Primarily, the case is about the United States wanting to be treated no better, but certainly no worse, than the way that every law firm and business firm and potential employer for law students is treated when they come to campus. |
So judges are responsible for abiding by the morality in their own lives, but they are not responsible for imposing that morality in judicial decision-making. |
Surprisingly, in over two centuries of Supreme Court precedent, the issue has never been squarely presented and resolved -- until now. |
The answer is no. The judge has no moral responsibility for the laws that his community enacts. |
The case turns on Kennedy. I don't think Justice O'Connor will be present when the court's decision is issued. So her vote is no longer one that is in the calculus. |
The Rehnquist court ... attempted to restore dual sovereignty and the conception that states have functions that cannot be displaced by the federal government. |
This case is important to law schools [some of which initiated the legal challenge] and, because it is, a lot of people will pay attention. This is a tug of war between Congress and the people who receive its money. |
Unless the line-up changes, I think O'Connor will not be hearing it -- Roberts will -- and some unknown draft choice to be named later. That's going to make a difference. This one depends on the composition of the court almost entirely. I hate saying that. I spend my life teaching there is law here. |
William H. Rehnquist is by nature quiet and humble. His legacy is that he has shown us how to disagree with civility. |
You would have to show that your vote is diluted by recounting. That seems unlikely given all the recounting there has been in the past |