Supreme Leader: The Arrogance of Anthony Kennedy
Justice Anthony Kennedy
In the current issue, I write about the utopianism of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who as the swing vote on the Supreme Court, has imposed his moral abstractions on issues ranging from women's rights to the death penalty. Here are some totemic documents that may help to illuminate his worldview. Justice Kennedy's interview with the Academy of Achievement, June 3, 2005. In the most comprehensive interview he has granted, Kennedy shares his opinions on everything from Billy Budd to The Bonfire of the Vanities.
John Roberts, centrist?; Partial Solution
As always, Democratic candidates in the last election warned thatconservative Supreme Court justices would threaten abortion rights.So it was especially appropriate that, as Democrats werecelebrating their victory on the morning of November 8, the Courtwas hearing oral arguments in two cases that many liberals fearcould signal the beginning of the end for Roe v. Wade. The cases,which concern the federal ban on partial-birth abortion, are similarto a case the Court decided in 2000 involving the constitutionalityof partial- birth abortion bans in 29 states.
House Arrest
0 0 1 1251 7132 Duke University 59 16 8367 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:JA;} On the eve of losing the House, the Republican National Committee sent journalists a frantic e-mail. "Who is Rep. Joh
Full Court Press
Bill Keller can't sleep. It is four o'clock on a sticky morning in the summer of 2007, and the executive editor of The New York Times is pacing his home, cursing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Here is the root of his insomnia: A few months earlier, the Democrats recaptured the House.
Bush's Leviathan state.
One of the defining principles of the Bush administration has been a belief in unfettered executive power. Indeed, President Bush has taken the principle to such unprecedented extremes that an ironic reversal has taken place: A conservative ideology that had always been devoted to limiting government power has been transformed into the largest expansion of executive power since FDR.
Congress lets the NSA run amok.
This article is adapted from Jeffrey Rosen's new book, The Most Democratic Branch: How the Courts Serve America (Oxford University Press). On May 11, USA Today revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been secretly collecting the phone records of tens of millions of Americans in the hope of detecting terrorists. In response to the story, civil libertarians are once again rushing to court.
Alberto Gonzales's spin.
After Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's inept performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Republicans as well as Democrats expressed strong skepticism about the legality of the Bush administration's domestic wiretapping program.
Samuel Alito, executive assistant.
Senator Patrick Leahy wanted a straight answer to a simple question. "Wouldn't it be constitutional for the Congress to outlaw Americans from using torture?" the senator asked Judge Samuel Alito during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings last week. Here was Alito's reply: "Well, senator, I think the important points are that the president has to follow the Constitution and the laws. ... But, as to specific issues that might come up, I really need to know the specifics."This wasn't exactly the answer Leahy was looking for.
Uncle Sam
Senator Patrick Leahy wanted a straight answer to a simple question. "Wouldn't it be constitutional for the Congress to outlaw Americans from using torture?" the senator asked Judge Samuel Alito during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings last week. Here was Alito's reply: "Well, senator, I think the important points are that the president has to follow the Constitution and the laws. ... But, as to specific issues that might come up, I really need to know the specifics."This wasn't exactly the answer Leahy was looking for.
