Could Someone Ask Bobby Chen to Call the U.S. Supreme Court?
The Court granted his petition but hasn’t heard from him since.
Supreme Court
Supreme Court: Want to Search a Cellphone? “Get a Warrant.”
Something seems very wrong here, because the report is that the Supreme Court has unanimously held in Riley v. California (NYT, SCOTUSblog, opinion) that the police need to get a warrant before rummaging through the cellphone of someone they've arrested. Have…
Senate Candidate Has Four Favorite Justices, Probably
Of the major GOP candidates in the Oregon primary for U.S. Senate, Willamette Week has endorsed state Rep. Jason Conger instead of Dr. Monica Wehby, even though the editors admitted both have excellent resumés and they "probably agree on more issues"…
Sasquatch Goes to Harvard
Well, it's disturbing enough that Harvard's law library actually houses a copy of this book (and that someone has it checked out when they should be studying), but now here it is on Joseph Story's lap. "Listen, I wrote Martin v. Hunter's…
The U.S. Supreme Court Coloring Book (2013 Edition)
The Constitution may be color-blind, but this book is color-ful. Well, it isn't right now, of course, but it will be after you and/or your child and/or your attorney get done adding the colors (colors sold separately). Note: those colors…
Why the Devil Quit Bothering Pigs, According to Justice Scalia
From an interview with Justice Scalia, published Sunday in New York magazine: Q: You believe in heaven and hell?A: Oh, of course I do. Don't you believe in heaven and hell? No. Oh, my. Does that mean I'm not going?[Laughing.] Unfortunately…
Top Ten Notable Facts About the Gay-Marriage Decisions
First use of phrase "legalistic argle-bargle" since 1824's Gibbons v. Ogden In a footnote, Justice Kennedy overturns the outcome of last season's American Idol just to see if anybody is still paying attention Resolving an issue not raised below, Court rules unanimously that…
Justice Scalia and the Genetic Panopticon
I haven't always been that kind to Justice Scalia (or to Justice Scalia's hats), but I do think he's a very good writer, and so I'm glad to be able to quote him saying something I agree with. If you…
The Day Justice Douglas Threw a Book Out the Window
From the book In Chambers: Stories of Supreme Court Law Clerks and Their Justices, noted by Andrew Cohen in The Atlantic : Law clerks in this era all learned that none of [Justice William O.] Douglas' rules were ever to be ignored….
Brief on Constitutional Issue Fails to Cite Constitution
Writing at Balkinization, Jason Mazzone notes that the Westboro Baptist Church, infamous for picketing funerals for a variety of bizarre and hateful reasons, has filed an amicus brief in United States v. Windsor. That's the case in which the U.S. Supreme…