Friday round-up

JOSHUA MATZ JUN 8, 2012 10:07 AM

Coverage of the Court has turned to a wide-ranging New York Times/CBS News poll.  As Adam Liptak and Allison Kopicki report in the New York Times, the Court’s approval stands at forty-four percent, a majority of Americans hope that the Court overturns all or part of the Affordable Care Act, and more than sixty percent of those surveyed disapprove of life tenure for the Justices.  Brian Montopoli and Leigh Ann Caldwell of CBS each cover the poll, as do Politico, UPI, National Journal, The National Review, The Hill, and the Washington Times.  Ezra Klein of the Washington Post argues that “if you’re Anthony Kennedy and John Roberts, and you want to rule against the individual mandate but you’re worried about a public backlash, this poll calms your fears.”  CNN also reports on a CNN/ORC International poll of the public’s attitude toward the issues presented in the health care cases and Arizona v. United States, the challenge to Arizona’s S.B. 1070 immigration law.

Commentators also continue to discuss and debate the possible path of same-sex marriage to the Court.  In comments at the New York Daily News, Allan Wernick notes that the Court is “poised” to assess DOMA and argues that “[d]espite the Supreme Court’s conservative leanings, I’m convinced the time is right for an end to federal discrimination against same-sex spouses.” At Newsmax, Susan Estrich offers a similar assessment: “a confrontation in the court, which many civil libertarians and gay rights activists originally feared would come too soon, now seems to be proceeding at just the right pace.”  At Los Angeles City Watch, Scottie Thomaston and Jacob Combs report on a media call about next steps in the Proposition 8 case of Perry v. Brown with Ted Olson and Theodore Boutrous.  Finally, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed, Douglas NeJaime contends that “[a]lthough Perry may provide more dramatic and compelling litigation, the DOMA cases present the Supreme Court with the best way forward.”  [Note:  The author of this post will serve as a law clerk to Judge Stephen Reinhardt, author of the Perry majority opinion, in 2013-2014, but he has not been involved in the Proposition 8 litigation.]

Briefly:

• Bloomberg Law has posted a brief video about the Court’s summer vacation.
• TIME has a cover essay (subscription required) on Justice Kennedy and his role as “the decider” across a range of important constitutional issues.
• In an op-ed in USA Today, Tony Mauro argues that “the future of the Supreme Court clearly should be a major issue in the presidential campaign.”
• At Slate, Linda Greenhouse calls for eighteen-year term limits for the Justices
• At Constitution Daily, Scott Bomboy reports on a conversation with a panel of experts about the likely aftermath of the Court’s healthcare ruling (the link also contains a link to video of the discussion)
• At the To The Point Show, a number of legal experts discuss free speech and government corruption in advance of the Court’s decision on whether to grant cert. in American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock, the Montana campaign finance case.
• At NPR, Peter Overby notes that “Kennedy might be surprised” by the amount and role of secret money in politics.
• At Prawfsblog, Giovanna Shay thanks for the Court for providing great hypotheticals for professional responsibility courses in some of its recent criminal procedure and habeas corpus opinions.
• Josh Rothman of the Boston Globe reports on research by Allison Orr Larsen assessing Internet research by the Justices (Larsen has also posted a summary of her research on this blog).

CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY