'Svengali Sex Slave' Case Heads for Supreme Court

Arguing a case before her isn't fun, but that's not a bad thing

(NEWSER) - Sonia Sotomayor may be a self-proclaimed “bear on the bench,” but the critics saying she's too harsh are way off base, writes constitutional lawyer Floyd Abrams in the Wall Street Journal. Abrams has argued multiple cases before Sotomayor. “Her questions are tough and fair, demanding and acute. One could say worse things about a judge.” More»

Firefighter decision shows judicial 'modesty'

(NEWSER) - Democrats are struggling to paint the Supreme Court’s rejection today of an opinion by nominee Sonia Sotomayor as proof that she is, in fact, not an “activist judge,” Roll Call reports. The high court decided to reverse Sotomayor’s 2nd Circuit ruling against white New Haven firefighters who alleged reverse discrimination. Sen. Chuck Schumer says the earlier ruling was based on precedent and therefore the mark of a moderate. More»

Or at least, with parts of it

(NEWSER) - Today the Supreme Court heard the final arguments in the case over Arizona's controversial immigration law, and it's not looking good for the Obama administration. Justices seemed decidedly skeptical about the Justice Department's central argument that the law impinged on the federal government's power to control immigration, the Washington Post reports. "What could possibly be wrong," John Roberts asked, with having police check detainees' immigration status, and pass the information to the federal government? More»

Most seem inclined to let parts of it stand

(NEWSER) - If the individual mandate is deemed unconstitutional , should the rest of President Obama's health care reform die with it? Supreme Court justices wrestled with that question today in the third and final day of arguments, with the challengers' lead attorney stating his case simply: “If the individual mandate is unconstitutional, then the rest of the act cannot stand," said Paul D. Clement. That got a mixed reaction, reports the Washington Post and New York Times :

• Antonin Scalia: He sounded sympathetic. “My approach would be to say that if you take the heart out of this statute, the statute’s gone.”
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg: She disagreed. “There are so many things in this act that are unquestionably OK,” she said. If the choice is between "a wrecking operation and a salvage job, a more conservative approach would be a salvage job."

He also refers to the 'eight' Supreme Court justices

(NEWSER) - Ouch. Rick Perry gave an interview to the Des Moines Register today in which he criticized "activist judges" on the Supreme Court, but he suffered an awkward silence as he struggled to come up with the name of Sonia Sotomayor. In fact, the best he could do was "Montemayor" before a reporter helped him out. More»