Tag Archives: supreme court

The Affordable Care Act is Safe (even with Justice Barrett)

by James J Heaney Posted on 29 September 2020

If only the Republicans had actually had a decent idea for replacing it! As the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court proceeds, Barrett’s opponents have developed a powerful argument for getting Americans to join the opposition: … Continue reading →

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Wait, What’s a “Textualist”?

by James J Heaney Posted on 22 September 2020

Very, very broadly, the nation is divided into two camps on the substantive questions surrounding judicial nominations. Roughly half the nation supports textualism, and the other half supports the living tree doctrine. I doubt most people could actually name these doctrines, but it … Continue reading →

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Five Kinds of Argument about Judicial Nominations (and Whether They Matter)

by James J Heaney Posted on 21 September 2020

There are several types of arguments about nearly all judicial nominations in the modern United States. Given the debate over filling Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat, it is worth sorting out what those types are: 1. The Substantive Arguments: These … Continue reading →

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Amy Coney Barrett’s Constitutional Canards Redux

by James J Heaney Posted on 19 September 2020

About a year ago, on Facebook, I shared a lecture given by Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, noting that: (1) it was an excellent lecture, and (2) she could well be the next Associate … Continue reading →

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Retraction: Elector Freedom

by James J Heaney Posted on 6 July 2020

Four years ago, I confidently informed my readers, in several places, that electors in the electoral college had a solemn responsibility to vote for the American they consider best qualified, not the candidate their party has “pledged” them to. So-called … Continue reading →

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A Viewer’s Guide to Outcomes in June Medical Services v. Gee

by James J Heaney Posted on 4 March 2020

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear the first significant abortion case since Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch joined the Court. You can read a lot of great analysis about it at SCOTUSBlog, including a symposium article by my friend and brilliant … Continue reading →

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Alito’s Concurrence in FUCT Case

by James J Heaney Posted on 24 June 2019

I was surprised to see Justice Alito joining the Supreme Court majority in Iancu v. Brunetti today. This is a trademark case. The U.S. Trademark Office rejected a trademark for the brand “FUCT” because of a law (the Lanham Act) … Continue reading →

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A Kavanaugh Compromise

by James J Heaney Posted on 30 September 2018

This post has been updated. See the bottom of the post for details. Senate Republicans should offer Senate Democrats a deal: (1) Kavanaugh is rejected. (2) Feinstein resigns or is expelled. (3) Expedited hearing schedule for Kavanaugh’s replacement… or no … Continue reading →

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My Chat with Judge Hardiman (Or: Harriet Miers and the Hasty Tweet)

by James J Heaney Posted on 28 September 2018

Last night, about an hour before Judge Thomas Hardiman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit phoned me, I jumped into a Twitter thread: Not all of my readers were tuned into judicial politics back in the … Continue reading →

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Justice Gorsuch and Net Neutrality

by James J Heaney Posted on 22 March 2017

Nobody seems to have pointed this out yet, so I guess I might as well put something up quick. President Trump is not a big fan of net neutrality, and his new FCC commissioner, Ajit Pai, is, uh… really not … Continue reading →

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