How Appealing



Friday, July 22, 2005

“Poll: Most Americans Say Roberts Should Be Confirmed; Public Wants Nominee to State Views on Abortion Before Vote.” The Washington Post provides this news update.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports today that “A sparse record hints at strict interpretation.”

Newsday yesterday contained an article headlined “A coincidence or a conflict?” that begins, “Last Friday, on the day he met with President George W. Bush at the White House to seek elevation to the Supreme Court, Judge John Roberts also lent Bush some support from the bench – his vote in a key war-on-terror decision.” Today, the newspaper contains an op-ed by Anita F. Hill entitled “Nomination a step back for diversity; If Supreme Court selection process stays narrow and elite, more diverse candidates will never be considered” and an op-ed by columnist James Klurfeld entitled “High court just a mirror of the nation’s politics.”

In The Philadelphia Daily News, columnist Jill Porter has an op-ed entitled “For Roberts, ‘so far, so good’; He might revive dying breed: Feminists.”

And via Orin Kerr at “The Volokh Conspiracy,” you can access here a transcript of John G. Roberts, Jr.‘s remarks made in July 1997 while participating in a PBS “NewsHour” retrospective on the October 1996 Term of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Posted at 5:58 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court: Nomination Process.” Law Professor Viet Dinh, who knows about this subject from the time he spent as Assistant Attorney General in the George W. Bush adminstration, took part in this online chat (link to transcript) today at washingtonpost.com.

Posted at 5:44 PM by Howard Bashman



Available online at Salon.com: Law Professor Dawn Johnsen has an essay entitled “Would Roberts respect privacy? Don’t be fooled: There’s more than one way for Bush’s high court nominee to undermine reproductive rights.”

Farhad Manjoo has an essay entitled “Not another white man! Bush’s Roberts pick leaves the high court — which symbolically represents an entire branch of the federal government — with only one woman and one racial minority; That’s absurd and wrong.”

And Rebecca Traister has an article headlined “‘We’ve got to Bork Roberts!’; Protesters sweat it out in the sweltering Manhattan heat to take their first stand against Bush’s Supreme Court nominee.”

Posted at 2:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“It Takes an Establishment: At some point the radicals need assistance, support, and reinforcement from establishment conservatives–like John Roberts.” William Kristol will have this essay in the August 1, 2005 issue of The Weekly Standard.

Posted at 2:33 PM by Howard Bashman



“As Bad as We Want Him to Be? John Roberts’ detractors make him seem like a good choice for the Supreme Court.” Jacob Sullum has this essay today online at Reason.

Posted at 2:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Judge Roberts and the 1982 Voting Rights Act Memos: Why I Now Expect They Will Be Produced.” Law Professor Rick Hasen has this post today at his “Election Law” blog.

Posted at 2:08 PM by Howard Bashman



View online Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s speaking appearance yesterday at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference: Thanks to C-SPAN, you can view the speech online by clicking here (RealPlayer required). Justice O’Connor’s appearance starts out hilariously thanks to the moderator’s introduction, which includes reference to the John Riggins episode.

Posted at 11:00 AM by Howard Bashman



D.C. Circuit rejects Jonathan J. Pollard’s second federal habeas corpus motion collaterally attacking his 1987 life sentence on ineffective-assistance-of-counsel grounds: You can access today’s ruling at this link. Today’s decision also rejects Pollard’s appeal from the district court’s denial of his petition for access to classified documents in his sentencing file for the purpose of filing a clemency petition with the President of the United States.

Posted at 10:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“Judges back Jefferson desegregation plan; School dispute likely headed to high court”: The Louisville Courier-Journal today contains an article that begins, “Jefferson County Public Schools’ racial desegregation plan has survived another legal challenge — and appears headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

You can access yesterday’s per curiam opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link.

Posted at 9:55 AM by Howard Bashman



Available online from The New Republic: The magazine’s August 1, 2005 issue will contain an essay by Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen entitled “Bottoms Up: John Roberts is a conservative, not an ideologue.”

The August 1st issue will also contain an essay by Law Professor Cass R. Sunstein entitled “Minimal Appeal: John Roberts is a respected intellectual who eschews fundamental questions of law.”

And the July 25, 2005 issue of the magazine contains an essay by Michael Crowley entitled “Miranda Rights: How the once-disgraced conservative judicial activist Manuel Miranda is getting back on his feet.”

Posted at 8:30 AM by Howard Bashman



“U.S. court wants Unabomber’s journals to be sold; Proceeds from sale would be used to pay his victims”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted at 7:38 AM by Howard Bashman



“Product is judge; market is America; White House script for John Roberts Jr. handled judiciously”: This article appears today in The Chicago Tribune.

Posted at 7:35 AM by Howard Bashman



“Memo at Reagan Library Sheds Light on Roberts’s Civil Rights Views”: Josh Gerstein has this article today in The New York Sun.

Posted at 7:28 AM by Howard Bashman



The Los Angeles Times is reporting: Today’s newspaper reports that “Roberts Unlikely to Trigger Break of Filibuster Pact; Centrist senators say the nominee does not seem ‘extraordinary’ enough for Democrats to block.”

In related coverage, “A Resume Strong on Business; John G. Roberts Jr., who had a lucrative private practice, was the ‘go-to lawyer’ for the corporate world, a supporter says“; “Hot-Button Issues Will Be on Court’s Front Burner; The new justice will have to take stands on the death penalty, abortion and more from the start“; and “Activists Lack Allies in Battling Court Pick.”

In other news, “Unabomber’s Papers May Go Up for Sale; Appeals court orders a detailed plan, saying the proceeds of auctioning Kaczynski’s writings would begin restitution to his bombing victims.”

And Jonathan Chait has an op-ed entitled “The (over)exercise of power” that begins, “A week ago, when President Bush met with Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III to interview him for a potential Supreme Court nomination, the conversation turned to exercise.”

Posted at 7:15 AM by Howard Bashman



In today’s issue of The Washington Post: In addition to the article noted two posts below this one, today’s newspaper reports that “Hearings’ Topic A May Be a Surprise; Democrats Raise Commerce Issue.”

In related coverage, “Nominee’s Wife Is A Feminist After Her Own Heart” and “An Image A Little Too Carefully Coordinated.”

An article reports that “O’Connor Bemoans Hill Rancor at Judges.”

Columnist Charles Krauthammer has an op-ed entitled “Roberts’s Blank Slate.”

And Law Professor William P. LaPiana has an op-ed entitled “A Narrow Path To the Court.”

Posted at 7:05 AM by Howard Bashman



To access some of U.S. Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts, Jr.‘s “confidential” government memos, apparently all one needs to do is visit the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library: The Washington Post today contains a fascinating front page article headlined “The Nominee As a Young Pragmatist; Under Reagan, Roberts Tackled Tough Issues.”

Update: The Washington Post has made available examples of such one-time “confidential” memos here, here, and here.

Posted at 12:10 AM by Howard Bashman