In an Op-Ed for the New York Times, Neal Katyal, the “acting solicitor general under President Barack Obama and…a lawyer at Hogan Lovells,” and George Conway III, “a litigator at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz,” argue that Donald Trump’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker as the the Acting Attorney General is unconstitutional. Roughly, according to the AppointmentsContinue reading “Neal Katyal And George Conway’s Incomplete Legal Advice”
Tag Archives: US Senate
Twenty Seven Years On, Old White Misogynists Still Get To Send Liars To The Supreme Court
Twenty-seven years on, little has changed in America. Old white men still get to make liars into Supreme Court Justices. Indeed, things have worsened. Back in 1991, the Senate merely elevated a serial sexual harasser to the Supreme Court. Now, they get to send lying, rapey fratboys to the bench. I suppose that’s not soContinue reading “Twenty Seven Years On, Old White Misogynists Still Get To Send Liars To The Supreme Court”
Justice Hugo Black, The Ku Klux Klan, And The Trump Candidacy
In 1914, Hugo Black–a future Supreme Court Justice–was elected solicitor, or district attorney in Birmingham, Alabama. He lobbied to improve prison conditions for both black and whites, and even published a report on coerced confessions. As a trial lawyer, he had successfully represented a black man who had been imprisoned twenty-five weeks beyond his originalContinue reading “Justice Hugo Black, The Ku Klux Klan, And The Trump Candidacy”
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”
Samuel Chase and Judicial Supremacy
In the history of the US Supreme Court, Samuel Chase holds a singular, if dubious honor: he is, to date, the only Supreme Justice to be impeached (he was, however, ultimately acquitted by the US Senate). The background to his impeachment is indicative of the political ferment so common in the early days of theContinue reading “Samuel Chase and Judicial Supremacy”
Our Truly Messed-Up Constitution (And Those Dedicated To Keeping It That Way)
Sanford Levinson‘s Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We The People Can Correct It) is a truly depressing book. As I read it last night and this morning–in preparation for a meeting today with this semester’s Wolfe Institute Faculty Discussion Group–I grew increasingly enraged, perplexed, and then, finally, even more convincedContinue reading “Our Truly Messed-Up Constitution (And Those Dedicated To Keeping It That Way)”
Nietzsche on Olympia Snowe’s Departure From the Senate
Olympia Snowe’s announcement that she would not seek reelection in November 2012 and would instead retire when her third term ends in January 2013 has, understandably, been the cause of much gnashing of teeth among those ostensibly committed to a more tolerant politics and to ‘pragmatism’ in legislation. Snowe herself wrote an Op-Ed in theContinue reading “Nietzsche on Olympia Snowe’s Departure From the Senate”
Samir Chopra 