SCOTUS
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In Beckles, SCOTUS Perpetuates the Advisory Guidelines Fantasy
Mar 8, 2017(Comments: 0)March 8, 2017 (Fault Lines) – The United States Supreme Court ruled on a major federal sentencing guidelines case this week. For the last decade plus, since the Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Booker, the guidelines... -
At the Supreme Court, You’ve Got the Freedom to Speak Elsewhere
Mar 7, 2017(Comments: 3)March 7, 2017 (Fault Lines) –Protests have become a regular thing in the time of Trump. While many remain peaceful, others turn into violent events where trash cans burn, Starbucks gets looted, and necks get yanked.... -
Judge Silberman to Notorious RBG: Shut Up!
Mar 3, 2017(Comments: 2)March 3, 2017 (Fault Lines) — Justice Ginsburg reminds me of my grandmother. My grandmother would have been almost the same age as Justice Ginsburg. She was a first-generation American, born and raised in Manhattan. So,... -
Judge John Kane on Supreme Court Nominee, 10th Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch
Feb 28, 2017(Comments: 2)February 28, 2017 (Fault Lines) — Ed. Note: Colorado Senior District Court Judge John Kane was asked his thoughts about Tenth Circuit Judge and Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. I read a great many appellate opinions... -
Founder of Fascism Forever a Pretty Good Pick
Feb 3, 2017(Comments: 2)February 3, 2017 (Fault Lines) — It really didn’t matter who Trump appointed. There was going to be some sort of knee-jerk opposition. And that opposition was going to be based more on how unfair it... -
Handicapping Prospective Justices: It Ain’t That Easy
Feb 2, 2017(Comments: 2)February 2, 2017 (Fault Lines) — President Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch has led to the expected opposition. This has less to do with Gorsuch’s qualifications or character, and more to do with the fact that... -
Mandatory Minimum For DUI Blood Test Refusal Ruled Unconstitutional, But Why Is A Mystery
Jan 24, 2017(Comments: 0)January 24, 2017 (Fault Lines) — For the most part, assuming someone is actually impaired, the best advice a criminal defense lawyer can give someone who has been stopped under suspicion of driving under the influence... -
Supreme Court Takes Another Qualified Immunity Case
Jan 20, 2017(Comments: 0)January 20, 2017 (Fault Lines) — William Baude wrote a recent, enjoyable law review article about the dubious provenance of “qualified immunity,” a doctrine that shields public officials from liability for violating constitutional rights when those... -
Supreme Court To Decide If One Structural Error Cancels Out Another
Jan 18, 2017(Comments: 0)January 18, 2017 (Fault Lines) — The question presented might sound boring. It’s not about abortion or affirmative action or anything that the media will bother to write “think-pieces” about. But in Weaver v. Massachusetts, the... -
SCOTUS Is Too Through With All Your “Brutality” Talk
Jan 12, 2017(Comments: 7)January 12, 2017 (Fault Lines) – Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple, once remarked in a commencement speech that “ou can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” It’s a...