Justices irked over being ignored in Oregon

[BridgeTheGap]

WASHINGTON — Tobacco giant Philip Morris USA might be partially freed from a $145 million punitive judgment, from the sounds of some Supreme Court justices Wednesday.

In an epic legal dispute pitting one court's will against another, conservative justices made clear their sympathies with Philip Morris and their dismay over seemingly being ignored by the Oregon Supreme Court. The eventual result could save Philip Morris a lot of money and deliver the Oregon court a rebuke.

"Does the state court sit in judgment on whether (our) orders are in error or not?" a clearly perturbed Justice Antonin Scalia asked one attorney skeptically.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts was even more pointed, suggesting that there was "something malodorous" about how the Oregon Supreme Court previously sidestepped a Supreme Court directive.

"How do we guard against making constitutional decisions which are simply going to be nullified by some clever device?" asked Justice David Souter.

http://www.kentucky.com/216/story/615120.html

[BrklynLiberal]

1. How ironic that those judges on the Supreme Court are called "JUSTICES"

Some of them should be called "CORPORATE SHILLS".

[BridgeTheGap]

2. I was going to say "fascists" but that's close enough. This institution lost my respect

back in 2000 when the gave the White House to Bush & co. They didn't need no stink'n recount!