http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/20/delay.judges.ap/index.html Why would the Democrats even want to pull the guy down? He's nothing but a liability for the conservatives at this point. Some of the stuff he's spewing almost makes you wonder if a tumor's affecting his thinking. Or maybe he thinks he's going down and wants to have a little fun. Or maybe he really believes he's invulnerable. I just don't understand this latest assault. Kennedy isn't the greatest justice ever. He: (1) does tend to fence-sit a little too much, choosing pragmatism over interpreting the law, (2) may rely a little too much on international law, and (3) just isn't brilliant by the standards of the Supreme Court. But neither is he an awful justice. And there's no doubt that he's at least moderately conservative. You'll never find any justice who's uniform (though if Bush gets a chance, he might try hard). Even Scalia's extremely "liberal" (don't like using liberal and conservative with these issues, but I will for convenience) on some criminal law interpretive issues (far more so than moderates like Kennedy or Breyer). Regardless, it's completely inappropriate to use the public forum to criticize Kennedy in such an unprofessional manner. If you want to write a law review article critiquing Kennedy - fine. But attempting to light a fire under judges like DeLay is doing smacks of an attempt to breach the traditional separation of the judiciary and an assault on the separation of powers. Finally, what's up with DeLay's issues with Kennedy's internet research? Unless I completely understood Kennedy's internet usage, there's no evidence that he's using it inappropriately to consider facts not in evidence. Any other use, particularly Westlaw or Lexis research, seems extremely benign. I seriously doubt Kennedy's formulating his legal opinions based on some idiot blogger's dip**** theories.
yeah, what does he mean by internet research??? i don't get it!! i've used Westlaw about 4x today alone to help prepare a couple of motions. i don't know if delay even understands that concept. but, again, i don't know what he's specifically criticizing. as for kennedy -- i don't have strong opinions. i, like you, am not real thrilled with the idea of searching international law to substantiate decisions before SCOTUS. but that's manageable, if it's tempered. delay, on the other hand, has his own set of concerns.
Yeah I bet he's actually a poster here on Clutchfans and has been relying on the D & D to formulate his opinions.
