Scribble

Editor's Note :

Scribble

Government returns to Supreme Court on military transgender ban – Amy Howe

Symposium: Crosses and constitutional clarity – Lindsay See

Symposium: Cross purposes -- Why a Christian symbol can’t memorialize all war dead – Richard B. Katskee

Live blog of confirmation hearing | September 27, 2018

Live blog of confirmation hearing | September 27, 2018

We live-blogged as the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

We live-blogged as the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

Dec. 2018

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American Gavel Award

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Conference of December 7, 2018

Orders

DAWSON V. STEAGER (17-419)

LORENZO V. SEC (17-1077)

BIESTEK V. BERRYHILL (17-1184)

HELSINN HEALTHCARE V. TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS (17-1229)

Supreme Court building closed for National Day of Mourning for George H.W. Bush

GAMBLE V. UNITED STATES (17-646)

Conference

Orders

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Holiday

3rd & 7 37yd

Klobuchar: But we'd like the FBI to be able to ask questions of him.

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:03:40 PM
Klobuchar: Sober in AA at age 90. You have said that you never drank so much as to not remember what happened. We have heard otherwise.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:05:07 PM
Klobuchar: Drinking is one thing. But the concern is about truthfulness. Did you ever drink so much that you can't remember what happened or part of what happened the night before? [No, and I wonder whether you have.]

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:06:45 PM
Klobuchar: Drinking is one thing, but the concern is about truthfulness. In written testimony, you said sometimes you drank too much. [No, I remember what happened.] Never a case where you drank so much that you didn't remember? [Have you?]

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:06:47 PM
Grassley now quoting Biden as dismissing importance of FBI investigations. FBI does not make conclusions or recommendations.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:08:31 PM
Whitehouse: I have, others have, asked for FBI investigation. It's not so much the conclusion an FBI investigation draws, but the breadth of evidence that is brought out, and the difference one might say to an FBI agent than to a lawyer.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:09:08 PM
Whitehouse: The first background investigation in history not re-opened when new information like you mentioned brought up.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:09:34 PM
Fifteen minute break now.

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:10:26 PM
What's the speaking order for the remaining senators?

by Anonymous Coward 9/27/2018 9:19:17 PM
Okay, we are getting going again.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:28:21 PM
Kavanaugh apologizes to Klobuchar about asking whether she had ever blacked out. Klobuchar says she appreciates that; when you're the child of an alcoholic, you are careful about your drinking.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:30:11 PM
Hatch, R-Utah is speaking.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:30:24 PM
Hatch: This man is not a monster.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:30:52 PM
It's not clear what order the Republicans are going in. Mitchell was ceded time by three of them, but it's not clear which ones and now they are asking their own questions in what appears to be a random order.

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:31:32 PM
Hatch: We agree that if Kavanaugh committed this assault, he should not be confirmed. But the circus atmosphere after Democrats sat on allegation has not helped us.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:31:45 PM
Hatch: This is worse than Bork and Thomas and I didn't think it could get worse than that. This is a national disgrace.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:32:11 PM
Kavanaugh was an immature high schooler. That he wrote or said stupid things doesn't make him a sexual predator.

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:33:04 PM
Hatch: Guilt by association is wrong. That Kavanaugh drank in high school and college does not make him guilty of what he's been accused of.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:33:40 PM
Hatch: When did you first learn of allegations?

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:33:52 PM
Immaturity does not equal criminality. A lifetime of respect and equal treatment ought to mean something.

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:33:55 PM
Kavanaugh: A week ago Sunday with the WaPo story.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:34:04 PM
Hatch: Did ranking member raise when you met or in hearing or written questions? [No] First time asked by ranking member about allegation? [Today]

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:34:40 PM
Coons, D-Del.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:35:06 PM
Coons: I've found some of your answers evasive on key issues.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:35:41 PM
Against backdrop of previous hearing sessions is how Coons is assessing today's testimony.

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:35:52 PM
Coons: Have you ever gotten aggressive while drinking or forgotten an evening? [Two questions, as for the first, basically no, what are you talking about?]

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:36:23 PM
Coons: Do you remember Liz Swisher?

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:36:59 PM
Coons: She said Brett Kavanaugh drank more than a lot of people. How should we assess that?

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:37:47 PM
Coons: Quoting other college classmates re Kavanaugh's drinking.

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:38:45 PM
Coons: Why not agree to a one-week pause to allow the FBI to investigate these allegations in order to clear your name? [All four witnesses alleged to be at the event said it didn't happen.]

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:39:44 PM
Coons: If you were conducting a job search for a very important position and a credible allegation about a candidate came up near the end of the process, wouldn't you want to investigate further?

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:40:03 PM
Coons: I've struggled with the absence of a fair, neutral, law-enforcement investigation. I'm concerned with what this will do to the credibility of the court and will hang over your service.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:40:17 PM
Kavanaugh: For us, every day has been a lifetime. It's been investigated.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:40:40 PM
Grassley: There could have been time over the summer for an investigation.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:41:49 PM
(Coons is D-Del., not D-Conn.)

by dc074 9/27/2018 9:42:19 PM
Lee, R-Utah

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:43:00 PM
Lee: You do not control the FBI, correct? [That's correct]

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:43:14 PM
Lee: Feinstein had a moral obligation to contact the FBI when she first heard about the allegations.

by Edith Roberts 9/27/2018 9:44:18 PM
Lee: But whenever we asked you questions, you were attentive and responsive. Two ironies. At least one of my colleagues had access to this information weeks before anyone else. Also, calling for investigation by FBI while we are in the middle of a conversation with you.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:44:49 PM
Lee: During Clarence Thomas hearing, Biden made observations about FBI -- FBI does not reach conclusions or recommendations

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:46:38 PM
Sasse slides in for last minute to Lee, so Kennedy can have his time.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:47:24 PM
Sasse: I think Dr. Ford is a victim. But Feinstein had recommended she hire a lawyer before the first hearing, and this was never asked?

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:48:43 PM
Blumenthal, D-Conn.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:49:04 PM
Blumenthal: False in one thing, false in everything -- jury instructions mean that jury can disbelieve witness if find him to be false in one thing. The core of why we are here is credibility. [Core of why we're here is because of allegation the four witnesses say didn't happen.]

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:50:15 PM
Blumenthal asked about Renate Alumnus, Kavanaugh says question is false.

by Andrew Hamm 9/27/2018 9:51:04 PM

Featured Posts

Government returns to Supreme Court on military transgender ban – Amy Howe

Symposium: Crosses and constitutional clarity – Lindsay See

Symposium: Cross purposes -- Why a Christian symbol can’t memorialize all war dead – Richard B. Katskee
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This Week at the Court
The Supreme Court released orders from the December 7 conference on Monday; the justices added Kisor v. Wilkie to their merits docket for this term. The justices also released their decision in United States v. Stitt on Monday.
The justices will meet next for their January 4 conference. The calendar for the January sitting, which will begin on January 7, is available on the Supreme Court's website.
Recent Decisions
- United States v. Stitt The term "burglary" in the Armed Career Criminal Act includes burglary of a structure or vehicle that has been adapted or is customarily used for overnight accommodation.
- Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service An area is eligible for designation as “critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 only if it is habitat for the listed species; and the decision by the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior not to exclude an area from critical habitat under 16 U. S. C. §1533(b)(2) is subject to judicial review.
- Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido State and local governments are covered employers under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 regardless of the number of employees they have.
see all this term’s cases »
Current Relists
- City of Escondido, California v. Emmons (1) Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit erred in denying the officers qualified immunity by considering clearly established law at too high a level of generality rather than giving particularized consideration to the facts and circumstances of this case; (2) whether the lower court erred in denying the officers qualified immunity by relying on a single decision, published after the event in question, to support its conclusion that qualified immunity is not available; and (3) whether the lower court erred in failing or refusing to decide whether the subject arrest was without probable cause or subject to qualified immunity.
- Hester v. United States Whether the rule of Apprendi v. New Jersey–which held that any fact, other than a prior conviction, that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proven beyond a reasonable doubt–should apply to the imposition of criminal restitution.
- Kennedy v. Bremerton School District Whether public school teachers and coaches retain any First Amendment rights when at work and “in the general presence of” students.
More Petitions »
Major Cases
- Kisor v. Wilkie
  Whether the Supreme Court should overrule Auer v. Robbins and Bowles v. Seminole Rock & Sand Co., which direct courts to defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of its own ambiguous regulation.
- In re Department of Commerce
  Whether, in an action seeking to set aside agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 701 et seq., a district court may order discovery outside the administrative record to probe the mental processes of the agency decisionmaker—including by compelling the testimony of high-ranking Executive Branch officials—when there is no evidence that the decisionmaker disbelieved the objective reasons in the administrative record, irreversibly prejudged the issue, or acted on a legally forbidden basis.
- The American Legion v. American Humanist Association
  (1) Whether a 93-year-old memorial to the fallen of World War I is unconstitutional merely because it is shaped like a cross; (2) whether the constitutionality of a passive display incorporating religious symbolism should be assessed under the tests articulated in Lemon v. Kurtzman, Van Orden v. Perry, Town of Greece v. Galloway or some other test; and (3) whether, if the test from Lemon v. Kurtzman applies, the expenditure of funds for the routine upkeep and maintenance of a cross-shaped war memorial, without more, amounts to an excessive entanglement with religion in violation of the First Amendment.
- Gamble v. United States
  Whether the Supreme Court should overrule the “separate sovereigns” exception to the double jeopardy clause.
- Timbs v. Indiana
  Whether the Eighth Amendment’s excessive fines clause is incorporated against the states under the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Apple Inc. v. Pepper
  Whether consumers may sue anyone who delivers goods to them for antitrust damages, even when they seek damages based on prices set by third parties who would be the immediate victims of the alleged offense.
see all this term’s cases »
Recent Special Features
Statistical Snapshot

Cases argued 32

Cases decided 3

Summary reversals 0

Merits cases granted to date 57

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Justice Sotomayor at Harvard

On November 13, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and Judge Susan Carney of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit presided over the final round of the 2018 Ames Moot Court Competition at Harvard Law School.

Peabody Award
Awarded the Peabody Award for excellence in electronic media.
Sigma Delta Chi
Awarded the Sigma Delta Chi deadline reporting award for online coverage of the Affordable Care Act decision.
National Press Club Award
Awarded the National Press Club's Breaking News Award for coverage of the Affordable Care Act decision.
Silver Gavel Award
Awarded the Silver Gavel Award by the American Bar Association for fostering the American public’s understanding of the law and the legal system.
American Gavel Award
Awarded the American Gavel Award for Distinguished Reporting About the Judiciary to recognize the highest standards of reporting about courts and the justice system.
Webby Award
Awarded the Webby Award for excellence on the internet.

3
Orders
DAWSON V. STEAGER (17-419)
LORENZO V. SEC (17-1077)

4
BIESTEK V. BERRYHILL (17-1184)
HELSINN HEALTHCARE V. TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS (17-1229)

5
Supreme Court building closed for National Day of Mourning for George H.W. Bush

6
GAMBLE V. UNITED STATES (17-646)

7
Conference

10
Orders
Opinions

Cases argued	32
Cases decided	3
Summary reversals	0
Merits cases granted to date	57