Legal Experts Look Back At Conservative Court Term

By Learned Foote - Talk Radio News Service

The American Constitution Society, a liberal group designed to counter what they describe as an “activist conservative legal movement,” hosted a panel of legal experts today to review the actions of the Supreme Court this term. According to many observers, the court has leaned to the right under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts.

The panel consisted of former New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse, and six lawyers who have argued before the Supreme Court. The panelists discussed a broad range of cases and offered perspectives on the court that were often at variance.

John Payton, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, criticized the oral arguments in two cases regarding civil rights, the Voting Rights Act and Ricci v. DeStefano. “There was a level of hostility directed at the government lawyers in those cases to me was unprecedented,” he said. He argued that the decisions reflected the court’s erroneous belief that legal protection against racial discrimination is no longer required in some cases.

Greenhouse, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the Supreme Court, harshly criticized the court’s decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, in which plaintiff alleged that unjust discrimination led to his detention after 9/11. Greenhouse said the ruling revealed a “certain level of intellectual dishonesty of this court, a certain cynicism,” because it misrepresented previous legal precedents.

Greenhouse noted that some court observers believe Iqbal will likely be the most cited case of the term. "It’s going to be cited by defendants in every civil case," she said.

Andrew J. Pincus, partner at Mayer Brown LLP, discussed the five environmental cases to come before the Supreme Court this term, all of which resulted in a defeat for environmentalists. He said that one critical factor governing these decisions was judicial deference to the executive branch of the government. He noted that “we have a different administration now, and deference to the executive branch may well cut the other way.”

Some lawyers also suggested that broad generalizations of the Roberts Court were inaccurate. “Calling the Roberts Court a great court for business defendants or at least employers has been a little over-simplistic for awhile,” said Paul D. Clement, former Solicitor General and a current partner at King & Spalding LLP. He emphasized that the context of each individual case matters greatly, and that it is difficult to pinpoint broad trends across the term.

Several members of the panel lamented the retirement of liberal justice David Souter, and suggested that nominee Sonia Sotomayor will make a notable and perhaps unpredictable difference in the ideological make-up of the court next year.

Legal Experts Say Supreme Court Decision Should Not Affect Sotomayor Hearing

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

A panel of legal experts argued on Monday that the 5-4 decision of the Supreme Court in Ricci v. DeStefano should not affect the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. The Center for American Progress and the American Constitution Society hosted the panel.

The Supreme Court found that the city of New Haven did not have sufficient grounds to throw out the results of a test designed to specify officers for promotion, even though black and Hispanic firefighters fared relatively poorly on the test. The opinion struck down a ruling issued by the district court and upheld by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, upon which Sotomayor serves. Four justices, including Stevens, Breyer, and Souter, signed a dissent written by Justice Ginsburg.

Tom Goldstein of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, founder of the popular SCOTUSblog, acknowledged that the majority opinion interpreted the law differently than Sonia Sotomayor had. He quoted Justice Kennedy, however, who had said that the law under consideration was unclear. Goldstein also noted that Ginsburg’s dissent said that Sotomayor followed precedent set by the 2nd Circuit.

Goldstein said that the majority opinion indicated an unwillingness to engage with the political process surrounding Sotomayor’s confirmation. He said the opinion “seemed to go out of its way to avoid openly criticizing the second circuit panel on which Judge Sotomayor sat, rather than sort of taking the Court of Appeals openly to task.”

Kevin Russell of Howe & Russell pointed out that Justice Souter—whom Sotomayor could potentially replace on the Supreme Court—signed onto the dissent. He said that the four dissenting justices “thought that Judge Sotomayor’s opinion was correct in concluding that this is not the kind of decision that requires a special justification, it’s not the equivalent of intentional racial discrimination, and that New Haven had substantial leeway to throw the results of these tests out based on the evidence that it had before it.”

Sotomayor Gets Endorsement from Senator, Law Enforcement Groups

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) spoke out Tuesday in support of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination. Menendez was joined by representatives from the National Latino Peace Officers Association and the Hispanic National Bar Association. The focus of the discussion was Sotomayor’s strong commitment to equality, justice and law enforcement.

“Let me make one thing perfectly clear, we get to be proud of this nominee because she is exceptionally qualified, first and foremost. We get to be proud of her vast knowledge of the law, her practical experience fighting crime and her proven record of dedication to equal justice under the law,” said Menendez.

He said that he is proud to have the opportunity to cast a vote in support of President Obama’s nomination of Sotomayor and he believes she is clearly the right person for the job.

The law enforcement officials who spoke emphasized her work in the fight against crime. Menendez noted that there are many different professional dimensions to Sotomayor’s experience and her commitment to law enforcement is just one aspect. The Senator said all of Sotomayor’s qualities will be highlighted during the confirmation period.

Said Chief Art Acevedo, the President of the National Latino Peace Officers Association, “One of the things that impresses law enforcement about the Judge is the fact that she has worked on the streets in the front line seeing first hand as a prosecutor in New York the challenges faced by the communities we serve, the challenges faced by the law enforcement community and more importantly the challenges we face as a nation.”

Menendez and the other leaders noted Sotomayor’s judicial experience, and said they are committed to promoting a fair confirmation process by the U.S. Senate.

“Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to be a Justice of the Supreme Court is a proud moment for America,” Menendez said. “It’s proof that the American dream is in reach for everyone willing to work hard, play by the rules, give back to their communities, regardless of their ethnicity, gender or social economic background. And it’s further proof of the deep roots the Hispanic community has in this country.”

Sotomayor Nomination Backed By Coalition Of Latino Law Professors

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s academic achievements and her extensive work as a judge on previous benches separates her from previous nominees, said a number of law professors from the organization Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary (HFJ) today during a conference call marking the announcement of a coalition of Latino law professors from around the country to support Sotomayor’s nomination by the U.S. Senate.

“[HFJ] applaud President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sotomayor...Judge Sotomayor is eminently qualified for the position of a Supreme Court Justice,” said Reynaldo Valencia, Professor and Associate Dean at St. Mary’s University School of Law.

Valencia added that Sotomayor “has served in a variety of capacities and has a broad base experience in the legal community...which would help her reach fair-minded and moderate decisions as she has done both as a district judge and now on the Court of Appeals.”

Responding to the criticism of conservatives that she is a racist judge, Bertha Hernandez, Professor of Law at the University of Florida College of Law, said that after having thoroughly read her past decisions people would experience a “pull back from this initial, very politicized rhetoric and energetic reaction to a real honest and candid review of the cases and the substance of these cases.”

Professor Valencia pointed out that “Judge Sotomayor was originally appointed to the Federal bench by a Republican President and elevated to the Second Circuit by a Democratic President” while the Congress has found her in two occasions to be very qualified for her positions.

HFJ was formed in 2005 to provide Hispanic leaders a platform to voice matters related to the U.S. judicial system.

Hispanic Leaders Voice Support for Sotomayor

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

A group of Latino leaders expressed their full support of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor on Capitol Hill today. A number of leaders from organizations such as the National Hispanic Bar Association (HNBA) and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss Sotomayor, who is undergoing a confirmation process with the U.S. Senate.

“At a time in our history, when the Supreme Court is constantly balancing he expansion of law enforcement against individual rights, it is critical that a justice understand the real life consequences the opinions of the highest court in the land have on the lives of the Latinos.” said John Amaya, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Legislative Staff Attorney. “We strongly believe that Judge Sotomayor has the experience and legal judgement that will best serve all Americans.”

In a press release, the Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary (HFJ) said that Sotomayor’s perspective would be critical to the increasing number of cases that are being heard before the Supreme Court that ultimately affect the Latino and immigrant communities.

Reid said just as much as he can’t change who he is and what his life experiences are, “She can’t change who she is. She is going to rely on her life experiences in writing her opinions. That’s who she is. She has made 3,400 decisions while she has been a member of the federal judiciary. She has written opinions on hundreds of those decisions that she’s made and her life story is part of her opinions,” he said.

Sotomayor also continued her meetings with senators on Capitol Hill today. She met with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) this morning. Following their meeting, Menendez said he fully supports Sotomayor and praised her for her depth of judicial experience.

Menendez said he finds her “incredibly well qualified and with an enormous intellectual prowess that I think the committee will see when she answers questions.”