tagged w/ Supreme Court Matters
-
Firefighters testify, but not everyone's listening
Thur Jul 16, 3:15 pm ET
Not everyone showed up to hear the Republicans' star witness testify: the firefighter at the center of a controversial reverse-discrimination case much-discussed during Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing.
Frank Ricci told his story -- but he didn't mention Sotomayor by name in his statement. He did say the case at hand was not about his dyslexia, but about fairness. "The more attention our case got, the more some people tried to distort it," Ricci said. "We sought basic fairness and even-handed enforcement of the laws, something all Americans believe in."
Ben Vargas, another firefighter, also testified the focus of the case should have been on what he did to deserve a promotion. He said: "The focus should not have been on me being Hispanic."
Only the following senators heard their statements -- Ben Cardin of Maryland, Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania for the Democrats; Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Orrin Hatch of Utah, John Cornyn of Texas, and Lindsey Graham for the Republicans. Only Leahy appeared to be reading, the rest listened intently.
The two firefighters filed a reverse discrimination suit that Sotomayor joined in dismissing. The Supreme Court reversed that decision last month. The case has proved a leading cause for conservatives opposed to Sotomayor. The judge's critics have criticized her for dismissing the firefighters' arguments without a hearing. They were trying to win promotions they said they earned on an examination that the city administered.Firefighters testify, but not everyone's listening
Thur Jul 16, 3:15 pm ET... more
-
-
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a school's strip search of an Arizona teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen was illegal.
In an 8-1 ruling, the justices said school officials violated the law with their search of Savana Redding in the rural eastern Arizona town of Safford.
Redding, who now attends college, was 13 when officials at Safford Middle School ordered her to remove her clothes and shake out her underwear because they were looking for pills _ the equivalent of two Advils. The district bans prescription and over-the-counter drugs and the school was acting on a tip from another student.
"What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear," Justice David Souter wrote in the majority opinion. "We think that the combination of these deficiencies was fatal to finding the search reasonable."
In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas found the search legal and said the court previously had given school officials "considerable leeway" under the Fourth Amendment in school settings.
Officials had searched the girl's backpack and found nothing, Thomas said. "It was eminently reasonable to conclude the backpack was empty because Redding was secreting the pills in a place should thought no one would look," Thomas said.
Thomas warned that the majority's decision could backfire. "Redding would not have been the first person to conceal pills in her undergarments," he said. "Nor will she be the last after today's decision, which announces the safest place to secrete contraband in school."
The court also ruled the officials cannot be held liable in a lawsuit for the search. Different judges around the nation have come to different conclusions about immunity for school officials in strip searches, which leads the Supreme Court to "counsel doubt that we were sufficiently clear in the prior statement of law," Souter said.
"We think these differences of opinion from our own are substantial enough to require immunity for the school officials in this case," Souter said.
The justices also said the lower courts would have to determine whether the Safford United School District No. 1 could be held liableThe Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a school's strip search of an Arizona... more
-
-
ANP: Palin hides her deep roots and thriving base of support among social conservatives.
American News Project: Sarah Palin has something to hide, especially from swing voters: her deep roots and thriving base of support among social conservatives who are thrilled at the prospect of overturning Roe v. Wade, among other things. Palin and the GOP leaders at the 2008 Convention avoid speaking frankly about the social conservative agenda, but ANP got an earful when we spoke with GOP delegates and anti-abortion activists at the convention.ANP: Palin hides her deep roots and thriving base of support among social... more
-
-
Matt Welch, editor of the libertarian magazine Reason.com, says McCain is more interventionist than Bush. Part 2
Matt Welch is a journalist, blogger, pundit and a libertarian. Since 2008, he has been the editor-in-chief at the monthly libertarian journal, Reason. Recently (from 2006 to 2007), he was an editorial page editor for the Los Angeles Times. He has written a portrayal of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, from a libertarian perspective. In McCain: The Myth of a Maverick, Welch argues that a McCain presidency would advance a statist agenda.
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89269364_palin_a_bold_move_or_reckless_choice
See Part 3 at: http://current.com/items/89276276_the_myth_of_mccain
See Part 4 at: http://current.com/items/89280211_no_moderate_no_realist_mccain_the_neoconMatt Welch, editor of the libertarian magazine Reason.com, says McCain is more... more
-
