In the wake of the highly contentious confirmation hearing of Justice Kavanaugh, the Justices are speaking out about the importance of the Supreme Court’s independence from politics. At an event last week at the University of Minnesota Law School, Chief Justice John Roberts made a point of saying that he wanted to discuss “events in … Continue reading Defending the Supreme Court—The Justices Speak Out
The Supreme Court’s newest member, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, continues to make the news. Within days of his confirmation as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts granted a request to transfer a series of ethics complaints against Kavanaugh to the Tenth Circuit. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals initially received the complaints, … Continue reading Roberts Transfers Kavanaugh Ethics Inquiry to the 10th Circuit
Brett Kavanaugh has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court for over a week now. Here’s a recap of events since his October 6 Senate confirmation vote. By some measures, Kavanaugh is the least popular nominee to make it to the Court. Kavanaugh’s 50-48 confirmation vote tied Justice Clarence Thomas, who was approved 52-48 … Continue reading The Court’s Newest Justice
On this day in 1991, National Public Radio first broke the story of Anita Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. After graduating from Yale Law School, Hill worked as special counsel to Thomas, who was then head of the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education. … Continue reading On This Day in Supreme Court History—October 6, 1991
Last Thursday’s explosive Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is still reverberating across the political landscape. What took place is sure to have significant ramifications for the upcoming midterm elections, for sexual politics in the coming years, and for future Supreme Court nominations hearings. Still unclear, however, is whether it changed the course of what had just … Continue reading The Kavanaugh Nomination—Where Things Stands
On this day in 1986, Antonin Scalia was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. At the same ceremony, William Rehnquist was sworn in as the sixteenth Chief Justice of the United States. President Ronald Reagan used the occasion to praise the two men for their commitment to “judicial constraint.” … Continue reading On This Day in Supreme Court History—September 26, 1986
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh broke precedent during his confirmation hearings by declining to take a stance on cameras in the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh acknowledged that many recent nominees have suggested during confirmation hearings that they would support video coverage of the oral arguments at the Court, but then promptly reversed themselves upon taking a … Continue reading The Latest on Cameras in the Supreme Court
Last night, in primetime, President Trump nominated Brett M. Kavanaugh to become the next Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. If approved by the Senate, he would replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is scheduled to retire at the end of the month. The President, a man not known for constancy or predictability, did exactly … Continue reading And the Nominee Is ….
Why in the world did Wendy Vitter refuse to declare her allegiance to that constitutional holy of holies, Brown v. Board of Education? U.S. Supreme Court Justices of the 1953 session Harris and Ewing/Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division During Vitter’s confirmation hearings this week, Senator Richard Blumenthal asked the federal district court nominee … Continue reading Dancing Away From Brown
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens made headlines recently with his comments calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment. In his March 27th op-ed in the New York Times, the 97-year-old ex-justice dismissed the amendment a “relic of the 18th century.” He noted that for most of the amendment’s history, it was understood … Continue reading Repeal the Second Amendment?