“Supreme Court Speculation Fuels Rumors”: Gina Holland of The Associated Press provides this report.
FOXNews.com reports that “D.C. Wonders When Rehnquist Will Go.”
The blog “Wonkette” chronicles the day’s media frenzy in posts titled “Rehnquist Rumors Suggest That Blogs Not Always Reliable” and “Rehnquist: Fat Lady to Sing? (Sort of Liveblogging).”
RedState.org today offered posts titled “William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States (Ret.)?“; “SCOTUS Daily Recap“; and “Rehnquist To Retire TODAY — Or Not.”
Meanwhile, the folks at “SCOTUSblog” remained justifiably confident (see “removed” posts here and here) that Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wouldn’t announce his retirement on a day when I was traveling out-of-town for work and was thus unable to chronicle in real-time the resulting tumult.
Programming note: My day job has me in Columbia, South Carolina today, where I will be presenting an oral argument a bit later this morning.
Although yesterday’s very distressing news from London calls into question the continued validity of the widespread rumor that Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist will announce his retirement today, should that rumor prove true I will have complete coverage once I return home to Philadelphia later today.
“Scholars & Scribes Review the Rulings: The Supreme Court’s 2004-2005 Term.” That’s the title of an event that The Heritage Foundation hosted yesterday, and you can view archived video of the event online by clicking here (RealPlayer required).
Available online from CNSNews.com: “‘No Doubt’ Rehnquist Is Retiring, Legal Expert Insists” and “Gonzales: ‘Constitution Is What the Supreme Court Says.’”
“Early high court review of same-sex marriage ruling urged”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.
In today’s issue of The Los Angeles Times: An article is headlined “Confronting Abortion Anew; Both sides in the fight see a test case in their struggle to recruit a generation that has come of age after 1973’s Roe vs. Wade ruling.”
And the newspaper contains an editorial entitled “Gonzales’ Fatal Flaw” that begins, “Our reasons may differ, but add our vote to the chorus of social conservative groups clamoring against a possible nomination of Alberto R. Gonzales to the Supreme Court.”
“Lobbyist to Campaign For Bush Court Nominee; Gillespie Choice Marks Bid to Use GOP Muscle”: This article appears today in The Washington Post. Also today, Al Kamen’s “In the Loop” column is entitled “Bettor Days for Gonzales,” while columnist Charles Krauthammer has an op-ed entitled “Philosophy for a Judge.”
And CNN/Money provides a report headlined “Big biz draws up Supreme Court wish list; There’s a lot at stake for corporate America in President Bush’s nominee to succeed O’Connor.”
The Washington Post is reporting: Today’s newspaper contains articles headlined “GOP Plots Court Strategy With Rehnquist in Mind” and “Pragmatism Drove Bush In Texas Judicial Choices.”
“Eminent-Domain Ruling Knits Rivals; High Court’s Decision Puts Conservatives and Liberals Together, As Both Sides See Threats”: This article (free access provided) appears today in The Wall Street Journal.
Welcome to the D.C. Circuit, new judges: At “SCOTUSblog,” Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Guantanamo hearings set in Circuit Court.”
“Full Court Press: Business looks for a new ally on a bench that isn’t always friendly.” The July 18, 2005 issue of BusinessWeek will contain this news analysis.
“Out of Practice, Senate Crams for Battle Over Court Nominee”: This article will appear Friday in The New York Times.
Available online from MSNBC: “High court nominee could be hot election topic; Background in 2004 races, nomination may have big impact in 2006, 2008” and “Previewing the battle over the nominee to be; Liberal and conservative groups ready no matter who is Bush’s choice.”
Available online from The New Republic: Dana Mulhauser has an essay entitled “Person of Rank: Why Rehnquist hasn’t resigned yet.”
And Law Professor Richard L. Hasen has an essay entitled “Twice Removed: Why Rehnquist should resign now.”
“The Circus Comes to Town: If Bush nominates the right candidate for the Supreme Court, Democrats could be in trouble, again.” Hugh Hewitt has this essay online today at The Weekly Standard.
On this evening’s broadcast of NPR‘s “All Things Considered“: The broadcast contained segments entitled “War Chests Fill on News of Supreme Court Vacancy” and “Testing the First Amendment for Journalists.” RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.
In Friday’s edition of The Christian Science Monitor: Tomorrow’s newspaper will contain articles headlined “How much sway interest groups will hold over court selection; They can have an effect; But despite the fury, their influence is only indirect” and “When a reporter is jailed: Judith Miller’s incarceration could affect how sources use journalists to leak information.”
Meanwhile, in commentary, Law Professor David R. Dow will have an op-ed entitled “A justice to keep America from straying.” And Daniel Schorr will have an op-ed entitled “The chilly ripple effect of a jailed reporter.”
“Melon plaintiff prevails”: The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday contained an article that begins, “The repo men came for Jackie L. Eley’s Ford F150 at 4 a.m. She wasn’t happy. When they wouldn’t let her keep the 130 watermelons in the pickup’s bed, the Hertford County woman got downright mad. She sued that very afternoon. On Tuesday, the N.C. Court of Appeals affirmed a decision finding that Greenville’s Mid-East Acceptance Corp., which hired the repo men, had committed watermelon thievery. The company must pay Eley her legal fees and three times the watermelons’ value, a total of almost $3,000, plus money spent on the appeal.”
You can access Tuesday’s ruling of the North Carolina Court of Appeals at this link.
Available online from National Public Radio: Ron Elving has a written essay entitled “Naming Two Justices Could Provide Political Balance.”
And today’s broadcast of “Morning Edition” contained segments entitled “Filling the Supreme Court Vacancy” (featuring Nina Totenberg) and “‘New York Times’ Reporter Jailed for Contempt.” RealPlayer is required to launch these audio clips.
“Parental consent: The sleeper in the abortion fight.” Columnist Peter Schrag had this op-ed yesterday in The Sacramento Bee.
“Legal Times Forum on Supreme Court Term Review”: Thanks to C-SPAN, by clicking here (RealPlayer required) you can view online a very interesting program, featuring four U.S. Supreme Court advocates, that law.com’s Tony Mauro hosted yesterday in Washington, DC.
“Retirement of Justice O’Connor Begins Fight Over Future of Country”: Voice of America News provides this report.
The Chicago Tribune today contains articles headlined “Bush to go slow on nominee; Delay could cut time foes have to gear up” and “O’Connor was balanced in business, worker cases,” along with an op-ed by columnist Steve Chapman entitled “What’s wrong with a litmus test? The nation will soon see whether President Bush has the nerve to appoint a U.S. Supreme Court justice who wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade.”
The Denver Post today contains an article headlined “Gonzales: ‘I’m not a candidate’; AG still may be nominee for court.”
The Associated Press reports that “Specter Pivotal in Supreme Court Battle.”
U.S. News & World Report has posted online an article headlined “Court fight yet another battle for Specter.” And columnist Michael Barone has an essay entitled “O’Connor departure may alter redistricting law.”
Finally, The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin today contains an editorial entitled “Picking the right justice.”
Greetings from Columbia, South Carolina: The incredible amount of rain lurking between here and Philadelphia did not manage to ruin the fulfillment of today’s travel plans.
Programming note: During the day today, I’ll be traveling to South Carolina in advance of an oral argument that I’ll be presenting there tomorrow. Additional updates will appear later today.
“Reporter Jailed After Refusing to Name Source”: Adam Liptak has this article today in The New York Times. The newspaper also contains articles headlined “A Difficult Moment, Long Anticipated” and “Response From Journalists Is Not Unanimous,” along with an editorial entitled “Judith Miller Goes to Jail.”
The Los Angeles Times reports that “Journalist Jailed for Not Revealing Source to Court; A New York Times reporter may face four months; Time magazine writer says he’ll testify.”
Josh Gerstein of The New York Sun has an article headlined “Miller of the Times Jailed for Contempt.” The newspaper also contains an editorial entitled “Judith Miller in Jail.”
And USA Today reports that “‘Time’ reporter to testify; ‘N.Y. Times’ reporter jailed; Cooper will reveal source to grand jury.”
“Tone of Court Debate Decried; Bush objects to groups’ efforts to sway his choice for vacant seat, citing attacks on Gonzales. President promises he won’t use a ‘litmus test'”: This article appears today in The Los Angeles Times, along with a news analysis headlined “High Court Nomination May Prove a Deal-Breaker; The 14 Democratic and GOP senators who crafted an agreement on the use of filibusters appear to differ on when one would be allowed.”
The Houston Chronicle today contains articles headlined “Factions line up for two Texas Hispanics” and “Cornyn taking lead on issue of court confirmation process; Senator says he wants to ensure that the nominee gets a fair hearing.”
The Rocky Mountain News contains an article headlined “‘Rare opportunity,’ AG says on Denver trip.”
The St. Petersburg Times reports that “Everyone’s got advice for Bush on nominee; The president gets an earful: His Supreme Court nominee should oppose abortion; Or be pro-business; Or have moderate views.”
The Boston Globe reports that “Timing on court nominee called key; Republicans warn early Bush pick could draw attacks.”
USA Today contains a front page article headlined “Don’t listen to advocacy groups on court vacancy, Bush tells senators; Conservative attack on Gonzales brings presidential rebuke.”
The Tennessean reports that “Thompson to advise judicial nominee; Ex-senator to guide Bush’s pick through confirmation process.”
The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that “Thompson to guide nominee for top court.”
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that “Senator urges moderate pick for high court.”
The Deseret Morning News reports that “Bennett doesn’t see filibuster of court nominee; It would be a ‘lose-lose game’ for Demos and they won’t play, he says.”
The Greenville News reports that “Judge Wilkins name enters high court mix.”
And The Stanford Daily reports that “O’Connor resigns from Supreme Court; Stanford alumna steps down.”
In commentary, The Denver Post contains an editorial entitled “Bush should follow own advice on court.”
In The Chicago Sun-Times, Robert Novak has an essay entitled “Bush is biggest obstacle to a conservative court.”
In The Wall Street Journal, Walter Olson has an op-ed entitled “The Next Sandra Day: Harry Reid may be willing to give up Roe v. Wade to get a trial lawyer on the Supreme Court.”
In The Los Angeles Times, Law Professor Bruce Ackerman has an op-ed entitled “Bush and the Stealth Justice,” while Margaret Carlson has an op-ed entitled “For Dems, Less Might Be More.”
In The Washington Post, columnist David S. Broder has an op-ed entitled “Bush’s Grievance,” while columnist Richard Cohen has an op-ed entitled “The Judge for Me.”
In The Detroit News, columnist George Weeks has an essay entitled “Engler has role in U.S. Supreme Court fight.”
In The Rocky Mountain News, Vincent Carroll has an essay entitled “O’Connor’s fuzziness.”
In The Washington Times, Suzanne Fields has an op-ed entitled “The vigilantes get ready to pounce.”
And yesterday in The San Diego Union-Tribune, Ruben Navarrette had an op-ed entitled “Gonzales for the Supreme Court.”
“Sandra Day O’Connor’s Retirement: A Strong Statement That It’s Acceptable to Leave An Important Job An Important Job to Care for a Spouse Who Is Very Ill.” FindLaw commentator Edward Lazarus has this essay today.
“Supreme Panic: Bush Ponders the First of What Will Be Many High-court Nominees.” This article will appear in the July 8, 2005 issue of LA Weekly.
In Thursday’s edition of The Washington Post: The newspaper will contain front page articles headlined “Bush Answers Gonzales Critics; President Decries Attacks From Right, Says Character Will Guide Nomination” and “In President’s Strategy, Two Prongs Collide.” And Charles Lane will have an article headlined “Divisive Issue Is Decisive for Some; Abortion Drives Wedge Between Conservatives and Gonzales.”
In other news, a front page article will report that “N.Y. Times Reporter Jailed; Miller Refused to Testify About Source in CIA Leak Case.” In related coverage, Howard Kurtz will have a news analysis headlined “A Case Most Clearly Defined By Its Shadows.” And an editorial will bear the title “A Journalist Jailed.”
“Bush Tries to Set Tempo for Nomination to Court”: This article will appear Thursday in The New York Times.
And tomorrow’s NYTimes will also report that “Democrats Adopt O’Connor as Model for Bush Court Pick.”
“Justice O’Connor Retirment”: This past Saturday’s broadcast of C-SPAN‘s “America & the Courts” can be viewed online by clicking here (RealPlayer required).
“No hurry to select Supreme Court nominee, White House says”: This article will appear Thursday in The Chicago Tribune.
“All the president’s men: With O’Connor’s retirement from the US supreme court, the Republican counter-revolution sees the chance of a lifetime.” Sidney Blumenthal has this essay Thursday in The Guardian (UK).
“When it comes to judges, not all conservatives think alike; Bush says he’ll look at records, not labels to make high court pick”: David Jackson and Allen Pusey will have this article Thursday in The Dallas Morning News.
Available online from law.com: Tony Mauro has an article headlined “How ‘Winning’ Cases Took a Wrong Turn at the High Court.”
In other news, “Fla. Justice Gets Backing for U.S. Supreme Court Seat; Push is on to nominate state Supreme Court judge in wake of O’Connor retirement.”
And in news from New York, “U.S. Asks Panel to Remove Judge in Terror Case.”
