Our blogs about
America's Wars
War on Iraq
War on Drugs
War on Afghanistan
War on Columbia
War on Philippines
War on Venezuela

MORE
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
Katrina's Aftermath
US News
Bush Crime Family News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Support Bloggers' Rights!

Lorenzo's
Random Musings
. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Recent decisions counter view of Rehnquist court
The Supreme Court on Thursday defied its stridently conservative image by issuing two important rulings that, along with several others in its current term, embraced tolerance, inclusion and even compassion in their interpretations of federal law. . . . In a decision striking down a Texas sodomy law that banned gay sex, the Rehnquist court mounted a firm and eloquent defense of personal liberty. And the justices gave new strength to death row inmates' appeals by declaring that a Maryland man was the victim of incompetent lawyers at his capital trial. . . . Thursday's rulings follow other decisions this term to uphold affirmative action in university admissions, strengthen the Family and Medical Leave Act, provide lawyers for the poor and ban cross burning in some instances. . . . Taken together, the opinions challenge the notion that the court under William H. Rehnquist has its sights trained on the progressive gains of the last 40 years, and is only awaiting sufficient opportunities to obliterate them. . . . Nate Persily, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said that understanding the justices' behavior requires more than rudimentary right-versus-left thinking. . . . "It's important to talk about what you mean by conservative," Persily said. "Yes, this court has been conservative with respect to curbing Congress' ability to pass laws or to enforce them on states. But this court has also been unwilling to overturn any of the foundational court principles about liberties and civil rights." . . . In a caustic dissent, much of which was read from the bench Thursday, Justice Antonin Scalia accused the justices who formed the majority opinion of signing on to "the so-called homosexual agenda." . . . Only Justice Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice Rehnquist joined Scalia's dissent.

posted by Lorenzo 5:16 PM