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Of supreme importance

Article from: The Boston Globe Article date: November 01, 2008

MANY of the most crucial US Supreme Court cases in recent years have been decided by 5-to-4 votes. In the two most recent sessions, a one-vote margin decided whether individual Americans have the right to own guns; if race can be a factor in public school assignments; the constitutionality of lethal injection; whether greenhouse gases can be regulated under the Clean Air Act; and whether women given discriminatory wages can sue once they discover the inequity. In other words, the actions of the country's highest court touch every American, far beyond the usual fixation on the right to ...

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Justice Stevens Is 88, and Not Looking to Play More Bridge

Posted Nov 18, 08 10:04 AM CST in Politics,  Crime & Courts 

Justice Stevens Is 88, and Not Looking to Play More Bridge
Source: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

(Newser) – Barack Obama can’t make his much-anticipated mark on the Supreme Court until a justice retires—and at 88, his most likely candidate, John Paul Stevens, has shown no mind to leave, the Washington Post reports. The second-oldest justice in Court history is in great shape, the Post notes, telecommuting from Florida, playing tennis, and swimming in the ocean.

Stevens says he might have quit a decade ago if the workload was as heavy now as it was when he took the job in 1975. “I have to say I think we were taking too many cases when I joined the court,” he told law students yesterday. But “it’s still a full-time job.” Also considered likely to make an exit are fellow left-leaning jurists Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75, and David Souter, 69.

Source: Washington Post

More about:  President Obama • US Supreme Court • liberal • John Paul Stevens

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Who Would Obama Pick for Supreme Court?

He could go moderate or liberal, but observers see a woman

Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Nov 17, 08 7:21 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama's election is unlikely to transform the Supreme Court, as the four justices of the conservative bloc are unlikely to retire. But if the 88-year-old John Paul Stevens departs, the new president will have an opportunity to make his mark. Court observers speculate that Obama would choose a more moderate voice over a liberal crusader, but everyone agrees: the new president will almost certainly pick a woman. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • President Obama • US Supreme Court • John Paul Stevens • Janet Napolitano

analysis

Spry Justices May Forestall Obama Court Makeover


Aging Stevens, Ginsburg show no sign of retiring, defying conventional wisdom

ABC News ABC News Nov 11, 08 4:56 PM CST
(Newser) - One of the boons for the next president was thought to be the chance to appoint a justice or two to the Supreme Court. But though John Paul Stevens is 88 and Ruth Bader Ginsburg 75, neither has indicated an intention to retire. Ginsberg has twice demurred, saying Stevens, who is “going strong at age 88,” is a role model, writes Jan Crawford Greenburg for ABC. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • President Obama • US Supreme Court • president • John Paul Stevens • federal judges • justices • David Souter

Supreme Court OKs Lawsuits Over 'Light' Cigarettes

State laws allow for legal action for alleged deceptive marketing

Associated Press Associated Press Dec 15, 08 10:22 AM CST
(AP) - The Supreme Court ruled today that lawsuits may proceed against tobacco companies for allegedly deceptive marketing of “light” cigarettes. In a 5-4 split won by the court’s liberals, the court said smokers may use state consumer-protection laws to sue over such promotional methods. The decision was at odds with recent anti-consumer rulings that limited state regulation of business in favor of federal power. More »

More about:  US Supreme Court • cigarette • John Paul Stevens • label • false advertising


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