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 →

Posted in Mere Opinion | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Affordable Care Act is Safe (even with Justice Barrett)

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 →

Posted in Mere Opinion | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Wait, What’s a “Textualist”?

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 →

Posted in Mere Opinion | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Five Kinds of Argument about Judicial Nominations (and Whether They Matter)

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 →

Posted in Mere Opinion | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A Viewer’s Guide to Outcomes in June Medical Services v. Gee

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 →

Posted in Law, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

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 →

Posted in Law | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments