judicial nominations – Overlawyered

On “stolen” Supreme Court seats

Walter Olson — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 10:59:12 +0000

Did Hugo Black’s appointment to the Supreme Court in 1937 pass constitutional muster? The answer may hold a lesson for some who question the legitimacy of the present Supreme Court, I argue in my new Cato post. Despite hyperventilation over particular nominations, history shows the Court is resilient.

Tags: judicial nominations, Supreme Court, WO writings

On “stolen” Supreme Court seats is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Fear of Trump judges

Walter Olson — Sun, 24 Nov 2019 16:59:45 +0000

Change in the federal appeals courts is not a rapid process. Some reasons for both sides to calm down about the supposed Republican capture of the federal judiciary [Martin Siegel, New York Times] I wrote in February that “the nature of the courts in our system is not that one side wins any permanent victories on judicial selection. And that’s a good thing.”

Tags: Donald Trump, judicial nominations

Fear of Trump judges is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

ABA review of judicial nominations again comes under fire

Walter Olson — Thu, 07 Nov 2019 05:05:49 +0000

Josh Blackman, at The Atlantic and Volokh Conspiracy, has the tale of how in the nomination of conservative Ninth Circuit nominee Lawrence Van Dyke, the American Bar Association (ABA) appears to have played fast and loose with the interview process, breaking its own rules along the way. Given “that the ABA cannot be trusted to accurately recount the conversations” resulting from its inquiries, Blackman proposes that in future “these interrogations should be treated as hostile depositions. A court reporter and videographer should be present, as well as private retained counsel to push back on unfounded accusations.”

Tags: bar associations, judicial nominations, Ninth Circuit

ABA review of judicial nominations again comes under fire is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“The Golden Rule of Laws”

Walter Olson — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 04:05:32 +0000

Court-packing schemes have something in common with passing a municipal resolution to label one’s political adversaries “domestic terrorists”: their proponents, as David Boaz has observed, tend not to ask “What if my opponents had this power?” Eric Turkewitz expands on the idea in a post:

This is as good a time as any to discuss the Golden Rule of Laws. This rule states that when you want to use some legal maneuver to attack “the other side” ask yourself how “the other side” could likewise use it.

Tags: judicial nominations, legislature

“The Golden Rule of Laws” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

July 31 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 09:58:34 +0000

If you regard Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh as “very decent, very smart individuals,” are tired of party-line confirmation bloc votes, and don’t favor adding to the line-up of nine Justices, you have a co-thinker at the Supreme Court [John McCormack, National Review; Nina Totenberg/NPR interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg]
“Manhattan federal judges are getting fed up with notorious copyright ‘troll’” [Alison Frankel, Reuters; ABA Journal; Mike Masnick, TechDirt; Richard Liebowitz]
Idaho, though far from California, still falls under the Ninth Circuit’s distinctive body of law protecting homeless encampments against municipal authority [Steve Malanga, City Journal, earlier here, here]
“Liability for User-Generated Content Online Principles for Lawmakers” [53 individual and 28 institutional signers including many names and groups familiar in this space; TechFreedom] “Comments on Sen. Hawley’s ‘[Ending] Support for Internet Censorship Act'” [Eric Goldman] And the Missouri senator’s latest: “Josh Hawley Wants To Appoint Himself Product Manager For The Internet” [Mike Masnick, TechDirt]
Jury convicts south Texas judge charged with bribery, conspiracy and other crimes [Lorenzo Zazueta-Castro, McAllen Monitor; Fred W. Heldenfels IV, Corpus Christi Caller-Times/Texans for Lawsuit Reform (“The fact that a judge under indictment for accepting bribes can run for higher office and win should be a major red flag for Texans.”)] Michigan Supreme Court removes Livingston County judge over long list of ethical violations, criminal charges also pending [Andy Olesko, Courthouse News]
“Auction Winner Learns Why Property Was Such a Great Deal: It’s Only 12 Inches Wide” [Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar]

Tags: Brett Kavanaugh, copyright, Idaho, judges, judicial nominations, Neil Gorsuch, Ninth Circuit, real estate, Supreme Court

July 31 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Supreme Court roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 09:58:34 +0000

Cato batted 12-4 in Supreme Court term that saw Kavanaugh agreeing nearly as often with Kagan as with Gorsuch [Ilya Shapiro; another roundup of the recently concluded term from Jonathan Adler]
Not only is Alan Dershowitz wrong about Supreme Court review of impeachment, he’s wrong in a way that practically invites constitutional crisis [Keith Whittington]
High court declines certiorari in challenge to Wisconsin butter grading law [Ilya Shapiro and Matt Larosiere, Mark Arnold, Husch Blackwell with update, earlier here and here]
“The John Marshall Legacy: A Conversation with Richard Brookhiser” [Law and Liberty audio on new biography; Federalist Society panel with Brookhiser, Hon. Kyle Duncan, Hon. Kevin Newsom, and David Rifkin, moderated by Hon. William Pryor]
I’m quoted on Gundy v. U.S., the improper-delegation case: “While the Court majority did not agree this time, the line-up suggests breakthrough imminent” [Nicole Russell, Washington Examiner] From some quarters on the Left, rage at the Supreme Court that got away [Ilya Shapiro at P.J. O’Rourke online magazine American Consequences]
“Supreme Court Returns Constitutional Patent Case to Sender” [Gregory Dolin, Cato] on Return Mail v. U.S. Postal Service, earlier on dangers when federal agencies litigate before federal agency tribunals]

Tags: Brett Kavanaugh, Cato Institute, judicial nominations, Neil Gorsuch, Supreme Court

Supreme Court roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Supreme Court roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 20 May 2019 09:59:57 +0000

Will the liberal wing’s success at piecing together 5-4 majorities survive Justice Kennedy’s departure? [Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, Bloomberg] Fundamental restructuring of Supreme Court becomes a popular campaign issue with Democrats, and the dangers in that [Ilya Shapiro, Washington Examiner] More: Gorsuch, Kavanaugh differ often, we can see clearly now [Jonathan Adler and update]
Federalist Society video on stare decisis with Roger Pilon, and related by Pilon on constitutional stare decisis;
The high court decides relatively few admiralty/maritime cases but has heard more than one of them this term; one artist’s whimsical illustration [@CourtArtist on Twitter]
In writing opinions, “the justices should be careful about naming politicians, especially when they name in order to make a point about the political process.” [Josh Blackman, The Atlantic]
A constitutional right to religious exemptions from otherwise applicable laws? Eugene Volokh still backs Scalia’s logic on that, but it’s looking as if Court’s conservative wing may not. Cleanup in the Lemon aisle: Michael McConnell on Maryland Peace Cross case [Volokh Conspiracy]
New resource: database of all Supreme Court nomination hearing transcripts that are yet available (with Kavanaugh’s still to come) [Shoshana Weissmann and Anthony Marcum, R Street]

Tags: Brett Kavanaugh, judges, judicial nominations, Neil Gorsuch, religious liberty, Supreme Court

Supreme Court roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

In the New York Post: “Trump is chipping away at Obama’s remade federal courts”

Walter Olson — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 11:03:05 +0000

Are the federal courts really becoming a lost cause for liberal Democrats? My new piece for the New York Post, complete with detailed map, examines claims that Trump administration nominations are transforming the lower federal courts, with results that, as the cliche goes, will last for generations. But “the nature of the courts in our system is not that one side wins any permanent victories on judicial selection. And that’s a good thing.” Over the eight years of the Obama presidency, of the 13 federal appeals courts, the number with a majority of Republican appointees fell from 10 to 4; even though Trump has had a higher number than usual of holdover vacancies to fill, that number for the moment remains 4.

Tags: judicial nominations, WO writings

In the New York Post: “Trump is chipping away at Obama’s remade federal courts” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

January 30 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:01:48 +0000

“Battle over stolen diamond-studded golden eagle takes flight as insurer fights order to pay up” [Jason Proctor, CBC]
Fentanyl test strips save lives. Feds oppose their distribution [Jeffrey Singer, Cato]
D.C. Circuit judicial nominee Neomi Rao (full disclosure: an old friend) “comes under fire for undergraduate writings on sexual assault — though her views from 25 years ago are consistent with today’s statutes and rulings.” [K.C. Johnson, City Journal]
One reason the costs of rent control policies get understated: it’s hard to control and account for declines in the quality of apartment services [Richard McKenzie and Dwight Lee, Cato Regulation magazine]
Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention video panel on antitrust law transparency with Deb Garza, Hon. Frank Easterbrook (“Always remember that sunlight is full of ultraviolet radiation”), Eric Grannon (incentive problems of “amnesty plus” program; “moral turpitude” provisions, more on which), moderated by Hon. John Nalbandian;
Big reason military and health care procurement is so pricey: “scads of less specific programs out there [are] insanely cheaper and more functional, but those programs cannot justify the costs of becoming compliant” [from Tyler Cowen comments]

Tags: antitrust, insurance, judicial nominations, opioids, sexual assault

January 30 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

October 17 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 09:56:32 +0000

Antitrust legislation once targeted the unstoppable rise of chain stores A&P and Sears, both now bankrupt [my new Cato post, quoting Joe Nocera, Bloomberg (“The next time you hear somebody say that the dominance of Walmart or Amazon or Facebook can never end, think about Sears. It can — and it probably will.”)]
When you wish upon a suit: visitor grabs Disney cast member and screams at her after she asks him to move out of parade route, later pleads no contest to disorderly conduct, now wants $15,000 [Gabrielle Russon, Orlando Sentinel]
Tomorrow (Thurs.) at noon Eastern, watch a Cato panel on “Coercive Plea Bargaining” with Scott Hechinger of Brooklyn Defender Services, Bonnie Hoffman of the NACDL, and Somil Trivedi of the ACLU, moderated by Cato’s Clark Neily. Could you resist taking a plea bargain if faced with a false accusation? [Marc John Randazza, ABA Journal]
“I am a Democrat. But this may be the dumbest thing I have seen…. the Speech or Debate Clause makes about as clear as anything in the Constitution that a court cannot enjoin legislative officials from taking a fundamental legislative action such as a vote.” [Howard Wasserman on suit by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) asking court to, among other things, order delay of Senate vote on Kavanaugh nomination]
An ideological screen for CLE? Following demands from tribal attorneys, Minnesota bar authorities order shelving of continuing legal education class on Indian Child Welfare Act developments taught by attorney Mark Fiddler, who often handles ICWA cases on side adverse to tribes [Timothy Sandefur]
Left-leaning Florida Supreme Court nixes plan to let incumbent Gov. Rick Scott fill vacancies, entrenching its leftward lean for a while at least depending on outcome of governor’s race [Spectrum News 9]

Tags: antitrust, crime and punishment, Disney, Florida, Indian tribes, judicial nominations, Senate, small business

October 17 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system