http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/judiciary/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Fri, 20 Dec 2002 19:18:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/420/pee_first_ask_questions_later/ In the past decade, a veritable Kindergulag has been erected around schoolchildren, making them subject to arbitrary curfews, physical searches, psychological profiling schemes and--in the latest institutionalized indignity--random, suspicion-less, warrant-less drug testing for just about any kid who wants to pursue extracurricular interests. Last summer, the Supreme Court gave carte blanche to school districts that want to impose drug testing on kids who’ve cast suspicion upon themselves by volunteering for extracurricular activities. The 5-to-4 decision on June 27 upheld a drug-testing program in a Tecumseh County, Oklahoma, school district that requires students engaged in any “competitive” extracurricular activities to submit to random drug testing. This isn’t just about keeping jocks from enjoying a post-practice beer or joint. The decision approves… civil liberties education government: judiciary David Sirota Mon, 14 Apr 2003 11:00:01 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/440/the_people_vs_richard_perle/ March should have been a triumphant month for Richard Perle. The former American Enterprise Institute fellow and assistant secretary of defense has been calling for regime change longer and louder than anyone. But on March 27, as the media dug ever deeper into his encyclopedic catalog of conflicts of interest, Perle abruptly left his post as chairman of the Defense Policy Board (he will still serve as a director on the board). Reaching Perle on the phone to discuss his resignation, the New York Times found the iconic neoconservative in kind of a cranky mood: “Let me just tell you something,” Perle said to the reporter, refusing to confirm his departure before angrily hanging up. “If I had [resigned], you’d… government: judiciary media war in iraq David Sirota Tue, 29 Apr 2003 09:42:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/444/throwing_away_the_key/ The Department of Homeland Security, the new cabinet post with the Teutonic inflection, was created last January to assuage Americans’ fears of future terrorist attacks. But while we focus our attention on external threats, we’re ignoring homegrown forces that imperil our nation’s security much more profoundly than suicidal Islamic cults. These forces are being generated by an incarceration epidemic that has earned this country the dubious title of the world’s largest jailer. Figures released last month by the Justice Department revealed that as of June 30, 2002, the number of inmates in American prisons and jails had exceeded 2 million for the first time in history. There were 1.35 million prisoners in state and federal prisons and an additional 665,000… civil liberties government: judiciary race social justice David Sirota Fri, 09 May 2003 14:15:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/446/the_court_takes_on_gay_rights/ Expectations are running high in the gay community as the United States Supreme Court will shortly hand down a decision in Lawrence v. Texas, a case that has the potential of reversing the infamous Bowers v. Hardwick decision from 1986. That case, which upheld as constitutional a Georgia statute that made same-sex “sodomy” a crime, has been used over and over to justify discrimination. Since certain conduct engaged in by sexually active gays and lesbians can be criminalized, states and the federal government have at different times claimed a right to deny the benefits of public employment (both military and non-military) and recognition of relationships (like adoption and marriage) to persons with a same-sex orientation. In Lawrence, we have an… government: judiciary LGBT social justice David Sirota Mon, 07 Jul 2003 21:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/454/laws_of_empire/ In 1996, Burmese peasant villagers filed a lawsuit against Unocal. They charged the U.S. oil company with knowingly collaborating with the country’s repressive military government to forcibly relocate peasants living in the path of Unocal’s oil pipeline project. The military used these peasants as slave labor to clear a path for the pipeline and build service roads. The suit claimed that those who refused to work were often killed, beaten, tortured, or raped. Documents filed in the case indicate that Unocal had been well-informed by its advisors of how the military operated, and knew of its history of using slave labor. The villagers, who had fled to Thailand, had no legal recourse under the Burmese military dictatorship, but they did… corporations economy government: judiciary international affairs David Sirota Tue, 15 Jul 2003 11:30:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/460/affirmative_denial/ One of the primary reasons I support the congressional bill to study the feasibility of reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans is the need to acquaint Americans with the devastating effects racial slavery has had on African-Americans. That need was never more apparent than during national discussions of the Supreme Court’s recent affirmative action rulings. In a 5-4 vote, the high court ruled that the University of Michigan law school (and thus all colleges and universities) could constitutionally consider race as a factor in admissions. The court also ruled that the school’s undergraduate admissions point system, which awards points for certain racial identities, is unconstitutional. Progressives applauded the top court’s law school ruling as a victory for the forces… civil liberties government: congress government: judiciary race social justice David Sirota Fri, 13 Feb 2004 15:24:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/512/pride_before_the_fall/ It was a stunning show of hubris. An act so offensive it should have been unthinkable. Timed to cause the greatest pain and the deepest outrage. But then it was this president. And it did advance his standing among right-wing extremists. The recess appointment of Charles W. Pickering Sr. to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is an attack on civil rights and the progress toward social justice made in the last half-century. Equally odious is the timing—Pickering was implanted on the bench as Americans prepared to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. You remember Pickering: He’s the federal judge in Mississippi who disapproved of the Voting Rights Act, calling the one-person, one-vote doctrine “obtrusive.” And who… government: judiciary politics race social justice David Sirota Fri, 13 Feb 2004 15:34:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/704/dixie_tricks/ After the U.S. Senate twice determined that Charles W. Pickering Sr. did not deserve promotion to a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit largely because of his lifelong opposition to civil rights, President Bush sidestepped the confirmation process and granted a recess appointment. Adding insult to injury, the president made his announcement hours before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Defending the integrity of the federal courts is essential for our nation, and the president’s decision to vouch so strongly for someone whose actions and temperament render him unsuitable for elevation to this important court is regrettable. The federal courts are called the guardians of the Constitution because their rulings protect the rights and… civil liberties government: judiciary politics race social justice David Sirota Tue, 17 Feb 2004 15:11:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/705/judicial_disappointments/ With a stalled economy and ongoing attacks against U.S. troops, judicial appointments seemingly lack the immediacy and scope to register among Americans’ concerns this election season. But relegating the president’s power to make lifetime appointments to the lower tiers of political consideration sets dangerous precedent—and could impact the rights of ordinary citizens for decades to come. Federal judges play a critical role on such issues as civil rights, reproductive rights, and environmental and consumer protections. And as the recess appointment of Charles W. Pickering Sr. most recently demonstrated, President Bush is bent on packing the federal courts with ideological extremists who have shown a willingness to rewrite statues, distort precedent, and misrepresent facts to justify positions against many of our… civil liberties gender government: administration government: judiciary politics race social justice David Sirota Tue, 27 Apr 2004 08:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/418/and_justice_for_all/ The U.S. Supreme Court for the first time is examining the validity of opening federal courts to foreigners, and what Congress intended when it drafted a nondescript, sentence-long law more than 200 years ago that has been used recently to defend international victims of human rights abuses. On March 30 the High Court heard arguments on two combined cases involving the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789 (ATCA), a law interpreted to allow foreign victims of human rights violations the ability to sue in federal court. The cases involve a Mexican doctor who was arrested and brought to the United States by Mexican nationals hired by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Dr. Humberto Alvarez-Machain was charged in 1990 with… civil liberties government: judiciary international affairs David Sirota Mon, 14 Jun 2004 12:05:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/780/detention_center_blues/ On April 7, politicians and law enforcement officials gathered in Tacoma, Washington, to celebrate the opening of the Department of Homeland Security’s newest gem, a $115 million facility called the Northwest Detention Center. The building, designed to hold up to 700 undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation, was nearly two years in the works, and supporters hoped it would provide a much-needed economic boon to the region. Later that week, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sent a report to Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, documenting the results of an investigation into two of the state’s juvenile halls. In stomach-churning detail, investigators described how employees brutally beat youths at the facilities, and how basic living conditions didn’t meet even the lowest constitutional standards.… civil liberties corporations economy government: judiciary international affairs David Sirota Mon, 28 Jun 2004 14:23:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/807/a_court_of_cronies/ Presidents have long packed the courts with friends and fellow travelers to prevent their policies from being derailed and their prerogatives curbed. But few have been as blatant as President George W. Bush, who has rigged the court created to review appeals from prisoners detained in the war on terrorism. Under the guidance of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Bush has picked judges who are either cronies of Rumsfeld or enthusiastic champions of the Bush administration view that the norms of international law do not apply to the United States—or both. On December 26, the Defense Department issued Military Commission Instruction No. 9, which established a Review Panel of four judges to hear appeals from the lower military tribunals. These… government: administration government: judiciary politics David Sirota Mon, 22 Nov 2004 07:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1706/judicial_chainsaw_massacre/ Plagiarizing from his defeated rival, on November 3 George W. Bush promised the nation “a season of hope.” For those who view the U.S. Supreme Court and the federal judiciary as protectors of minorities from unlawful discrimination and as guarantors of civil liberties and constitutional rights, the reality that lies ahead is more aptly described by Rimbaud: “a season in hell.” Bush is poised, chainsaw in hand, to redefine the meaning of justice and fairness through the nominations he will be making to the federal bench. With Chief Justice William Rehnquist ailing, his first appointment is probably not far away, and Justice Antonin Scalia is the likely replacement. Bush repeatedly has praised Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas for embodying the… government: judiciary politics election 2004 David Sirota Tue, 07 Dec 2004 08:59:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/1739/blocking_mr_torture/ As progressives wonder at how best to direct—and revive—the struggle to return America to its basic values, a dizzying number of worthy causes, coalitions and strategies present themselves. But one immediate issue must be engaged: America has become a country that tortures its prisoners. The mainstream media uses the word “torture” to describe those (hundreds of) documented cases of “isolated” incidents, performed by those “few bad apples” at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. When it comes to the pervasive use of torture at Guantánamo’s Camp X-Ray and scores of other secret military prisons around the globe, the media has preferred the term “abuse.” It’s a word that takes the edge off. That may be changing with the leak late in November… civil liberties government: administration government: judiciary politics David Sirota Fri, 17 Jun 2005 13:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2167/the_cannabis_war/ Homegrown medical marijuana qualifies as interstate commerce, the Supreme Court ruled June 6, in the second major setback it has delivered to pot patients. By a 6 to 3 margin, the Court refused to grant an injunction protecting California medical-marijuana users Angel McClary Raich and Diane Monson from federal prosecution. As Monson grows her own and Raich gets hers donated by another California resident, the two women had argued that their supply is neither interstate nor commerce, so the federal government does not have the right to supersede California's law allowing medical use. Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the majority opinion, acknowledged that Raich and Monson had "strong arguments" for medical marijuana; Monson suffers severe back spasms, and Raich,… government: judiciary medical and health David Sirota Wed, 06 Jul 2005 10:02:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2204/freedom_of_repression/ For almost five years, the Innovator newspaper at Governors State University has been absent from the suburban Chicago campus, banished by the administration's demands for prior approval of its content. After a June 20 decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Innovator may never be seen again--and many other campus newspapers may join it on the list of publications censored or eliminated for questioning the status quo. The decision in Hosty v. Carter demonstrates the threat that right-wing judges pose to freedom of expression in America. The majority opinion, written by conservative judge Frank Easterbrook and supported by other conservative justices such as Richard Posner, is a classic example of judicial activism. Easterbrook's convoluted opinion abandons well-established… education government: judiciary media David Sirota Wed, 06 Jul 2005 10:03:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2203/network_neutrality_now/ And then there were two. That, at least, is the stark prospect facing us in the area of broadband communications, with the Supreme Court's decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X Internet Services setting the stage for just two companies--the local cable monopoly and the incumbent telephone giant--to control the "last-mile" broadband connections to our homes and businesses. This broadband "duopoly" stands in sharp contrast to the vast numbers of Internet service providers (ISPs, some 7,000 of them at their peak) who plied their trade during the '90s. The dial-up connections they offered may have been slow in comparison to the swift cable and DSL networks of today, but competition and innovation online were fast and furious… government: judiciary technology David Sirota Wed, 06 Jul 2005 10:04:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2202/split_decision_on_file_sharing/ The Supreme Court's June 27 decision in MGM v. Grokster is not quite as bad as the tech companies feared it would be, and not nearly as good as the content companies hoped it would be. Unfortunately, the decision also lacks the clarity that the rest of us hoped it would have. As a result, we can reasonably expect more litigation for some time to come. In Grokster, the Court reversed lower courts' summary judgment on the issue of whether the current software offered by defendants Grokster and Streamcast was lawful, and then went on to adopt a new theory for liability--the intentional "inducement of infringement." The new rule marks a departure from the two-decade old "bright line" test of… government: judiciary technology David Sirota Mon, 19 Sep 2005 08:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2321/bad_on_the_basics/ Absent a political upheaval causing turbulence equal to that of Hurricane Katrina, John Roberts will be confirmed by the United States Senate as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on September 22. With a few notable exceptions, the Democrats have been as befuddled about this nomination as they have been about war and torture in Iraq, increasing the minimum wage, tax breaks for the rich, a coherent response to the devastation along the Gulf Coast, etc., and are without the will or the numbers to derail President Bush's quest to turn the nation's highest court into a neo-conservative enclave. The Democrats can thank themselves for this sorry situation. It must not be forgotten that William Jefferson Clinton, before he became… government: judiciary David Sirota Wed, 05 Oct 2005 06:54:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2342/judging_harriet_miers/ The confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the nomination on October 3 of Harriet E. Miers as an Associate Justice are the right-wing's exclamation points at the end of a line of neoconservative judges who have paraded onto the federal bench during George W. Bush's presidency. Miers will provide no solace to those who think law in a constitutional democracy should protect individuals from official excesses and corporate predations. Like John Roberts, Miers spent her professional career representing the interests of mega-corporations until she became a counselor to a right-wing administration. Like Roberts, her record is devoid of any work on behalf of poor people accused of crime or groups fighting for… government: judiciary David Sirota