Ten days after the Post unearthed a Justice Department memo deeming the recent Texas redistricting a violation of civil liberties, the Supreme Court says it will review the DeLay plan. “The panel stressed that it was deciding ‘only the legality’ of the redistricting plan, ‘not its wisdom.'”
Category: The Roberts Court
Scalito on the march.
“What can be made of this opportunity to advance the goals of bringing about the eventual overruling of Roe v. Wade and, in the meantime, of mitigating its effects?” He may be on the political back-burner until next month; nevertheless, Sam Alito’s nomination grows increasingly troubling, with word of another rabidly pro-life paper trail in his past which, like his conflicts of interest, he has heretofore failed to disclose.
Read ’em and weep.
“I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government argued…that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.” An unearthed 1985 job application by Sam Alito is chock-full of scary quotes by the Justice-nominee. “In the document, Alito said he drew inspiration from the ‘writings of William F. Buckley, Jr., The National Review and Barry Goldwater’s 1964 campaign.‘ ‘In college, I developed a deep interest in constitutional law, motivated in large part by disagreement with Warren Court decisions, particularly in the areas of criminal procedure, the Establishment Clause and reapportionment,’ he said.”
Alito Conflicted.
A true Dubya conservative? Aside from the usual Federalist Society wingnuttery, Judge Samuel Alito also appears to have some considerable conflict-of-interest problems on his record. “Alito had at least $390,000 in Vanguard mutual funds when he ruled in a 2002 case that favored the company. After a party to the suit complained, he stepped aside and another panel of judges reheard the case. Alito also ruled in a 1996 case involving Smith Barney, which was his brokerage firm.” This probably won’t derail his nomination by itself, but, still, Judiciary Committee members Kennedy and Feingold, among others, want answers.
The choices of Judge Sam.
Wise? Not hardly. It’s become even clearer since yesterday that Samuel Alito is no Sandra Day O’Connor, and that he’s all for ultra-conservative judicial activism. The Left appears ready for war this time around, but Alito’s fate probably rests with a few GOP moderates, including Specter, Collins, Snowe and Chafee. Update: Worse than Scalia?
“Scalito”‘s Way.
Dubya kicks off his first post-indictment week by throwing chum to the right-wing fundies and nominating Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the Supreme Court. So far, he sounds more John Roberts than Harriet Miers, but “[u]nlike Roberts, he has opined from the bench on abortion rights, church-state separation and gender discrimination to the pleasure of conservatives and displeasure of liberals.” Well, if the White House wants a battle to shore up its right flank, it looks like they’re going to get it.
Miers gets the hook.
Rather lamely citing a potential dispute over executive privilege (a.k.a. the Krauthammer option), the White House removes Harriet Miers from Court consideration. Obviously, this isn’t a big surprise after the recent right-wing uprising, but it does mean that Dubya’s next choice will undoubtedly veer closer to the fundie side of the fence. With that in mind, who’s next? Update: Washington reacts.
Marcy to Miers.
“Although it’s obviously too soon to situate the Bush administration in history, it’s possible…that it may be leading us into a period where politics is defined according to the old spoils system rather than the technocratic assumptions ushered in by the Progressive Era.” With the Miers pick in mind, Slate‘s David Greenberg reviews the sordid history of Supreme Court cronyism from Jackson to LBJ.
Harriet the Spy?
“She may turn out to be the greatest thing since Antonin Scalia, but when will we know that?” Two days after the Harriet Miers pick, and despite news reports accentuating her strong evangelicism, conservatives are still openly perturbed by the choice (George Will is particularly livid.) As for how she stands on the issues, we still know very little, other than her mixed record on gay rights and probable pro-life stance. (Well, presumably, she’s also pro-lottery.) Nevertheless, it sounds like she’s probably already got Harry Reid’s vote.
Round 2: Miers.
In the early morning, Dubya chooses White House Counsel Harriet Miers as the next Supreme Court nominee. (Searching far and wide again, I see.) Well, let the vetting begin. On the plus side, the fundies seem perturbed, and she has some Dem donations in her past. On the other hand, she’s a rabid Bush loyalist, calling him “the most brilliant man she had ever met.” (Get out much?) Update: The Weekly Standard‘s Bill Kristol is disappointed, depressed, and demoralized by the Miers pick, while Legal Times was already unenthused about her. Update 2: Slate‘s Dahlia Lithwick and Emily Bazelon are similarly nonplussed: “Can anyone really imagine that she’d be the nominee if she weren’t a woman and the president’s friend and loyal adviser? Cronyism and affirmative action: It’s a nasty mix.“