An interesting day at the United States Supreme Court today..

[madinmaryland]

It was the first time I had ever been to the USSC. The court itself is quite ornate and almost overwhelming. The case was in regards to the state's right to release or not release DNA evidence. The state was arguing that they had procedures set in place would allow the DA to release the DNA evidence, and that the defendant had not followed the procedures. This case was the result of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals allowing for the release of DNA evidence.

I found that all of the justices (except for one) were very engaged in the arguments from both sides. Though obviously the right leaning justices pointed their questions toward the left leaning side defendants, and the left leaning justices pointed their questions towards the state. My thoughts on the justices:

Roberts - Asked a lot of questions and framed many as hypotheticals.

Scalia - This one surprised me. He asked a lot of questions (without much of the snark that has been attributed to him here.

Alito - Similar to Roberts.

Ginsburg - Asked a lot of questions and had probably the best and most pointed questions.

Breyer - Asked very pointed questions and was as one of the attorneys said was almost hostile to the state. He and Scalia seemed to have a underlying argument going on.

Souter - Similar to Ginsburg.

Kennedy - As seems to be the case, he really did not show any favoritism to either side and asked questions of both sides.

Stevens - Asked a few questions throughout the hearing. His tended to be towards the state's case.

Thomas - Asked no questions. Appeared to be reading something throughout the oral arguement.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Hope you went to the Tune Inn afterwards! Thanks for this interesting report. nt

[DemoTex]

4. Oh, man! Haven't thought of the Tune Inn for a long, long time.

We loved the Tune Inn on The Hill and the Quarter Deck in Arlington.

[Captain Hilts]

6. "Chez Tune" is where all the Sherrill's refugees ended up. nt

[Blue_In_AK]

2. This was a case out of Alaska, right?

A rape case? I did some work on the transcript of the original trial.

[madinmaryland]

8. Yes that was the case.

My sister was the second asst AG working on the case for AK. We had talked earlier and they were able to essentially follow their strategy throught the argument. Not sure what will happen now. Kind of hinges on Kennedy.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. This case seems to be a matter of "principle" more than anything,

at least from what I know of the facts. The poor girl nearly froze to death -- they left her basically naked in a snow bank, if I remember correctly.

[TlalocW]

3. Thomas, for all the hype given him by the right

Has been one of the laziest members of the court. I don't think he writes too many opinions, and his not asking questions is commonly known. I personally think he just tries to figure out what's the conservative way of voting (or asks himself, "How would Scalia vote?") and takes naps during the actual case.

TlalocW

[Captain Hilts]

5. He has asked only a handful of questions in all the years on the court, correct? nt

[madinmaryland]

9. We were all struck by how disengaged Thomas was.

At one point I thought he was asleep, and at another point he was reading something.

:shrug:

[Captain Hilts]

11. Interesting. Next time, stop by Tastee Diner, Bethesda on the way home

and give me a full briefing!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Thomas has been a real disgrace

He should never have been placed on the bench to begin with, but he could have "redeemed" himeslf by hard work and brilliant opinions. Instead, from all reports I've read, he's a lightweight.

[madinmaryland]

10. As much as I dislike the right leaning justices, they at least were involved

in the argument and were asking that showed a knowledge and understanding of the case.

[Captain Hilts]

12. Scalia is a very, VERY smart guy, actually. That's what makes him so powerful.

What was the subject of the opinion he just came unglued on when he wrote the dissent? I think it was about a year ago. Really unprofessional and out of character for him.

[madinmaryland]

13. I was amazed that he could actually get the whole court to laugh when

he pointed out an absurdity in someone's logic. He did it a couple of times. He and Souter really seemed to have something going on between them. It was an interesting dynamic. Roberts and Alito seemed to be on the same wavelength asking similar types of questions and even using the same questioning techniques.

[Captain Hilts]

14. What do you mean by 'going on between them'. Rivalry? Agreement in this case?

[madinmaryland]

15. Definitely a rivalry, and not a friendly one at that.

I've reread parts of the transcript (yes a bit of junkie here, since I saw it) and it was something that gets lost in the translation to the written word.

[Captain Hilts]

16. Wow! Best of luck to Souter in that one - he'll need it. Very interesting.

This provides some good texture to reading other things about the court.

Thanks!

[Ocracoker16]

18. the supremes disagree often, but they do get along with each other

It is an interesting dynamic as one might expect that there would be obvious tension among the justices because they have different ideologies. However, they really seem to be able to work together. I think that they have respect for each other as colleagues. Years ago I went with a dozen of students to the Supreme Court to meet with Justice Ginsburg. She said that they are a tight knit group that spends a lot of time socializing at lunch and at other times. She said that they often develop relationships that are really based on their personalities. She said that it was a privelege to work with all of them. She said that she appreciated the chance to hear the insight of others whether she agreed with it or not. I am glad you went to see the court in action and can confirm that Clarence Thomas is as lazy as people say.

[Wiley50]

21. Wanna see someone come unglued? Put me alone with Scalia and let him tell me "Get over it"

on the subject of Bush v Gore.

If he's all that smart, he'd be wise to come up with a more acceptable answer.

[Sal Minella]

17. He has actually complained in public that he doesn't much like being a S.C. Justice

"because you can't make any money at it."

The man apparently is incapable of comprehending the great honor bestowed on him.

[Captain Hilts]

22. He has enough kids to make a National League baseball team. No DH. nt

[Thickasabrick]

20. LOL......I KNEW it would be Clarence. Do you think he knows how

to sleep with with his eyes open? Sounds like a very cool trip. I'm envious. Thanks for sharing.

[madinmaryland]

23. No. His eyes appeared to be closed at times.

He also appeared quite bored with the whole thing.

:shrug:

[cboy4]

24. Very cool.

I would have had a difficult time maintaining my composure seeing that useless piece of fecal matter, Clarence Thomas, sit there with his mind all made up from the start, all ready to rule whichever way violated the most human rights. :puke:

POS

[madinmaryland]

25. Thomas was completely disengaged to what was being argued.

It struck me as really bizarre. As much as I despise the views of Scalia, he was very well versed in what the case was about and asked some very good questions. It really bothered my sister who really looks up to Justice Ginsburg to have to rely on the Scalia and Company to try and win the case.

:shrug: