"Has the Citizens United whirlwind begun with a small dust devil down in Texas? When the Supreme Court issued its controversial ruling, it seemed to have a sanguine view of what it means to let corporations and unions spend freely on political elections."
From 1999-2008, state Supreme Court candidates raised $200.4 million- more than twice the $85.4 million raised from 1989-1998.
JAS Commentary
"In the end, what did this winter’s Obama-Alito confrontation amount to? When a hot Supreme Court case comes along, intertwined with high-stakes politics, interbranch tempers have a way of boiling over. And testiness between courts and the elected branches is part of Beltway life. But the State of the Union spat sucked Washington into one of its favorite games—the kind where no one really wins."
In the wake of the release of Justice Department memos about detainee treatment, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow was the latest to talk about impeaching Judge Jay Bybee, a former Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel who wrote some of them. An excerpt, which begins at 7:30 of this video,...
"In Slate last week, Yale professor Bruce Ackerman called for the impeachment of federal appeals judge Jay Bybee. The rationale would be to provide an opportunity for a legislative investigation of Bybee's previous work as a Justice Department attorney, where he helped produce the “torture memos” that green-lighted conduct that included abuses of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and elsewhere."
"Michigan's voters delivered a small but telling electoral shock on Nov. 4. Chief Justice Cliff Taylor, a heavy favorite, got thumped by 100,000 votes by Circuit Judge Diane Hathaway, who was nominated just 59 days before the election. "
"The Beltway betting pool over Harriet Miers' views on abortion has gone national, as a 1989 questionnaire was released yesterday showing Dallas City Council candidate Miers scoring a perfect 10 with a Texas anti-abortion group. The president's spokesman tried to wave it away: "
"Was Terri Schiavo's piteous ordeal a victory for the rule of law? After all, interest groups and the politicians they pressured were trumped by the courts. The macabre circus that arose around Mrs. Schiavo's case counted for nothing: Pinellas County Judge George W. Greer issued a steady series of rulings despite being targeted for electoral defeat and impeachment, compared to Joseph Mengele and other Nazis, and even threatened with death."
