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
On this day in 1954, William Brennan gave a speech that cost him a unanimous vote in the Senate when he was later nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Brennan, then a judge on the New Jersey Supreme Court, spoke at the St. Patrick’s Day dinner of the Charitable Irish Society of Boston. He chose … Continue reading On This Day in Supreme Court History—March 17, 1954
Going nuclear may serve Republicans today, but in the long term, it may do more for Democrats. Today, in response to a Democratic filibuster of Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court, the Republicans voted to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to end debate on a Supreme Court nomination. The Republicans have an immediate victory … Continue reading Gaming Out the Nuclear Option
It’s showdown week for the Gorsuch nomination. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee debates and votes on the nominee. Democratic committee members scored a minor victory after the hearings had concluded when they were able to head off the effort of Republican committee members to have a quick vote on Gorsuch. The Democrats asked for more … Continue reading The Gorsuch Report—Going Nuclear?
Judge Neil Gorsuch is headed toward Senate confirmation. Ever since the President made the nomination, it has been hard to imagine another outcome. Short of some scandalous skeletons emerging from Judge Gorsuch’s closet—a closet that, by all accounts, appears safely devoid of anything of much interest—this is a loss Democrats expected. The Republicans have the … Continue reading Why the Democrats Lost the Gorsuch Hearings
It was another long day for Judge Neil Gorsuch. Yesterday, day three of his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, was the second round of questions from senators on the Judiciary Committee. In the first round, senators had thirty minutes each to question the nominee; for the second round, senators had twenty minutes each. The headlines were … Continue reading The Gorsuch Report—Confirmation Hearings, Day 3
It’s finally here. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee begins its confirmation hearing for Judge Neil Gorsuch to become the next associate justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Gorsuch has been busy during the seven weeks since President Trump nominated him. He has met with 72 senators. He has been studying, going over his own opinions … Continue reading The Gorsuch Report—Confirmation Hearings Day 1
Less than a week away from the confirmation hearings for Neil Gorsuch to be the next associate justice of the Supreme Court and the media machine is ramping up. Journalists are publishing a new round of stories on Gorsuch. Commentators, activists, and politicians are busy attacking and defending the nominee, each side hoping to score … Continue reading The Gorsuch Report—Week 7
It’s week six of the Gorsuch nomination. His nomination hearings begin on March 20. The first anniversary of the death of Justice Antonin Scalia (whose seat Gorsuch, if approved, would take) has sparked a new round of comparisons between the two jurists. Judge Gorsuch, writes Richard Wolf in USA Today, “represent[s] the first generation of … Continue reading The Gorsuch Report—Week 6