Today in Supreme Court History: September 22, 2005

9/22/2005: Senate Judiciary Committee votes 13-5 to send Judge John Roberts's nomination to the full Senate.

Chief Justice John Roberts

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

Pfeifer v. E.I. duPont de NEmours and Co., 530 U.S. 1300 (decided September 22, 2000): denies cert to review Nebraska Supreme Court decision holding that farmer’s breach of warranty claims against manufacturer for herbicide (sales person said it controlled weeds in corn but instead it killed the corn too) were preempted by federal statute limiting warranties to labels, 258 Neb. 756

Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. Penguin Books USA, Inc., 521 U.S. 1146 (September 22, 1997): denies cert to review Circuit Court holding that Seuss copyright was infringed by parody using Seuss style language to describe O.J. Simpson trial (“The Cat NOT in the Hat”), 109 F.3d 1394
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Miller v. Hamm, 143 S.Ct. 50 (decided September 22, 2022): Court vacates District Court’s stay of execution (implicitly disagreeing with its evaluation that defendant would succeed on the merits) (Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett and Jackson would maintain the stay); Miller had survived two attempts at execution by lethal injection, the executioners being unable to find a vein, and argued Equal Protection and Due Process violations; right after the Court cleared the way for execution, the State of Alabama decided to switch to death by nitrogen hypoxia but it took a long time to develop the protocol; as of this writing, Sept. 22, 2023, it has told the trial court the protocol was set up and asked for an execution date)

[Bob from Ohio]

"unable to find a vein"

Necks are easy to find.

24 years after murdering multiple people, he's still drawing breathe. A crime and a sin in itself.

[SRG2]

Perhaps Pfeifer should have sued Farmers Co-op for fraudulent misrepresentation...

[Mr. Bumble]

Roberts, the great equivocator.
Shame Alito didn't get to be Chief.

[Dr. Ed 2]

0r Thomas, but look at who was President.

And I still say Roberts is being blackmailed.

[Frank Drackman]

Strange that our last 2 Chief Surpremes were prescribed Anti Seizure medications, (Roberts Phenobarbital for his Epilepsy, Rehnquist, Placidyl (Ethchlorvynol) for "it was the 70's"
I think Roberts drug use is legitimate, but you look at Rehnquists wardrobe over the years (the side burns, Horn Rims, the leisure suits! The lapels wider than the flaps on a 767!, maybe S-S-S-S-tuttering John Fetterman is on to something with the Sweatsuits...)

Frank

[F.D. Wolf]

Recall that President Bush nominated Roberts to replace Justice O'Connor, who had announced her retirement. Then Chief Justice Rehnquist died suddenly, so Bush withdrew that nomination, nominating Roberts to replace Rehnquist instead. He then nominated Harriet Miers to succeed O'Connor, ultimately withdrawing that nomination in favor of Samuel Alito.

If Rehnquist had hung on a little longer, I think we can safely presume Roberts would have been confirmed to succeed O'Connor. But who would have been tabbed to replace Rehnquist? Who can say how alternative histories might have unfolded. With Roberts and Miers, Bush demonstrated his instinct to go with candidates favored by the moderates in his party. The Alito pick was in many respects a conciliatory gesture to conservatives who reacted negatively to the Miers pick. "Seriously, you're going to go with TWO squishes?"

So, would Alito have gotten the Chief nod? Who can say? As I like to say, if things were different, they wouldn't be the same.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Rehnquist's death wasn't a surprise. For months he was clearly dying of cancer.

[F.D. Wolf]

Well, I won't quibble about "surprising", but he was the first justice to die in office since Robert Jackson in 1954. It wasn't as if he had been lingering in his deathbed for weeks. He was participating in Court business until the end.

[Dan Schiavetta]

My point is that Bush knew for months that he would have to appoint someone to replace Rehnquist and that went into the calculations.

[F.D. Wolf]

You're quite right, of course, but, even if had lived just another month, we would almost certainly have another Chief Justice, because John Roberts almost certainly have been confirmed as Associate Justice, succeeding O'Connor. (Of course, Bush could still have nominated Associate Justice Roberts as Chief, but that would have been extremely unlikely.)

[Dan Schiavetta]

Ok

[Magister]

His cancer diagnosis was announced the previous year; he was 80 years old; he missed a lot of work; he looked pretty bad when he swore in Bush in January 2005. His death was perhaps only surprising in that he didn't retire instead; it's unlikely he had any intent to continue until a different president was elected in 2009.

I wonder if Bush would have just appointed Associate Justice Roberts as Chief Justice if Rehnquist had lived past Roberts being confirmed. If Alito was because of Miers, it seems unlikely that Alito would have been nominated as Chief Justice.

[SRG2]

Figures you'd prefer one of the most extremist and divisive justices.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

An unpopular person I agree with is principled and courageous.

An unpopular person I disagree with is divisive and controversial.

Keep these distinctions in mind and much political rhetoric becomes clearer.

[SRG2]

True, but Alito and Thomas are the justices most likely to dissent in 2022, which provides at least some evidence for their being the most extreme justices.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Ha!

[Frank Drackman]

New Orleans Saints ran a "Train" on Queenie's Mammy!!!!!
See, 2 can play the "Yo Mamma got raped by Knee-Grows" game!

Frank

[F.D. Wolf]

Yes. At the time, the preferred choice of conservatives was probably Mike Luttig, of the Fourth Circuit. In retrospect, Luttig probably would have been a disaster. After being passed over for the Supreme Court, he quit the bench in a huff in 2006 to become the head of Boeing. He has returned to the news in recent years for his anti-Trump hysteria. (I know you are no fan of Trump, but you will have noticed that the Republicans/conservatives that despise him the most are those most intimately connected to the perpetual-war faction of the party, beholden to defense contractors, like, say, Boeing.)

[Mr. Bumble]

Well at least Luttig didn't become someone's AG. Garland might have looked good by comparison (or maybe not).

[Frank Drackman]

Heck, Yo Sister so ugly, she yelled "Rape" the New Orleans Saints yelled "No!!!!!"

Frank

[Frank Drackman]

Us Genei are never appreciated in our time, they said Manson was crazy too!

[Frank Drackman]

Queenie dreams about the New Orleans Saints busting nuts