Civil libertarians have been complaining that many liberals are ignoring that Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been viewed as hostile to core liberal values and has a fairly conservative voting record in many areas, including free speech, student rights, and criminal procedure. For a review of her cases, click here. Another case has come to light that shows little of the empathy cited by the White House. While Vice President Joe Biden has emphasized the Sotomayor “watches the back of police” in cases (which is supported in some of her more controversial rulings), she has shown little empathy for those challenging police or convictions. The case of Jeffrey Deskovic is being cited as one such case.
Continue reading “Meaning of Empathy: Sotomayor Refused to Consider Appeal of Man Based on Technicality — Man Later Found Innocent Based on DNA”
Category: Constitutional Law
The New York Times reports that Judge Sonia Sotomayor once described herself as “a product of affirmative action” and that she was admitted to both Princeton and Yale with “subpar” scores due to affirmative action. The comments have heightened criticism of her vote in the New Haven firefighters case where she supported the throwing out of promotion results because whites and Hispanics scored better than blacks.
Continue reading “New York Times: Sotomayor Called Herself an “Affirmative Action Baby””
Many liberal are disappointed with the appointment of Sonya Sotomayor who was often suggested as a nominee for George W. Bush and has voted against free speech, student rights, and other cases with important liberal causes. As I have discussed in my review of her cases and criticism of past commentary of this nomination, liberals will lose ground on the Court if Sotomayor votes as a justice the way she voted as a judge. One of those areas is police abuse where Sotomayor has been criticized for siding with police in cases with strong evidence of abuse. Now, Vice President Joe Biden has drawn attention to the later cases by assuring a police organization that Sotomayor is pro-police and will watch their back when cases come before the Supreme Court.
Elementary students in England are being shown a Lancashire Police film where a lion and a cat tell them to turn in people who espouse dangerous thoughts. It is the latest work of the Preventing Violent Extremism office, which seeks to uncover extremists in the country like Guy Fawkes.
Continue reading “Little Brother is Watching: English Police Show Elementary Students a Video on Reporting Extreme Views”
University of Washington Professor Shirley Scheier has settled the lawsuit over her arrest by the City of Snohomish for taking pictures of power lines. The American Civil Liberties Union represented her and settled for $8000. The settlement is disappointing and disturbing given the small damages and lack of deterrent effect for the city.
Continue reading “Professor Settles Lawsuit With City Over Arrest For Taking Pictures of Power Lines”
The Christian Civil Liberties Union (CCLU) has selected a curious place to put together an old-fashioned book burning: a court. In West Bend, Wisconsin, Christians are upset over a book called Baby Be-Bop and other books contained in the “Young Adult” material that they say are sexually explicit and inappropriate. In a 9-0 vote, the library trustees refused their demands to remove or restrict the material at the West Bend Community Memorial Library.
Continue reading “Burn Baby (Be-Bop) Burn: Christian Group Files to Seek Right to Burn Book”
We have been following the West Virginia case involving A.T. Massey Coal Co., involving a fundamental question of judicial ethics. A divided court voted 5-4 in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal, et al. (08-22) that West Virginia Justice Brent D. Benjmain violated the constitution by sitting on a case involving the major donor in his campaign, A.T. Massey’s chief executive, Don Blankenship.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Rules Against West Virginia Justice in Landmark Ethics Case”
In New York, Niagara County Court Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza has issued a controversial ruling that police can taser a suspect who refuses to voluntarily submit a DNA sample. In this case, Ryan S. Smith sought to suppress DNA evidence that linked him to two crimes because of the use of the force against him. When told of a court order to obtain a second sample for DNA testing, Smith reportedly stated “You are gonna have to Taser me if you want my DNA.” That apparently sounded like a pretty good idea to the officers in the room.
Continue reading “Defense Shocked: Court Rules Police Can Use Taser to Collect DNA Sample”
It comes to all of us with age. As hairlines recede and waistlines expand, cosmetic surgery becomes more attractive. While this blog is just around 2 years old, in human-to-blog years that is almost middle aged. In the last few weeks, various regulars have suggested that the site needs work to handle the large number of visitors and entries. This is an attempt to see what you would like to do with the site. I view this site as belonging to all of the regulars and I would like to solicit your thoughts on changes that you would like to see from different cosmetic touches to different structure. This entry will also allow discussion of those things (not people) that you least like.
Continue reading “DOES TURLEY BLOG NEED A NIP AND TUCK?”
Among the material release this week by the White House is the disclosure that Judge Sonia Sotomayor belong to a private women’s-only group. The membership raises an interesting question given the controversies in the past over nominees who belong to men-only club. Should the standard be different for women or should exclusive club membership no longer be an issue in nominations?
Continue reading “Sotomayor Belongs to All-Female Club”
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is suing Twitter over an unauthorized page that used his name and gave the false impression that he was sending embarrassing messages. The litigation in Superior Court of California in San Francisco is only the latest of such lawsuits against such companies for failing to confirm and monitor such sites.
Continue reading “Twit Lit: Tony LaRussa Sues Over False Twitter Page”
Baptist Minister (and former second vice president of the Souther Baptist Convention) Wiley Drake reportedly said that he is offering an “imprecatory prayer” for the death of President Obama.
Continue reading “Baptist Minister Prays For Death of President Obama”
And then there were six. The New Hampshire legislature has voted to recognize same-sex marriage joining five other states with such recognition in a continuing and encouraging trend among the states. Gov. John Lynch signed the bill soon after it was passed by the legislature. The question now is whether religious conservatives will try to stop states from determining their own matrimonial laws by passing a federal constitutional amendment.
The Obama Administration succeeded yesterday in getting three dozen public interest lawsuits dismissed against telecommunication companies. President Obama voted for the bill that gave the companies immunity and sought to prevent a court from declaring the warrantless surveillance program illegal. U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker also ordered investigations in Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont and Missouri to be halted. However, he retained the issue of whether to sanction the Justice Department for its conduct in the case.
Continue reading “Federal Judge Tosses Out Unlawful Surveillance Cases”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has handed down a decision that could play a role in the Sotomayor confirmation process. In National Rifle Association v. Chicago, the Seventh Circuit upheld a Chicago ordinance banning handguns and automatic weapons within city limits. In so doing, it held that the individual right to bear arms is not a fundamental right applicable to the states. It is precisely the hypothetical that some of us discussed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which recognized an individual right to bear arms in the Second Amendment. It also supports the view of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who has been criticized for two opinions (including one after the Heller decision) that rejected the right to bear arms as a fundamental right. Sotomayor received indirect support from two unlikely sources: conservative icons Frank Easterbrook and Richard Posner.