Watched Little Miss Sunshine last night. Did not, in fact, laugh out loud, though found it amusing and cute. Like the kind of film Wes Anderson should be making with his absurdly typified characters, instead of his precious, meta-ironic, pointless, fourth-wall, art-school wanking.

Also, this struck me repeatedly throughout.

Consider the following quotes.U.S. Constitution, Art. I sec. 9.
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. [emphasis added]

Justice Antonin Scalia, dissenting in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 (2004).Many think it not only inevitable but ( Read more... )

I was looking at OYEZ.org's SCOTUS profiles last night (procrastination, anyone?), and I realized an interesting demographic disproportionality:

Five of the nine sitting justices are Catholics.

Nothing against Catholics, they've been plenty marginalized in American history. But considering that only a quarter of the US population self-identifies ( Read more... )

Nabbed from SCOTUSblog: GULC put up an audio file of the Hamdan oral arguments, for anyone who's interested. I heard some extended clips last night on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and it certainly does not sound like Solicitor General Clement's finest hour. I know y'all've been mooning over Prof K's hunky visage below, so now you can hear his ( Read more... )

NYT has the initial AP writeup of the orals.

For a more thorough account, check out Lyle Denniston's post on SCOTUSblog. Denniston is optimistic about a 5-3 vote for federal jurisdiction and against the military commissions, though at least one other observer thinks it'll turn out exactly the other way ( Read more... )

People who follow the Bush Administration's "War on Terror" probably know that the Supreme Court heard arguments today in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. At issue in the case is whether the military commissions at Guantánamo violate international law (specifically, the very Geneva Conventions they purport to enforce against detainees), as well as whether ( Read more... )

Slate: Alito v. O'Connor - How the Nominee Tried to Restrict Roe

Scary stuff. Alito is clearly in line with the family-law conservatives who idolize a Family Unit free from state intrusion, that is, a home in which a man can do as he pleases without the cops coming and setting him straight. The reality of domestic violence doesn't seem to faze him ( Read more... )

NYT: Senate Reverses Rasul, Strips Federal Courts of Jurisdiction over Guantánamo SuitsAs an American who believes in his country's avowed ideals, I don't understand this. Don't even bother trying to explain; it's impossible ( Read more... )

It's nice to know I learned at least one thing in reading for F*cking Copyrights today:el·ee·mos·y·nar·y (adj.)

1. Of, relating to, or dependent on charity.
2. Contributed as an act of charity; gratuitous. See Synonyms at benevolent.

[Medieval Latin elemosynrius, from Late Latin elemosyna, alms. See alms.]
(Courtesy of The American Heritage ( Read more... )

Wonkette is lobbying for the National Zoo's baby panda to be nominated next Supreme Court Justice.

She has this very well thought-out, too.