There might be some disputation over whether the Donald Trump-Republican Party unholy alliance is politically effective in terms of the consolidation of executive power or actual legislative activity–seasoned political observers consider the Trump administration to have been an utter failure on both fronts–but there can be little doubt about the extent of the damage theContinue reading “The Trump-Republican Legacy: Institutional Capture And Degradation”
Tag Archives: Antonin Scalia
The ‘But The Supreme Court’ Argument For Hillary Clinton
One ‘hold-your-nose-and-vote-for-the-lesser-evil’ argument currently making the rounds for the Hillary Clinton candidacy–ostensibly intended to address the ‘schism’ in the Democratic Party, among the ‘Left’ and ‘progressives’–goes something like this. Vote for Hillary Clinton, even if you disagree with many of her policies, do not consider her entirely trustworthy, and would much rather vote for BernieContinue reading “The ‘But The Supreme Court’ Argument For Hillary Clinton”
Antonin Scalia And His Incoherent, Hierarchy-Loving, Theory Of Constitutional Interpretation
I taught Antonin Scalia‘s writings–as found in his court opinions–on three occasions in my philosophy of law class. His theory of constitutional interpretation–originalism–was incoherent. His aggressive rhetoric, directed at those who would dare petition the highest court of the land for redress, was tasteless. He was a bully, and a blowhard. Like Christopher Hitchens, he willContinue reading “Antonin Scalia And His Incoherent, Hierarchy-Loving, Theory Of Constitutional Interpretation”
‘A Manual For The Police On How To Conduct Beatings’
Leonard Strickland was beaten to death; in jail, by prison guards. Those who did so, and those who supervised them, were secure in the knowledge that very little would be, and could be, done to bring them to justice. History and the law is on their side. In 1992, in one of Clarence Thomas‘ earliestContinue reading “‘A Manual For The Police On How To Conduct Beatings’”
Big Business and its Friends on the US Supreme Court
An academic study conducted by Lee Epstein, William Landes and Richard Posner confirms something many of us have only intuited till now: [T]he business docket reflects something truly distinctive about the court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. While the current court’s decisions, over all, are only slightly more conservative than those from the courtsContinue reading “Big Business and its Friends on the US Supreme Court”
That Scalia Sure Chopped the Individual Mandate Like Broccoli!
I’ve now taught Philosophy of Law twice: first, in Spring 2007, and then later, two sections in Spring 2011. An important section of the class syllabus, once we have completed a comparison and discussion of natural law, positivist, and legal realist theories of the law, is legal reasoning. And invariably, an important topic in legalContinue reading “That Scalia Sure Chopped the Individual Mandate Like Broccoli!”
Statutory Interpretation, the “Nietzsche Rule”, and Stevens and Scalia in Zuni
From Chapter 8, (‘Doctrines of Statutory Interpretation’), Section 1, A. ‘Textual Canons’, 2 ‘Grammar Canons’, (f) ‘The Golden Rule (Against Absurdity) – and the Nietzsche Rule. of William N. Eskridge, Jr., Philip Fricket, and Elizabeth Garrett, Cases and Materials on Legislation: Statutes and the Creation of Public Policy, Thomson West, American Casebook Series, Saint Paul,Continue reading “Statutory Interpretation, the “Nietzsche Rule”, and Stevens and Scalia in Zuni”
Samir Chopra 