standards. All nine justices are believed to be air breathers.
2. Second, I am glad FAIR v. Rumsfeld was decided as it was. But apart from happiness, there is another thought: Where the heck did all the liberals go? Did they give up? The "holding" of Supreme Court cases is so often obscured by their facts; this is frustrating for those who try to claim (with a straight face) that there is such a thing as The Law and The Rule of Law that should govern no matter how hot (or not) the subject. But who would have ever thought we would have a unanimous abortion case AND a unanimous gay rights case in OT '05? Not even the most ardent anti-legal realist would have predicted it.
In other news, the Court also denied a request to review the EPA's ambient air quality standards. All nine justices are believed to be air breathers.
2. Second, I am glad FAIR v. Rumsfeld was decided as it was. But apart from happiness, there is another thought: Where the heck did all the liberals go? Did they give up? The "holding" of Supreme Court cases is so often obscured by their facts; this is frustrating for those who try to claim (with a straight face) that there is such a thing as The Law and The Rule of Law that should govern no matter how hot (or not) the subject. But who would have ever thought we would have a unanimous abortion case AND a unanimous gay rights case in OT '05? Not even the most ardent anti-legal realist would have predicted it.
# posted by Anonymous : 7:48 PM
