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Justice Antonin Scalia, Three Weeks Later

March 4, 2016

I wrote Justice Antonin Scalia on February 18, and thought I’d said pretty much everything I had to say. Alas, not!

Justice Scalia died on February 13, only three weeks ago. What has me writing again is the evident impact his death has had on the U.S. Supreme Court and the country. No observant person ever doubted the fact that Justice Scalia was a force on the Court. I suspect, though, that even the sharpest observers are, like me (who is not a part of that cohort), goggle-eyed about how much has changed in 21 days. For proof, read The Supreme Court’s New Era by Linda Greenhouse—is a part of the sharpest observer cohort, and should maybe be its honorary

abortion, Chief Justice John Roberts, EPA, Justice Antonin Scalia

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Justice Antonin Scalia

February 18, 2016

Mark Rubin

At Monday’s Philosopher’s Guild meeting, RF posed the question: Can a person be good and still take pleasure in someone’s having passed? I said yes, at least with respect to a public person. I mourn the loss of life and feel sad for family and friends. Soon after, the public persona takes over. With an appropriate amount of respect, the person becomes fair game.

So, history will judge Antonin Scalia, and the verdict will likely be mixed, and will come after a long while. For me, though, three negative attributes stand out. They are: (1) The originalism conceit; (2) An abysmal lack of judicial demeanor; and (3) A lack of evident empathy. (For an insider’s take, read after I wrote

Chief Justice John Marshall, Justice Antonin Scalia, originalism

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Scalia – Thoughts about First Reactions!

February 14, 2016

Mark Rubin

Josh Marshall, the founder / publisher of TalkingPointsMemo.com shared Thoughts on Justice Scalia’s Passing on Saturday afternoon. Here’s his opening paragraph:

Let us first recognize the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a 79 year old man with a large family and almost countless admirers, friends and protégés. I think he had precious few supporters or ideological admirers among our core readers. But this is a man who served on the High Court for almost thirty years and unquestionably, for better or worse, will go down as one of the most influential Justices of the last half century. … Our ideological and partisan commitments should never be so all-encompassing that we cannot step aside from them to recognize realities that

Justice Antonin Scalia

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Scalia and the Open House, Etc.

February 14, 2016

Mark Rubin

I was thinking about my Tuesday law post on Saturday morning. St. Valentine’s Day Open House and Garage Sale on Sunday (today). Moving on Monday and Tuesday. Lots to do, and no ready subject. “Whatever will I write about,” I wondered.

Not so much anymore, obviously. For a terrific review of Justice Antonin Scalia’s life and work, listen to Justice Antonin Scalia, Known for Biting Dissents, Dies at 79 by Nina Totenberg for NPR. I’ll have thoughts later on Monday. Stay tuned, and don’t expect a rant about political views, for it’s for history to judge the right and wrong about Justice Scalia’s place on the political spectrum.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of larger items for

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Dysfunctional Democracy

July 1, 2023

Mark Rubin

Dysfunctional Democracy

Mark Rubin

Our system broke down, somewhere along the way. I see a Nixon / Goldwater to Reagan to Trump lineage. I know Trump-a-phobes who see Trump as a one-off (and think the other Rs I mentioned served us well), and a significant minority of us think we need Trump to solve our problems.

Without doubt, our divisions weaken us. However, at the end of the day, we have an 18^th century system for a 21^st century world. A dysfunctional democracy, so to speak.

Many among us venerate the states, yet we expect our federal government to solve our problems. We like the notion of elected representatives to reign in POTUS, but we hold him or

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The Activist U.S. Supreme Court

June 30, 2022

Mark Rubin

The Activist U.S. Supreme Court

Mark Rubin

The activist U.S. Supreme Court brought down the curtain on its shameful, disgraceful, truly mind-bendingly awful 2021-22 Term. Lots of bad, bad decisions: and many more that show a work-a-day Court that resolves complex disputes that get little attention.* Here are the highlights:

Guns

In New York Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, No. 20-843, the Supreme Court issued its 6-3 opinion, setting aside as unconstitutional a law in effect in New York for more than 100 years. It took the majority and three of its six Justices 77 pages to explain why that 100 year old law was unconstitutional.

The Second Amendment is an abomination as a drafted statement.

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Primary Election Results … and Murder

May 25, 2022

Mark Rubin

Primary Election Results … and Murder

Mark Rubin

Y’all don’t here from me very often. I learned “if you don’t have something nice to say, be quiet” early on … but, in 2022 and for the past several years, “nothing new to say” has guided me. If writers who get paid to offer their opinions share what I would have written, no one needs to be hearing from me.

Tonight, I am pleased and angry. So, so angry, but pleased first.

Pleased

Tonight, I am pleased and angry. Pleased first. G-d bless Geogia Rs for choosing Brad Raffensperger as their nominee to serve another term as Secretary of State in Georgia. Voting matters more than anything else in our system.

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Buck up, ever’body!

September 19, 2020

Mark Rubin

Buck up, ever’body!

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RIP

Buck up, ever’body! RBG would not want us crying in our cups, and I think this Court thing-y will turn out okay!

As is Senator Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. (R – Ky.) – the Senate Majority Leader – plays games. We know this! He sold us a lot of crap in 2016, when he claimed the American people should choose the person who gets the privilege of selecting Justice Antonin Scalia’s replacement. Never mind the fact that we chose Barack Obama to work for us from January 20, 2013 to January 20, 2017.

Now, Leader McConnell must come up with a new rationale. That’s easy, he says. The American people chose Donald Trump

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Textualism and the Courts

April 26, 2018

Mark Rubin

Textualism and the Courts (A Wee Bit Wonky)*

Justice Antonin Scalia, Textualist

The Book

I finished The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the Politics of Disruption by Richard Hasen recently. Dealing with complex matters, Mr. Hasen offers lucid analysis and a fine read!

Straightaway, Mr. Hasen tells readers he has not written a Scalia biography, or a “comprehensive examination of all of [Justice] Scalia’s opinions and ideas.” Instead, he promises “an examination of [Justice Scalia’s] jurisprudential theories of textualism and originalism, his inimitable and caustic tone in dealing with his adversaries on and off the Court, and his key areas of modern American law.” And he delivers, in plain English!

I’m focused here on textualism, the legal

Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice John Paul Stevens, Justice Sonia Sotmayor, Richard Hasen, textualism

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U.S. District Court Appointments

December 15, 2017

Mark Rubin

U.S. District Court Appointments

Matthew Petersen

An SNL-not sketch has been circulating in the last couple of days. It’s here, and it’s a Q and A between Senator John Kennedy (R – La.) and U.S. District Court nominee / Federal Elections Commissioner Matthew S. Petersen. And if I’m understanding Poe’s Law correctly – it’s Friday evening, I’m alone, and I’m into liquid refreshment – we’re looking at reality mimicking parody. (This dude knows eff-all about being a trial judge!)

The Problem

At the trial level our systems, state and federal, offer the greatest number of jobs and the hardest challenges. Like a funnel in reverse, the greatest number of judges handle trials. A much smaller number do

Brett Talley, John Kennedy, Matthew Petersen, Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. District Court

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