That's the question raised by Jay Weaver in today's Herald.
Less than 1% of cert petitions get granted, but Tom Goldstein signed on to this one and there are very interesting legal issues getting lots of pub. I'll go out on a limb and say cert will be granted in this case. (Prior coverage here)
What say you dear readers?
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There aren't interesting issues -- there is the revolving Clerk wheel at work...a freaking travesty of justice.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting that the Court ruled that a judge can't sit on a case if he/she received a bunch of money from one of the litigants. But....get yourself a former Clerk to one of the justices and you get yourself a golden ticket to the dance!
Not sure I follow. Goldstein wasn't a supreme court clerk.
ReplyDeleteThe Court should not take this case (though it probably will because it has never squarely addressed such a scenario). At its core, however, Goldstein's argument is predicated on gross generalizations about Cuban-Americans. (full disclosure: I'm Cuban American). The generalization--that Cuban-Americans could never be objective enough to fairly sit as jurors in a spy case or similar case--cuts against the type of stereotypes we generally disfavor when crafting legal principles/rules. It's on par with saying that African-Americans from the inner city--as an entire group--are biased against the police and therefore should be stricken in police corruption cases. For example, Obama captured 35% of the Cuban-American vote. In short, Cuban-Americans are not, and never have been, a politically homogenous group. There are generational differences, class differences, racial differences etc. across the community that affect how individuals come out on the political spectrum. The fact that a vocal group of Cuban-Americans have traditionally captured the spotlight does not mean that they represent the entire community or that those in this vocal segnment are the type that would end up on a jury panel. That said, I would warn Goldstein to be careful what he wishes for--the Court is conservative and may not take too kindly to his argument given the underlying crimes that the defendants were charged with.
ReplyDeleteJames J. Benjamin Jr. (Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP) - served as a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justices Lewis F. Powell Jr. and John Paul Stevens.
ReplyDeleteTroy D. Cahill (Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP)- served as staff attorney in the Supreme Court of the United States, Office of the Clerk from 2002 to 2006
Do you read all of your fellow twitter updates? Or are you trying to attempt to break blogger Rumpoles’ one hundred followers?
ReplyDelete