[ad_1]
Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. at the inauguration of Neil Gorsuch on June 15, 2017. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi / NLJ
On the first day of the new US Supreme Court mandate, things unfolded differently.
Eight black leather high back chairs, instead of the usual nine, stood behind a curved mahogany bench designed to accommodate nine judges. And as usually happens when a judge withdraws, seniority forces to create musical chairs for all but the headquarters occupied by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.
As for the Chief Justice, he is now, after the retirement of Judge Anthony Kennedy in July, corrected on his right by the new high magistrate, Clarence Thomas, and on his left, by Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Inside the courtroom, there was no indication that the confirmation drama was continuing across the street as the US Senate. waited an FBI report on allegations of sexual assault against the Supreme Court's candidate, Brett Kavanaugh. But outside, in the long line of public hopes that had stood around the corner, the turmoil of confirmation was a hot topic, as was the courthouse full of lawyers seeking to enter. to the bar of the Supreme Court or to wait for the day's proceedings.
Before the beginning of the proceedings, the wives of Judges Thomas and Stephen Breyer sat in a section reserved for the judges' guests.
The first business of Roberts Day was to formally close the October 2017 term and open the October 2018 term. He then noted that we are celebrating today the 25th anniversary of the Ginsburg Investiture. . He congratulated her for her "distinguished service" and added: "We are all looking forward to sharing many more years with you in our common calling."
Not surprisingly, after the summer break, the number of lawyers waiting to be sworn in was considerable. Judge Patricia Millett of the US Circuit Court of Appeal DC – the same jurisdiction on which Kavanaugh sits – presented and certified the qualifications of members of the JD Military Spouse Network, which since 2011 has advocated the granting accommodation licenses to military spouses. including members of the Bar without further examinations. A group from New York Law School, among others, has also been admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court.
The bars being completed, the judges plunged into the arguments of the time: classic examples of the activity of the court: the interpretation of laws. How to define "critical habitat" in the Endangered Species Act? The life of dark gopher frogs may well depend on the answer. And what is the meaning of "also means" in the law on age discrimination in employment? The court's interpretation could subject state agencies and political subdivisions of all sizes to the Employment Bias Act.
The judges gave a equally difficult Timothy Bishop of Mayer Brown and Edwin Kneedler, Assistant Solicitor General, in the Frog case, Weyerhaeuser c. US Fish and Wildlife Service. But it appeared that in Argue Jeffrey Fisher of Stanford Law School, a lawyer for John Guido, may well have an advantage over E. Joshua Rosenkranz, Orrick's partner, Herrington & Sutcliffe representing the Mount Lemmon Fire District in Arizona.
With a court composed of eight judges, there is always a risk of decision shared between four and four people, leaving the decision of the lower court in place.
Read more:
Waiting for a ninth judge, the Supreme Court tinkers with its role
Change is looming in the US Supreme Court
"He is innocent" in "she was authentic", Kavanaugh hearings divide lawyers
Read the ABA letter calling for an investigation by Kavanaugh by the FBI
Source link
