RIP Antonin Scalia

Did you ever see "The Godfather"? Old man dies.

 

You mean Obama killed him too? Fuck.

 

It's a movie. Not real life.

 

And that makes it OK, right?

 

According to this from National Review, Obama might have a week to make a recess appointment, who wouldn't need Senate confirmation and would serve until late 2017. The recess ends Feb. 22. Article says there would be disputes about the legality -- the big issue appears to be whether Sundays count as part of the minimum 10-day break that constitutes a recess -- but the appointee would remain on the bench until the legal case worked its way through.

Could Obama Bypass the Senate with a Supreme Court Recess Appointment?

 

All of this.

Fine. That's how this is supposed to work. Let the fucking process do its job instead of acting like fucking children.

 

It's an interesting academic exercise to consider, but making a recess appointment now would make no political sense. Obama has nothing to lose by nominating a qualified judge and then putting the pressure on the Senate to do its job.

 

Bypassing Congress and doing whatever the hell he wants seems to be Obama's style.
And the Republican leadership not calling him on it is why Donald Trump or Ted Cruz might be the next president.

 

I have a law professor friend who posted two interesting ideas in light of the coming crisis, in which while the left has the advantage but neither side is in a particularly good position. For the record, he leans left but now that I think about it is probably to the right of his colleagues.

1- use this moment to impose a term of 18 years for justices going forward.
2- negotiate to Richard posner as a compromise candidate and go double or nothing on election, which is the likeliest scenario anyway, but avoid all the rancor and split decisions along the way.

Not sure who says no to the first, makes a lot of sense though. I would hope/guess that McConnell would sign on for #2, but the president would not. I'd guess both are virtually impossible.

 

Here and elsewhere, this is bringing out the worst in many people. I listened to a bit of Dahlia Lithwick's podcast before I decided to turn it off. She and Emily Bazelon could hardly contain their glee. I was waiting for the munchkins to join in.

I have enjoyed the stories about his relationship with Ginsberg and kagan.

 

The Washington Post headline was also a disgrace.

 

I made the point on Facebook to a friend who is a criminal defense attorney.

Scalia was also friendly to free speech.

Judges can certainly be results-driven, but the media, politicians, and citizens are wrong to see everything through a policy prism without even attempting to understand the law.