News Justice Souter to Retire: Obama's First SCOTUS Appointment

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Justice David Souter's retirement presents President Obama with his first opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court Justice, likely leading to significant changes in the Court's dynamics. Discussions focus on potential nominees, with Elena Kagan frequently mentioned despite concerns about her lack of judicial experience. The conversation also touches on the future of Justices Ginsburg and Stevens, with speculation about their longevity on the Court. Opinions vary on Justice Clarence Thomas, with some criticizing his contributions and others defending his approach to precedent. Overall, the thread reflects a mix of anticipation for the nomination process and concerns about the implications for the Court's ideological balance.
  • #31
mheslep said:
Have you read the opinions?

I read what was reported quite some time ago on CNN. I also remember reading about a speech given by Scalia in Germany where he more or less said that the people detained in Guantanamo had no rights.
 
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  • #32
Count Iblis said:
I think that the dissenting opinions of the conservative judges on the rulings regarding Guantanamo should be studied by legal experts to see if they were politically motivated.
I'm sure they have been.
It seems to me that if you argue that the president has the right to hold people without judicial review, then you are not qualified to be a Supreme Court judge who'se specific task it is to uphold the constitution.
Key word being "people" -- as opposed to citizens. There is little doubt that those held in gitmo who are not citizens are not entitled to the same rights as citizens.
 
  • #33
For those interested in that case and the actual written opinion statements:http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/06-1195.pdf
Some excerpts:
Today the Court strikes down as inadequate the most
generous set of procedural protections ever afforded aliens
detained by this country as enemy combatants...

The Court rejects them today out of
hand, without bothering to say what due process rights
the detainees possess, without explaining how the statute
fails to vindicate those rights, and before a single petitioner
has even attempted to avail himself of the law’s
operation. And to what effect? The majority merely replaces
a review system designed by the people’s representatives
with a set of shapeless procedures to be defined by
federal courts at some future date. One cannot help but
think, after surveying the modest practical results of the
majority’s ambitious opinion, that this decision is not
really about the detainees at all, but about control of
federal policy regarding enemy combatants...
In any case, I find it a little rediculous to suggest impeaching the entire opposing side on a controvertial decision on political grounds. The fact that the decision was split means that the line between the two is grey and no one can really be considered extreme for their opinion.
 
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  • #34
Jennifer Granholm would be an interesting pick.
Two roads to the Supreme Court
Obama is apparently debating whether to choose a traditional judicial nominee or opt for a 'real world' selection to replace Justice David H. Souter

... "He can do something bold if he wants, like Jennifer Granholm," Epstein said. "In terms of ideology, it's not going to be way, way left. It'll be someone sort of in the mainstream."

...If Obama is searching for his own O'Connor, Granholm is an appealing choice. A Harvard Law School graduate, she is a two-term governor from a state that has been hammered by the declining economy. She has an advocate in Vice President Joe Biden, who had Granholm serve as a proxy for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Biden prepared for the vice presidential debates last year.

"She's a tour de force," said David M. Uhlmann, a law professor at the University of Michigan. "She has an admirable intellect, clearly a very sophisticated legal mind, and the personal quality and the empathy the president has spoken about having in a Supreme Court candidate."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-court-nominees12-2009may12,0,156472.story
 
  • #35
Heard elsewhere is the name Anita Hill.

What an inspired and delicious turn of the worm that would be. Grist for a real barn burner of a movie I would think.
 

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