Supreme Court News

Justice Roberts Hasn’t Done Anything Impeachable. Rep. Peter DeFazio Should Quit It.

11:53 am EST October 25th, 2010 | Politics | 11 Comments

john roberts This is embarassing and shameful.

“I mean, the Supreme Court has done a tremendous disservice to the United States of America,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) told The Huffington Post on Tuesday. “They have done more to undermine our democracy with their Citizens United decision than all of the Republican operatives in the world in this campaign. They’ve opened the floodgates, and personally, I’m investigating articles of impeachment against Justice Roberts for perjuring during his Senate hearings, where he said he wouldn’t be a judicial activist, and he wouldn’t overturn precedents.”

I’m no fan of Chief Justice Roberts or many of the decisions he has made on the court, but the idea that he’s done anything impeachable is not only wrong but dangerous.

Even if Roberts had identified himself as a liberal then made a conservative decision, this does not qualify as perjury. Furthermore, the Supreme Court is important. It is at the top of the third branch of our government. Whether we disagree with the decisions it makes or not, a member of congress should not even be playing with this kind of rhetoric let alone engaging in any kind of investigation or whatever DeFazio claims to be doing. It undermines our system of government to make such a boneheaded accusation.

Justice Roberts makes decisions you don’t like? Elect a President who will appoint Justices who will agree with you. We’ve done that so far with Sotomayor and Kagan, and Bush did it with Roberts and Alito. But this advocacy of impeachment because of political outcomes is straight up Bircher stuff.

Topic: John Roberts, Peter DeFazio, Supreme Court

Lillian McEwen, Others, Back Up Anita Hill On Clarence Thomas

9:10 am EST October 22nd, 2010 | Conservative, History | 45 Comments

Clarence Thomas

At the time of the Clarence Thomas hearings, Lillian McEwen’s relationship with Clarence Thomas was cited by defenders as a rebuttal to Anita Hill’s testimony against him:

To McEwen, Hill’s allegations that Thomas had pressed her for dates and made lurid sexual references rang familiar.

‘He was always actively watching the women he worked with to see if they could be potential partners,’ McEwen said matter-of-factly. ‘It was a hobby of his.’”

…

“He was obsessed with porn,” she said of Thomas, who is now 63. “He would talk about what he had seen in magazines and films, if there was something worth noting.”

McEwen added that she had no problem with Thomas’s interests, although she found pornography to be “boring.”

According to McEwen, Thomas would also tell her about women he encountered at work. He was partial to women with large breasts, she said. In an instance at work, Thomas was so impressed that he asked one woman her bra size, McEwen recalled him telling her.

…

However bizarre they may seem, McEwen’s recollections resemble accounts shared by other women that swirled around the Thomas confirmation.

Angela Wright, who in 1984 worked as public affairs director at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — which polices sexual harassment claims — during Thomas’s long tenure as chairman, shared similar accounts with Senate investigators.

Once, when walking into an EEOC seminar with Thomas, he asked her, “What size are your breasts?” according to the transcript of her Senate interview.

Her story was corroborated by a former EEOC speechwriter, who told investigators that Wright had become increasingly uneasy around Thomas because of his comments about her appearance.

…

Another woman, Sukari Hardnett, who worked as a special assistant to Thomas in 1985 and 1986, wrote in a letter to the Judiciary Committee that “If you were young, black, female and reasonably attractive, you knew full well you were being inspected and auditioned as a female” by Thomas.

Topic: Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court

Virginia Thomas Asks Anita Hill To Apologize For Clarence Thomas Sexually Harassing Her

8:44 am EST October 20th, 2010 | Politics | 117 Comments

Anita Hill

When you wonder what sort of insanity would lead a woman to marry Clarence Thomas, now Virginia Thomas has answered the question.

She called up Anita Hill and demand that Hill apologize. Hill! Thomas is the one who harassed this woman, not the other way around. Insane.

Topic: Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court, Virginia Thomas

Supreme Court Rules On Discrimination Case

1:23 pm EST May 24th, 2010 | Politics | 12 Comments

But according to Rand Paul, such cases don’t come up anymore, and nobody should ask him about his cavalier attitude towards federal civil rights law. Except…

Topic: Race, Rand Paul, Supreme Court

GOP Attacks National Hero Thurgood Marshall To Get To Kagan

11:26 am EST May 10th, 2010 | Politics | 46 Comments

thurgood marshall Seriously. It’s like the RNC is trying to redefine stupid.

Republicans are questioning Elena Kagan’s ties to a liberal icon and the nation’s first African American Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall.

In its first memo to reporters since Kagan’s nomination to the high court became public, the Republican National Committee highlighted Kagan’s tribute to Marshall in a 1993 law review article published shortly after his death.

Kagan quoted from a speech Marshall gave in 1987 in which he said the Constitution as originally conceived and drafted was ‘defective.’ She quoted him as saying the Supreme Court’s mission was to ‘show a special solicitude for the despised and the disadvantaged.’

‘Does Kagan Still View Constitution ‘As Originally Drafted And Conceived’ As ‘Defective’?’ the RNC asked in its research document. ‘And Does Kagan Still Believe That The Supreme Court’s Primary Mission Is To ‘Show A Special Solicitude For The Despised And Disadvantaged’?’

Topic: Elena Kagan, Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall

Who Is Elena Kagan?

10:45 am EST May 10th, 2010 | Politics | 8 Comments

Elena Kagan is President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring John Paul Stevens. She currently serves as the Solicitor General of the United States and previously was the dean of Harvard Law School. She clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall.

One of the Nation’s Leading Legal Minds: The President Nominates Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court’

Myths and falsehoods about Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court nomination

GOP filibuster to block Kagan appears unlikely

Conservative opposition to Kagan is motivated by politics, not substance

GOP attacks Kagan by defending slavery. Seriously.

Topic: Elena Kagan, Supreme Court

Elena Kagan: The Conservative Attack Pattern From Sotomayor

8:57 am EST May 10th, 2010 | Politics | 10 Comments

Topic: Elena Kagan, Supreme Court

Obama To Name Elena Kagan To Supreme Court

6:51 am EST May 10th, 2010 | Politics | 1 Comment

elena kagan Yay, Supreme court fight.

At 50 years old, Kagan would be the youngest justice on the court, one of many factors working in her favor. She has the chance to extend Obama’s legacy for a generation.

An announcement is planned for 10 a.m. ET at the White House.

A source close to the selection process told The Associated Press that a central element in Obama’s choice was Kagan’s reputation for bringing together people of competing views and earning their respect.

Remember, Republicans spent millions a few years ago explaining to us that Supreme court nominees deserve an up or down vote. They got those up or down votes for Roberts, Alito, and Scalia.

MORE: Myths and falsehoods about Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court nomination

Topic: President Obama, Supreme Court

John Paul Stevens Retiring: We Need A Liberal Justice

11:32 am EST April 9th, 2010 | Politics | 37 Comments

With the now announced retirement of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, it’s a prime opportunity for President Obama to appoint a liberal justice to the court. We need to continue to counter the conservative tilt of the court with Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Scalia. We need a young, liberal-leaning justice.

Topic: John Paul Stevens, President Obama, Supreme Court