For a time, top of mind and above the fold was news of Trump’s travel bans, classic and redux and their serial invalidation by federal district courts around the country.  But recently the Fourth Circuit, comprised of Maryland, the Virginias and the Carolinas, became the first appellate court to rule against the ban.  The news was drowned out by “the Russia thing” then Trump’s renunciation of the Paris Climate Accord and finally the Tower Bridge/Borough Market atrocities.  Time to pause and give the Fourth Circuit its due and consider what that court was really rejecting – de facto establishment of state religion as much or more than institutionalized Islamophobia. Chief Judge Roger Gregory, Fourth Circuit Remember the big word “antidisestablishmentarianism?”  For people of [...]

Freud supposedly said “Madame sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”  But it was no mere stogie on Monday when Chief Justice John Roberts disingenuously recited the caveat that it meant nothing for SCOTUS to decline review of the Fourth Circuit’s decision invalidating five provisions of a 2013 North-Carolina voting law that “target[ed] African-Americans with almost surgical precision.”  That law rejected the forms of photo-ID favored by black voters, reduced early voting, eliminated same-day registration and pre-registration of teenagers, banned the tabulation of votes cast in the wrong precinct and retained forms of ID favored by whites.  In 2013 North Carolina not 1983 South Africa. […]

Hopelessly Liberal’s readers are waterlogged after a deluge of hundred day assessments.  As promised, here is ours, but mercifully eschewing, with one exception, a listing and critique of major achievements and failures.  Instead, for one day H.L. becomes a distillery, delivering the essence of Trump as POTUS, 100 proof and aged for one hundred and three days. […]

We keep hearing and reading how polished, nimble and skillful Judge Gorsuch was in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.  One NPR reporter even likened him to God – at least with respect to voice – that SHE either must have heard or assumes to be male.  This despite the Judge’s annoyed response to a Senator Franken question, with “I’m not God.” […]

The moment has come for Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats to be or not.  They and we have experienced the result of their reasonableness.  We live with the result of their appeal to the electorate on that basis.  They pointed to the unconstitutional intransigence of the Republicans in their refusal to vet and vote on Judge Merrick Garland, President Obama’s March 2016 nominee for the SCOTUS bench.  Not only did the voters say “so what” but implicitly rewarded Mitch McConnell and his caucus for abusing the power they possessed to deprive Obama and progressive America of a pivotal seat on the high court – one the constitution and 227 years of precedent strongly argue was their right. Time after time the Democrats have been [...]

In March 1970, Roman Hruska of Nebraska, the then ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, rose to defend President Nixon’s nomination of Judge G. Harold Carswell to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, infamously saying: “Even if he were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers.  They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they, and a little chance.  We can’t have all, Brandeises, Frankfurters, and Cardozos.” Carswell had bigger problems, was withdrawn and Hruska became the laughing stock.  His defense and celebration of mediocrity sadly dominated and defined the balance of his career and were featured in every obit 29 years later. Today it’s clear that Hruska was no dummy and understood the deep yearning of [...]