Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

The Supreme Court’s Runaway AEDPA Train–And What Can Be Done About It Via Collateral Judicial Review. (Yes, this is technical language, but bear with me. I explain it.)

UPDATE: Elena Kagan served as an Associate White House Council in the Clinton administration in 1995-96, when AEDPA was being drafted and negotiated.   —- “Freedom” does not include actual physical non-imprisonment; to the contrary, “freedom” means states’–or actually, state courts’–and prosecutors’ freedom to violate criminal defendants’ constitutional rights, to their heart’s content. — Me, Angry […]

Now That the Supreme Court Has Found a Right to Vote in the First Amendment, Are State Laws Denying the Vote to Convicted Felons Unconstitutional? You Betcha.

“There is no right more basic in our democracy than the right to participate in electing our political leaders.”  That’s how Roberts began the opinion. So I guess we can now assume that the Court will strike down all those voter-ID laws that so clearly impact that most basic of rights, and will do so […]

Can the SEC prohibit publicly-traded corporations from making political expenditures (and, eventually, direct campaign contributions) unless the corporation first gets approval from a majority of shareholders?

It’s already become something of a favorite parlor game among liberals, especially among liberal law geeks, to speculate about when the Supreme Court will strike down state and federal statutes that prohibit corporations from making direct campaign contributions to candidates and political parties. In Citizens United, the court killed statutory bars to corporate and union political […]

John Roberts Unwittingly Paves the Way for Eventual Wholesale Liberal Judicial Repeal of Statutes, Too

Chief Justice Roberts’ attempt to portray his decision in McCutcheon v. FEC as minimalist actually shows just how far from minimalist it is. According to the Chief Justice, no one should worry about the consequences of the Court’s decision because “there are multiple alternatives available” that would accomplish the Government’s asserted interest without, in the majority’s view, […]

John Roberts Introduces a New Favorite Tactic This Term: Sleights-of-Hand Analogies

Roberts suggested that he believes Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood can bring forth claims of religious freedom, saying courts have held that “corporations can bring racial discrimination claims as corporations” and that “those cases involve construction of the term ‘person.’” – John Roberts Offers Conservatives A Way Out Of Birth Control Dilemma, Sahil Kapur, TPM, […]

What the Supreme Court’s refusal today to agree to decide whether to strike down the federal statute that bars corporations from making contributions directly to candidates and political parties might suggest about the outcome of Hobby Lobby

When donors furnish widely distributed support within all applicable base limits, all members of the party or supporters of the cause may benefit, and the leaders of the party or cause may feel particular gratitude. That grati­tude stems from the basic nature of the party system, in which party members join together to further common […]

Two Yale law professors think they know what, exactly, the APPEARANCE of quid pro quo corruption looks like. They don’t. But I do.

If the president is to be taken seriously, it’s time for him to make campaign finance a centerpiece of the upcoming campaign. Despite appearances, serious reform remains possible within the new limits set out by the Roberts court. Obama should take full advantage of the chief justice’s explicit recognition that the “appearance of corruption” serves […]

No, Mr. Kleiner, John Roberts showed that he knows perfectly well how money works in politics.

An article by Sam Kleiner posted yesterday on the New Republic’s website is titled “John Roberts shows he has no idea how money works in politics.” Mr. Kleiner must not understand the real purpose of the Conservative Movement’s decades-long crusade against campaign-finance laws.  In fact, Roberts showed in McCutcheon v. FEC (yet again) that he […]

The REAL news from the McCutcheon v. FEC opinion

“There is no right more basic in our democracy than the right to participate in electing our political leaders.”  That’s how Roberts began the opinion. So I guess we can now assume that the Court will strike down all those voter-ID laws that so clearly impact that most basic of rights, and will do so […]

OK, so what exactly does the APPEARANCE of quid pro quo corruption look like? Y’know, as opposed to the real thing.

John Roberts wrote in yesterday’s opinion in McCutcheon v. FEC that Congress may still “regulate campaign contributions to protect against corruption or the appearance of corruption.”  He then limited “corruption” to an actual quid pro quo. Which raises the question of what, exactly, the appearance of quid pro quo corruption looks like.  Y’know, as opposed […]