***Supreme Court Justice Scalia dies at 79; fiery conservative fought liberalism’s tide***
WASHINGTON — A man convicted of possessing child pornography wants the Supreme Court to read his offense under federal law narrowly — and in the process, to give him a break from a very long prison sentence.
Whether he’s successful may depend on the voice and vote of Justice Antonin Scalia. Full Article
I thought this case involving a child porn matter before the U.S. Supreme Court: Lockhart v. United States has an interesting parallel being argued by plaintiff’s attorney and the lawsuit currently being filed with regards to HR 515: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lockhart-supreme-court_us_56390b0ce4b079a43c04e3d1
in it the plaintiff’s attorney along with saying the statute being applied in a criminal sentencing matter is being misapplied, but a dialogue is going on with the Justices regarding lazy Legislators or “legislators who do a shoddy job:”
” Scalia seemed more convinced by Lockhart than by his opponent. Invoking the so-called “rule of lenity,” he reminded the government that judges must side with a criminal defendant and err on the side of leniency if a criminal statute is hazy with respect to the conduct it prohibits.
“When the government sends somebody to jail for 10 years, it must turn sharp corners,” Scalia said. “It has to dot every I and cross every T. It must be clear.”
That’s particularly true when Congress does a shoddy job at writing a criminal statute.”
I believe an acknowledgment by Scalia and Aletto that legislators can do shoddy jobs is significant in our suit with (IML), as were arguing that the House and Senate rules were suspended and that only 5 members of the House gave only an unrecorded voice vote!
Well just my thoughts.
This statement by Justice Scalia speaks volumes:
“Applying a similar principle, he convinced a majority of his colleagues in June to strike as unconstitutional a hopelessly ambiguous law that over the years subjected thousands of federal offenders to unduly lengthy sentences. It didn’t matter to Scalia that a good chunk of those offenders weren’t the most sympathetic; it sufficed that the law was simply too vague to survive in the books.”
David H said: “were arguing that the House and Senate rules were suspended and that only 5 members of the House gave only an unrecorded voice vote!”
I think there could be a lot more arguments regarding the shoddy job in “crafting the Bill” (as Smith said).
Scalia was one of the guys who said “Sex Offender Registries aren’t punishment!” The guy is an inconsistent hypocrite.
I noticed, Scalia looks a lot like Chris Smith. Could they be related?
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Has Died At Age 79. Wow, this is scary since we have no idea who will replace him.
I just learned that Justice Scalia was found dead at a Texas Resort.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/us-world/article/Senior-Associate-Justice-Antonin-Scalia-found-6828930.php
What does this case mean now, what kind of new Justice would be appointed to take the place of Scalia?
Justice Scalia: wonder if God shows you the compassion you showed others…
A dead lawyer on a hunting trip in Texas… does Dick Cheney have a good alibi?
This will be Obama’s 3rd time choosing a new Justice. Here’s the statistics if anyone is interested:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Justices_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States
This was quite a surprise to see today. I believe that President Obama should act immediately to find a replacement, and should not wait for the next president to be elected. They can’t bank on the next president being a Democrat if they want to ensure that the Supreme Court leans a little more to the left. This, of course, doesn’t guarantee victory if our cases go before the Supreme Court but there are far worse scenarios. Finally, even though I strongly disagreed with most everything that he said, he was still a man with a family and I send my condolences to them.
Politics is a complex, chaotic, intriguing human system. No one will know what happens next. This is an example of that. Things can change in an instant or remain the same. This may mean something or nothing to the outcome of the case against IML. Too many factors involved.
A man has died. My condolences to his family.
1. Is God aligning the stars in our favor???
2. Obama will have an uphill battle trying to get anyone he nominates approved by the Republicans.
Sorry to sound ignorant here, but I truly don’t know the answer to this, so please go easy on the sarcasm (lol): Was Scalia our friend or our foe?
How did he vote in the “Price Club Decision” of 2003? etc?
His death is nothing to celebrate, but his removal from the court is. Alas he will no longer be able to trample on the rights of citizens with his conservative hate machine. This is likely the best news I will hear this decade, unless we somehow defeat the registry.
It looks like the Republicans expressed in their debate their intention to block any nomination until the new president is in office. Would it behoove us now to start contacting Congress people and demand that they confirm Obama’s nominee, whoever that is? Not sure if we have a consensus as mentioned by PK above, whether an Obama nominee is the safest bet. Should we wait to see who it is? I know for sure the Democrats are organizing a lobbying campaign right this minute.
Was Scalia possibly turning over a new leaf when he came out against warrantless wireptapping. Some decisions he was for it, some he was against it. Scalia also was against “free speech zones” where protesters had to stay in certain areas to say certain things. Scalia acknowledged ‘flag-burning as protected speech’. So he wasn’t all bad on the 1st Amendment, 4th Amendment. And then, the comment he made in jest about orgies being good to relieve some of lifes pressures and also, the comment about the US being rife for concentration camps.
In Conn. Dep’t of Pub. Safety v. Doe (2003) — argued/decided on same days as Smith v. Doe — Scalia, in a separate concurring opinion upholding constitutionaliy of a registry that only accounts for previous conviction and not current dangerousness, said the following: “[A] convicted sex offender has no more right to additional ‘process’ enabling him to establish that he is not dangerous than (in the analogous case just suggested) a 15-year-old has a right to ‘process’ enabling him to establish that he is a safe driver.” Yet at the same time, Scalia — in delusional fashion — proclaimed himself the “darling of the criminal defense bar.” Nonetheless, had SCOTUS affirmed the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ Connecticut decision, most of us would NOT be subject to registration at all! I just wonder if/when SCOTUS would ever reverse its position in Smith v. Doe — as, in the case of segregation, it took the Court over 50 years to reverse its clear error (i.e. the high Court does not humbly admit mistakes).
I’m watching fox inside edition news and there is a conspiracy that Scalia’s death might of been fowl play. A leading DC homicide detective is questioning why there was no autopsy done for someone as important as Scalia was and why did they determine his death so quickly and rushed. They also found him dead with a pillow over his head. Watch them blame his death on a registered citizen. The sex offenders must of done it. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised at anything anymore.