Oregon Independent - news and information from Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - US Supreme Court

SCOTUS Rebukes Bush (Again)

liwi — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:38:00 -0500

In a US Supreme Court decision Boumediene v. Bush, issued this morning, Justice Kennedy wrote for the 5-4 majority that Gitmo detainees captured on foreign soil are entitled to the “great writ”of Habeas Corpus. The result in Boumediene is a blow to the Bush administration’s "war-on-terrorism" policies which ignore the Constitution.

McCain Promises SCOTUS Will Be More Enron-Friendly and Anti-Worker

liwi — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:14:25 -0500

It has been widely reported that Sen. John McCain has promised to appoint Supreme Court Justices in the model of John Roberts (see right) and Samuel Alito (see left). Of course this sends a signal that Roe v. Wade is again under attack, and that other medical procedures, genetic research and biomedical research will be curtailed. He proposes a conservative-leaning “Justice Advisory Committee.” The group will be chaired by former solicitor general Ted Olson and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback and will include Robert P. George, a Princeton University professor who is a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics known for his pro-life movement activities. But Alito and Roberts are also pro-business and anti-worker activists, so this promise is welcome code to both the family values and the corporate wings of the Republican coalition.

SCOTUS Trend Shuts Voting Rights Cases Out of Court

liwi — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:47:02 -0500

Access to justice was the big loser in the US Supreme Court on Monday when the court upheld Indiana’s voter identification law, Crawford v. Indiana. Beyond

Unusual SCOTUS Case May Help LNG Opponents

liwi — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:36:11 -0500

Stumptown Earth First! banner on Burnside Bridge (over Willamette in Portland) (April 1, 2008).

In a ruling earlier this week which may give some support to LNG terminal opponents in Oregon, the US Supreme Court sided with the State of Delaware. DE had refused to permit a four mile long liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal proposed by energy giant BP on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. The terminal would receive 150 or more ships yearly, each carrying a large cargo of super-chilled fuel. The case was unusual in several ways, and may have limited impact in other disputes.