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Book Review: The Challenge by Jonathan Mahler

Writing a book about a case that works its way to the U.S. Supreme Court poses inherent problems for an author. Perhaps the most difficult is putting the story in terms the average reader can understand while not bungling or giving too short shrift to legal complexities. This is especially so when the author is […]

The Supreme Court’s gang of four

Shortly before the 2004 election, I opined that the most important race to win was the presidential election. One of the reasons was the potential ramifications of Bush being able to make appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court. That fear appears to be turning to reality now.

After winning the election, Bush appointed Chief Justice […]

The Clarence Thomas visit

Word is finally out that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visited the USD campus on Thursday. It was a “by invitation only” appearance that was kept secret for security reasons.

My oldest daughter was among those invited to meet with Thomas. I speculate that is because her honors paper last semester was on the religion […]

The Hamdan decision

As you’ve likely heard, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled 5-3 (Chief Justice Roberts not participating) that the military tribunals Bush planned to use to try Guantanamo Bay detainees violate federal law and the Geneva conventions. The decision in the case, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, was more than 175 pages with the concurring and dissenting opinions. […]

Alito assigned 8th Circuit

An order entered by the U.S. Supreme Court today assigned new Justice Samuel Alito to the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. (Via How Appealing). South Dakota is one of the seven states within the 8th Circuit. The assignment basically means Alito will be the justice who acts on applications that arise from the circuit, […]