Today in Supreme Court History: January 8, 1973

1/8/1973: Trial begins for seven men accused of illegal entry into Democratic headquarters at Watergate hotel. The break-in would give rise to U.S. v. Nixon.

The Watergate Complex

 

 

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

The Paquete Habana, 175 U.S. 677 (decided January 8, 1900): Fishing vessel was not a “prize of war” (its crew did not even know there was a war going on when it was seized in 1898 off the coast of Cuba) and therefore owner and crew awarded value of it and its contents (lots of fish in tanks); the opinion is a long, long historical survey of admiralty jurisdiction and on prize law. (This is an important case in international human rights litigation, establishing that United States courts will apply customary int’l law unless Congress says otherwise.)

Culbertson v. Berryhill, 586 U.S. --- (decided January 8, 2019): construing 42 U.S.C. §406, Thomas holds that 25% cap on attorney’s fees for successful pursuit of past due Social Security benefits applies only to proceedings before a court, not to the runup administrative proceedings

Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 568 U.S. 78 (decided January 8, 2013): stormwater runoff into river is not itself a “pollutant” as defined by the Clean Water Act (even though opinion admits that stormwater is often heavily polluted)

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R.R. Co., 516 U.S. 152 (decided January 8, 1996): I picked this case because of two interesting terms dealing with when a train crew’s maximum 12 hours expire during a trip: “deadhead transportation” (getting the new crew to the train, often requiring a special stop, and the old crew back to the terminal) and “limbo time” (the time spent by the new crew and the old crew during d.t.). Here the Court, noting that the purpose of the Hours of Service Act is to prevent fatigue, holds that limbo time waiting for deadhead transportation to the train counts toward the 12-hour daily limit but limbo time waiting for d.t. from from the train (i.e., to the terminal) does not.

Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Lenroot, 323 U.S. 490 (decided January 8, 1945): by-foot or by-car transmission of telegraph messages by children under age 16 was not specifically prohibited by federal child labor statute (we learn here that 12% of all message runners were under the age of 16)

[Magister]

I rode an Amtrak train in the late 80s or early 90s that had to stop in the middle of nowhere short of Milwaukee and wait for a new crew to arrive by cab; I guess there had been enough delays for the 12 hours to expire. Sitting in the dining car with a friend drinking beer helped to alleviate concern over making connections to different trains in Chicago.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Long train rides are very pleasant so long as you don’t have to be on time anywhere and bring something good to read. Especially if there’s a bar car!

[Frank Drackman]

Best account albeit "Biased" of the trial is in Gordon Liddy's "Will", love the part where Judge Sirica has to dismiss a Juror who doesn't speak English.

[PeteRR]

All Nixon had to do was to not lie and cover for a break-in that he knew nothing about in advance. And order his administration members to do the same.

[Frank Drackman]

Yeah right, the Marxist Stream Media would have just let everything go.
Good thing, is we probably wouldn't have gotten Ronaldus Maximus as POTUS in 1980 if Tricky Penis didn't resign in 74' so it all worked out in the end.

[defaultdotxbe]

I used to wonder why politicians lie when it just makes things worse, then I realized they must get away with it most of the time so it's actually the safer bet.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Andy Rooney:
“Politicians lie. They lie because, when they tell the truth, we don’t vote for them.”

[Dr. Ed 2]

To understand Watergate, you have to remember the 1960 election which was stolen. So Nixon was paranoid.

[Dan Schiavetta]

?

[Frank Drackman]

Nixon had 1 erection stolen, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. Sound familiar?

[Magister]

Nixon was paranoid, but the 1960 election was not stolen and his loss then was not a significant cause of his paranoia. Watergate followed a number of criminal activities by the Nixon campaigns and administrations. And certainly it was better for the country that a paranoid President was forced out of office.

[Lukitto]

Well, it's very cool that you make such historical posts, they teach as well as the same history classes in college. I remember my studies, it was something incredible, so much could happen in a short period of time that it's even scary to remember. But I remember how much I benefited from the reference letter service, which saved me more than once at the most crucial moment. And I even remember how we analyzed this situation in a psychology class, and the teacher said that it was simply of historical significance at the time.

[Champion]

I also have a story to tell about history, although we had a more mathematical orientation, history was also taught there. But it was very strict, any mistake was punished with bad grades, I don't know why this approach, but it is a fact. Frankly speaking, I didn't really want to bother with a non-core subject. Therefore, I asked for help in research proposal assistance, which immediately closed the history course for me for a semester. That allowed me to forget about this subject without any hesitation. But I'm not downplaying the importance of this subject, I just didn't need it at the time.