Published in 1838 by Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist features Mr. Bumble, who is told by a court that it is presumed that his wife acted under his direction. Bumble replies “if the law supposes that, the law is a ass,… Read More ›
SCOTUS
Around the Novahood
PWC ESTABLISHES PUBLIC DEFENDER Virginia’s second-most-populous jurisdiction, and the only Virginia county that is majority-people of color, Prince William County, has lacked a public defender’s office. It relied, instead on a system of poorly compensated, court-appointed counsel to represent low-income defendants…. Read More ›
Walking the Line at the Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court’s political troubles began many years ago with the appointment of Earl Warren as Chief Justice, a move the so disappointed President Eisenhower that he is purportedly to have said it was a big mistake. Over the decades,… Read More ›
Kagan on Gerrymandering
Editors’ Note: History has a way of teaching us that the wisdom of SCOTUS dissents evolve to become the rule of law. Excerpted from HuffPost, October 28, 2019. By Sam Levine In a 5-4 decision this past June, the U.S…. Read More ›
Justice Stevens and Justice in Virginia
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who passed at age 99 on July 16, insisted that he was not a liberal jurist but a conservative sitting on a bench that over time had drifted to the right, leaving him crowned… Read More ›
SCOTUS Busts Virginia GOP Gerrymander Challenge
On June 17, 2019, SCOTUS rejected a GOP-led appeal on a gerrymandering case that shuttled back and forth in the Commonwealth for a few years. In Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, the court found that the appellants lacked standing… Read More ›
To Be or Not To Be—Political
SCOTUS employs the dodge of “political question” when it decides not to decide an issue presented to it. Of late, the murky mask has been called into play on several occasions involving voting rights. But SCOTUS will decide on voting… Read More ›
SCOTUS Dissents Prove Prophetic
Often, a shorthand method to appreciate a decision of the US Supreme Court is to read the dissents. In 1857, a majority opinion held that a Negro, whose ancestors were imported … and sold… Read More ›