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Toldya So

Posted in Judges on Tuesday August 10 2010 @ 8:30pm

Did we not say, at least a million times, Hug an activist judge?

We did. We even put it on a damn t-shirt.

Now everyone (OK, not EVERYone) else is saying it, too. See In Defense of the New Judicial Activists Emily Bazelon, Slate (August 9, 2010). Mr. Rettenmund of Boy Culture says Recuse This (August 5, 2010).

Hug an activist judge!

Con Law Fun

Posted in Judges on Tuesday August 10 2010 @ 2:21pm

So we strung three words together, one of which doesn't belong.

Fun? Really?

A barrel of monkeys it's not, but anyone who ever wanted to get inside the mind of Justice Breyer and learn something to boot might check out On Handguns and the Law, Stephen Breyer, New York Review of Books (August 19, 2010).

The Woman Who Knew Too Much

Posted in Judges on Friday May 14 2010 @ 6:18pm

She's waaaay too smart!

Not enough judicial experience!

Softball player -- bad news!

The truth about Elena Kagan is that being too smart was never a hurdle to a job as SCOTUS Justice. When it becomes one, we're all in trouble.

Experience? Solicitor General is a pretty good start. Keep in mind that the current Chief spent fewer than two years as a judge before being appointed for his good looks and celebrity co-stars.

Being dean of the University of Chicago of the East's law school is an admirable gig. Deans have to get people to work together, raise funds, and maintain academic cred for themselves and for their school. Clerking for the likes of Justice Marshall and Judge Mikva helps, too.

We're sure she can figure out how the robe goes on all by herself.

And softball? Well, half of court-o-rama would probably prefer a Twins player (or perhaps a Doublemint Twin), but we work with what we're given. The other half could not care less! Softball? Really? That's all ya got?

Random Read-O-Rama

Posted in Judges on Thursday April 22 2010 @ 7:19pm

So much to look at, so little time!

Geoffrey Stone (like George Will before him) wins a free court-o-rama t-shirt for these words of wisdom: Our Fill-in-the-Blank Constitution, NYT (April 13, 2010). See also the letters from fans and foes alike (April 21, 2010).

Ruth Marcus proposes a bad idea: It's Time for Term Limits for U.S. Justices, Washington Post via truthdig (April 22, 2010).

Say what you like (and we have!) about South Carolina Governor Sanford, but he does have one good idea: Sanford Backs Plan to Put Fewer Non-Violent Offenders in Prison, Jason Spencer, GoUpstate.com (April 22, 2010). Even a blind pig finds a truffle once in awhile. H/T to Doug Berman (for the Sanford article, not the truffle adage).

Random Reads: SCOTUS Edition

Posted in Judges on Saturday April 17 2010 @ 7:44pm

George Will dusts off his Frankfurter and claims Ted Kennedy invented Borking: No (Political) Experience Required (April 15, 2010)

Adam Liptak is seldom surprised: Why Newer Appointees Offer Fewer Surprises NYT, (April 17, 2010)

Stanley Kutler populates his list with folks we've never thought of, such as Ohio's AG Cordray -- who is an utterly boring version of Eliot Spitzer: A Supreme Court Choice We Can Believe In, courtesy truthdig (April 15, 2010)

Link whore (the NYR spammed -- um, sent -- us a link to this post) Anthony Lewis ponders Justice Stevens's legacy and mind: An Unfettered Mind: Justice Stevens, NYR blog (April 13, 2010)

Just how gay (or not) should a SCOTUS nominee be? The Courage Campaign speaks up (and encourages others to do the same): President Obama: Sexual Orientation Shoult NOT Be a Factor... etc.

Notre Dame Law professor Richard W. Garnett explains why Protestants are a minority on the high court: The Minority Court, WSJ (April 17, 2010)

Berkeley, Shmerkeley, or Yoo Who?

Posted in Judges on Saturday April 17 2010 @ 6:00pm

Oh no! Thw WSJ is afraid of the b-word when it comes to SCOTUS nominees: Berkeley. See Berkeley's Judge: A Liberal Nominee of Illiberal Temperament, WJS (April 17, 2010).

But wait...on the very next page (paper version), see The Supreme Court and National Security, by -- guess who! John Yoo!

Who is Yoo? A Boalt Hall (aka Berkeley Law) professor. Also: former torture apologist.

The Stevens Pool

Posted in Judges on Wednesday April 07 2010 @ 5:00am

Aren't you glad you're not a Supreme Court justice? The minute you turn 90-ish and whisper thoughts of retirement, the wonks of the world start thinking about your successors. They compile lists, argue about religion, and pull out their extra-special SCOTUS crystal balls. Nobody's making the poor guy a cake or planning a party. With all the fuss, you'd think they went and changed Scrabble or something. Hey, don't let those enormous Supreme Court doors hit you on the way out!

Nevertheless, it is hard to ignore the ramifications of Justice Stevens's impending exit from the bench. NPR's Nina Totenberg ponders the religion of Supreme Court justices. There are now more devout Catholics on the bench than there are in most pews these days. Moreoever, Justice Stevens is a minority -- he's the only white Protestant male on our high court. See Supreme Court May Soon Lack Protestant Justices, Nina Totenberg, NPR (April 7, 2010).

Meanwhile, dahling Dahlia Lithwick goes all Levi-Strauss on the issue. See Short Shrift: The Supreme Court Shortlist as Political Anthropology, Dahlia Lithwick, Slate (April 5, 2010).

And, TV star Jeffrey Toobin explains that Justice Stevens is verrrry old. See After Stevens, Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker (March 22, 2010).

For our part, we like to remind the world that Justice Stevens was a Ford appointee. Why is that important? Well, it means that Ford did actually do something that had a lasting impression. It also means this: ya never know. Take that, all you Kreskinesque commentators!

Goodbye Handshake

Posted in Judges on Saturday April 03 2010 @ 2:45pm

Chief Justice Moyer was the kind of person who would attend an event and greet people at the door with a handshake. Not the Vote for me! kind, but the Glad you could stop by! kind. We know the difference.

So we were very sorry to hear that this tireless advocate of ADR (he started one of the first and best foreclosure mediation programs), election reformer (he opposed judicial elections), and all-around nice guy passed away yesterday. He worked to improve state-federal bench relations, supported innovations for court interpreters, enjoyed bipartisan support, worked well with other branches of government (if that doesn't seem important, see: Florida), and championed drug courts well ahead of the fray. In fact, it was at an NADCP conference where he was handing out handshakes -- not as a keynote speaker, not as a candidate, but as a person there to support the work of panelists at a session on state drug courts.

His opinions weren't too bad, either. Sure we will have to agree to disagree at times, but a recent decision requiring a warrant for cell phone searches set the tone for other jurisdictions who might not yet have examined the question.

YouJudge

Posted in Judges on Saturday February 27 2010 @ 10:16am

Some judges would only be caught dead on a camera in the courtroom -- Over my dead body say some.

Not Judge James Kimbler and Judge Kovack of the Medina Court of Common Pleas in Ohio. On the court website, Judge Kimbler says I want you to know what is going on in your Medina County Courthouse. He follows up on that promise by using technology.

Judge Kimbler and Judge Kovack are so media-savvy they make your tween look like a luddite. Attorneys (and others) may join the court's e-mail list.

Attorneys may participate in an online pretrial chat.

Blog is their middle name. Inside the Court is a (seemingly outdated) blog hosted by the two judges with video and blog posts. Judge Kimbler has his own blog as well (more up-to-date).

He's even on YouTube! The insidethecourtMCDRC channel features video clips of hearings and other court matters. (See also the Inside the Court Online Edition on the left-hand side of the court's website.)

The court website also has audio jury instructions, the court's daily schedule, local rules, decisions, contact information, etc.

We can't wait to see what they'll try next -- Twitter? Facebook fan page? PDA-friendliness? Stay tuned...this is access to justice of the future.

Man Bites Dog

Posted in Judges on Sunday February 07 2010 @ 7:51pm

...that's how rare it is to find a judge who is not only interested in court administration, but who also wants to be a court administrator.

If approved, that's exactly what will happen to former Judge Joseph J. Musto of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. We're impressed; many judges and court administrators can't even be in the same room together.

See the somewhat ambitious Former Judge Musto Named County Court Administrator, Michael R. Sisak, Citizens Voice (January 28, 2010).

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