Antonin Scalia

The Death Penalty Revisited, Again

Christopher Brauchli | Posted 12.04.2009 | Politics


Christopher Brauchli

Some innocent dead men walking can now take hope. Two cases have been decided in the last four months that suggest it may actually make a difference whether or not the visitor to the death chamber is guilty or innocent.

Scalia Misquoted On Brown v. Board Of Education (CORRECTED)

Posted 10.27.2009 | Politics


CORRECTION: An item posted here -- reporting that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that if he were on the court in 1954, he would have dissen...

Of Columbus Day and Crosses

Kenneth C. Davis | Posted 10.12.2009 | Politics


Kenneth C. Davis

The litany of sectarian killings that has been such a grotesque piece of America's "hidden history" is the reason that some of the Framers thought the First Amendment was so necessary.

Justice Scalia's Cross

Geoffrey R. Stone | Posted 10.09.2009 | Politics


Geoffrey R. Stone

Justice Scalia takes umbrage at the suggestion that an eight-foot-high Christian cross, erected as a memorial to soldiers killed in military service, violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

No Cross for Me, Thanks Anyway

David Weinberger | Posted 10.08.2009 | Politics


David Weinberger

Justice Scalia is right that it's intended to honor all the war dead. The problem is the assumption that you honor all war dead by putting up the religious symbols honored by some.

Blind Faith: Supreme Court Meltdown

Jeff Schweitzer | Posted 10.09.2009 | Politics


Jeff Schweitzer

If a Christian would not select a Star of David then why on earth would a Jew choose a cross? Yet that is exactly what Scalia proposes. The notion that the cross represents everybody is bizarre.

Scalia Defends Cross On Public Land, Claims It Represents Everyone

AP | MARK SHERMAN | Posted 10.08.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — As the Supreme Court weighed a dispute over a religious symbol on public land Wednesday, Justice Antonin Scalia was having difficul...

6 Supreme Court Justices Attend Catholic Service Red Mass; Cardinal Pleads For Rights Of Unborn

AP | Posted 10.04.2009 | Home


WASHINGTON — An American cardinal on Sunday issued a plea for the rights of the unborn at a church service that included Vice President Joe Bide...

Did Thomas Jefferson Think Corporations Were People?

Carl Pope | Posted 11.14.2009 | Politics


Carl Pope

Will the Supreme Court overturn 102 years of precedent and rule that corporations have the same right to spend money to influence elections that citizens possess?

Stevens' Clerks Believe He Will Retire Next Spring

Newsweek | Howard Fineman | Posted 11.14.2009 | Politics


Less than two weeks ago, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens made news in a typically elliptical court way. He announced that he had hired only on...

McCain Calls Out Chief Justice Roberts Over Campaign Finance Case

True Slant | Kate Klonick | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics


Yesterday marked the first case in front of newly-minted Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and the Court spared no controversy. The case, Citizens United v. F...

Court signals it may loosen campaign spending

AP | MARK SHERMAN | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court signaled Wednesday it may let businesses and unions spend freely to help their favored candidates in time for nex...

Justice Sotomayor, Justice Scalia and Our Six Catholic Justices

Geoffrey R. Stone | Posted 09.28.2009 | Home


Geoffrey R. Stone

Does the religion of the justices in any way matter to the business of the Supreme Court? During Sotomayor's confirmation hearings, her faith was largely backgrounded, as if being Latina matters but being Catholic doesn't.

Legalized: Oral Sex, Sodomy and Immoral Prosecutions

Tina Dupuy | Posted 09.21.2009 | Politics


Tina Dupuy

Illegal is not the same as immoral. Jaywalking is illegal, few would argue it's immoral. What lawmakers, banks and brokers did to the economy was technically legal -- but it was far from being moral.

When It Comes to Claims of Actual Innocence, Courts Need to Consider Recantations

John Maki | Posted 09.20.2009 | Chicago


John Maki

You might think that judges would be willing to review convictions based on testimony that was later recanted, but in fact courts frequently ignore recantations.

Right to Privacy and Strict Constructionist Republicans

Donnie Fowler | Posted 08.15.2009 | Politics


Donnie Fowler

What they say: Republicans say they hate government but also claim to be strict constructionists when it comes to the Constitution, but when it comes ...

Sonia Sotomayor and the Real Meaning of Republican Talking Points

Lincoln Mitchell | Posted 08.15.2009 | Politics


Lincoln Mitchell

Asserting that a judge's background and experience influence their decision is not unlike asserting that the Pacific Ocean is wet.

Can White Men Shed Their Prejudices Better Than Others?

Nathaniel Frank | Posted 08.14.2009 | Politics


Nathaniel Frank

The implication of Sessions' inquisition was that, as a white male with no distinguishing "heritage" to speak of, he and his ilk can make judgments totally free of feelings, belief, or experience.

Demolition Specialists: The Supreme Court's 2008/2009 Term

Nan Aron | Posted 08.10.2009 | Politics


Nan Aron

In Ricci v. DeStefano, the five conservatives on the Supreme Court struck a blow against this nation's most effective weapon for eliminating discrimination from our workplaces.

The Fraud of Honest-Services Fraud

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 07.23.2009 | Politics


Gary S. Chafetz

Essentially, honest-services fraud makes prosecutors omnipotent, because they can charge anybody they want with a federal felony.

Life Experience and Judicial Perspective

Geoffrey R. Stone | Posted 07.04.2009 | Politics


Geoffrey R. Stone

The focus instead should be on Sotomayor's intellectual ability, her judicial philosophy, and the nature and quality of her legal experience. But life experience isn't irrelevant.

Message to Republicans: Attacking Sotomayor is Another Nail in Your Coffin

Andy Ostroy | Posted 07.01.2009 | Politics


Andy Ostroy

It's been utterly fascinating to witness the speed and consistency of the vitriol heaped on Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's choice for the United States Supreme Court.

Jason Linkins

NYT Recycles 'Sharp-Tongue' Criticism Of Sotomayor

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 06.29.2009 | Media


I don't think I mentioned it previously, but when President Barack Obama announced that he would be submitting Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge S...

The Right's Supremely Flawed Opening Argument Against Sotomayor

Karl Frisch | Posted 06.29.2009 | Media


Karl Frisch

The Right's reaction to Sotomayor's "wise Latina" comment shows that numerous conservatives in the media have savaged her as a racist and a bigot.

The Supreme Court: New Face, Old Arguments

Stanley Kutler | Posted 06.29.2009 | Politics


Stanley Kutler

Sotomayor has the "right" gender, ethnicity, and experience; nevertheless, we can expect the Republicans to mount an "ideological" opposition.