Yesterday, by a vote of seventeen to one, the Senate Judiciary Committee backed the nomination of Donald Verrilli, Jr. to be Solicitor General. Our own Lyle Denniston has more on the vote here. At NPR, Nina Totenberg discusses yesterday’s vote and the questions posed to Verrilli during his confirmation hearing, including those on the Defense of Marriage Act and whether he would decline to defend laws that he regarded as unconstitutional.
At the New York Times, the editorial board looks at the Court’s recent decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, which it describes as a “devastating blow to consumer rights†and a model to illustrate how companies can avoid class actions.
In his remarks yesterday at a Northwestern University symposium, retired Justice John Paul Stevens indicated that in his view the killing of Osama Bin Laden was lawful. According to Justice Stevens, the president acted “not merely to do justice and avenge Sept. 11,†but instead “to remove an enemy who had been trying every day to attack the United States.†The WSJ’s Jess Bravin has coverage of the remarks here.
In the Atlantic, citing (among other things) Justice Thomas’s recent opinion in Connick v. Thompson ruling, Andrew Cohen discusses why the Justice’s speaking engagement in Georgia “strikes a particular nerve with people who pay attention to these areas of law and justice.â€
O’Melveny & Myers has announced that Sri Srinivasan will succeed former acting Solicitor General Walter Dellinger as chair of the firm’s appellate practice. The BLT has coverage here.
In Frederick, Maryland, a museum exhibit on slavery has been created in the home of former Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, author of the landmark decision in Dred Scott. Â The Associated Press (via the Washington Post) has coverage.
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