Tag: Supreme Court

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 397

By Erik Loomis

In General

On January 15, 2019

This is the grave of John Catron. Born in 1786 to a German family in Pennsylvania, Catron and his family moved to Kentucky early in the 19th century. He fought in the War of 1812 under Andrew Jackson.Catron followed his mentor to Tennessee after the war, where he was admitted to the bar in 1815. […]

General

Why Kavanaugh is on the Court

By Erik Loomis

On October 11, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh sure is a nice man: A Supreme Court argument on Wednesday over the detention of immigrants during deportation proceedings seemed to expose a divide between President Trump’s two appo

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Will Janus Only Apply to Unions?

By Erik Loomis

On September 9, 2018

I know I can’t wait for cases like this to get to the Supreme Court where Roberts and Friends can decide that the free speech definition used in Janus only applies to labor unions. Citing a U.S.

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 323

By Erik Loomis

In General

On September 5, 2018

This is the grave of Stephen Field. Born in 1816 in Haddam, Connecticut to a Congregationalist minister and a larger family who would produce many leading 19th century figures, including Cyrus Field, who made the transatlantic telegraph happen, Field grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts before spending a year abroad as a teenager in Turkey with […]

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Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 320

By Erik Loomis

On September 1, 2018

This is the grave of William O. Douglas. Born in 1898 in Maine Township, Minnesota, Douglas’ father was an itinerant preacher and the family moved around a lot. By 1904, they were in the state o

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Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 297

By Erik Loomis

On August 2, 2018

This is the grave of Lewis Powell. Born in 1907 in Suffolk, Virginia to wealthy parents, Powell attended Washington and Lee University and wanted to study the law because he felt lawyers made history.

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 294

By Erik Loomis

In General

On July 30, 2018

This is the grave of Peter Daniel. One of the most reactionary Supreme Court justices in American history, Daniel was born in 1784 in Stafford County, Virginia to an elite slaveholding family. He attended the College of New Jersey, which today is Princeton, but didn’t care for it and after a year, returned to Virginia, […]

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Democrats Refusing to Act Like Democrats Doesn’t Help Them Win

By Erik Loomis

On July 15, 2018

One thing that drives me nuts is how conservative state Democrats consistently buy into the conventional wisdom that governing to the right and voting with Republicans is how to win an election. Now,

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Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 277

By Erik Loomis

On July 11, 2018

This is the grave of Warren Burger. Born in 1907 in Saint Paul, Minnesota to a working class family, Burger’s father was a salesman and railroad cargo inspector. He had to deliver newspapers at

The Korematsu II Court

By Erik Loomis

In General

On June 30, 2018

The return of the Fuller Court has led to the same ridiculous leaps of logic as that hellish time. The ways the majority made logical leaps and weaponized the First Amendment to serve its own interests, regardless of consistency between cases, is highly reminiscent of how the Fuller Court simply rewrote the Sherman Anti-Trust Act […]

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Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 252

By Erik Loomis

On June 14, 2018

This is the grave of Melville Fuller. Arguably the worst Supreme Court justice of all time, Fuller was born in Augusta, Maine in 1833. He graduated from Bowdoin in 1853, briefly attended Harvard Law,

General

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 244

By Erik Loomis

On May 28, 2018

This is the grave of John Marshall. Born in 1755 in Germantown, Virginia to an upwardly mobile father who continued to move west, eventually to Kentucky after his oldest son (of 15 children) grew up,

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