Today in Supreme Court History: July 24, 1997

7/24/1997: Justice William Brennan dies.

Justice William Brennan

 

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (decided July 24, 1974): Court denies President Nixon’s motion to quash the Special Prosecutor’s subpoena; rules that he has to hand over “the tapes” which included the June 23, 1972 “smoking gun” tape which depicted what everyone in those days (including Nixon, a well-read lawyer) understood to be obstruction of justice: he had agreed with his Chief of Staff Haldeman’s suggestion that the CIA be told to lean on the FBI to stop the Watergate investigation. (As opposed to, say, taking the initiative in actually sacking the FBI director to stop an investigation and bragging about it to Lester Holt on national TV.) Nixon resigned two weeks later. The subpoena was issued in a criminal case against former Attorney General John Mitchell, Haldeman and five others, for conspiracy to obstruct justice, with Nixon as an unindicted co-conspirator. Unanimous opinion signed by Burger (though it was a collective effort), with Rehnquist, a former Mitchell aide, recusing himself. The Court noted that “the President’s need for complete candor and objectivity from advisers calls for great deference from the courts” but rejected Nixon’s claim of absolute, unspecified executive privilege. The opinion reads now like a time capsule of a judicial, political and Constitutional world which functioned because both parties were committed to it, as was the President, who decided to obey the Court’s order and hand over the tape which he knew would destroy him.

[David Nieporent]

So, obviously Josh has his blogging software set up so that these post automatically at 7:00 a.m. every day. Do you have an alarm set for 7:05 so that you'll get these in immediately after they go up?

[Dan Schiavetta]

I'm an early riser. Though doing this these past two plus years (I haven't missed a day yet) has ruined my morning routine of exercising (or at least given me an excuse not to do it).

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

While these are interesting, you should definitely reevaluate your priorities.

[Commenter_XY]

Another early riser here. Always that way. Early walks are good, get your 10K steps in by 7am. 😉 I shoot for 15K-18K steps daily.

I was a child when this case was decided; I vaguely remember the news coverage. Cronkite looked especially serious; I do remember that. Funny how it is the facial expressions that you remember across the decades.

[Frank Drackman]

Same here, had an LA Time paper route when I was 13, had to get up at 5am, then Med School, Military, Residency, and Anesthesia is one of those Specialties where you have to get there before the Surgeons, you don't think those Nitroglycerine, Nipride, Epinephrine, Amicar, Dopamine, Phenylephrine drips prepare themselves do you?
OK, yes, most hospitals have gone to the Pharmacy prepared Drips, but you really trust some wetback, probably making $1.50 an hour to make sure the medications that keep you alive during your Aortic Root replacement aren't expired? Or would you trust me?
Bad example, but I still get up 4am, even if I don't have to, crank out the 100 pushups, crunches, run in place 5 minutes (and because I'm that weirdo who insists on the TOP floor at the Hotel, the people below hate me)
and somehow I always get those 5:50 am cross country flights
Frank 4:30am? I overslept!!!!!!!!

Frank

[Brett Bellmore]

Yeah, I'm the only morning person in my house. In middle school I had trouble getting up, so I connected a step up transformer to the output jack on my clock radio, and ran some wires under my sheets.

A week later I was a life-long morning person! Reading that book by Skinner really paid off.

[Frank Drackman]

I remember when the June 23, 1972 tape was released, Nixon bragging that it was was a “Perfect Conversation!” Nixon Library website has every tape online, best ones are the 99% Non-Watergate ones, especially the Photo-Ops where you hear the rapid whirs (whirrs?) of the high-speed cameras, or the ones where literally 5 minutes after ordering increased bombing of North Vietnam he’s shooting the shit with Bart Starr or Pele'(Priceless with some Flunky telling Milhouse it’s “Pay-Lay”, not "Peel")
Unfortunately the famous Elvis-Nixon Oval Orifice meeting took place several months before the taping system was installed in February 1971

Frank

[SRG2]

I have little doubt that US would lose 6-3 now.

[Frank Drackman]

The US lost then, having to endure 6+ years of those Waterheads Gerald Ford and Jimmuh Cartuh, before finally getting the best POTUS of the 20th Century Ronaldus Maximus XL. Still remember the Bumper Stickers, "Nobody Drowned at Watergate" now most of you fucks don't even know what that's referring to

Frank

[Dan Schiavetta]

Because Nixon’s dealings were only with Executive Branch underlings, he would be “absolutely immune” from criminal liability under the Court’s recent decision in Trump. The concern for criminal liability was why Nixon, as a not-yet-indicted co-conspirator, resisted disclosure. But now we see that he would have no liability and Ford’s pardon was unnecessary.

[Krayt]

This is an unfortunate recent decision, but we wouldn’t be here but for near infinite initiatives to turn the power of government against a political enemy. In Nixon’s context, it would have been the 10th or 20th issue, not the first.

I do not support the decision, only lament the fire with fire context that got us here.

On the bright side, the party of inflation, a profoundly miserable but better choice than letting tanks roll through Europe, god what a great choice, is doing much better against him in the polls. I even heard there were chants of “Lock him up!” yesterday, which is more of the same, but simultaneously cosmic justice parody.

[John F. Carr]

In modern times the indictment would read, "At all relevant times Conspirator-1 was President of the United States" and we would only be guessing whether it was Nixon.

[Frank Drackman]

June 24, 2022: Justices William Brennan, Thoroughly-Bad Marshall, Warren Ham-Burger, Potted Plant Stewart, Horny William O'Douglas, Hairy Blackman, and Louis Powell (Louis CK would have been better) all turn over in their graves.
and except for Thoroughly-Bad and O'Douglas, all appointed by Repubiclowns Eisenhower and Nixon,
Ford and Reagan weren't much better, took a Political Novice to finally stop the carnage, some 30,000,000 dead Black Babies later (More White Babies, but nobody cares about them)

Frank

[Mr. Bumble]

So, will it take a court to rule that the DOJ must turn over the Hur/Biden interview tapes?

[Dan Schiavetta]

The Nixon case involved whether or not to provide materials subpoenaed by a prosecutor, i.e., indictments had been brought and people had been charged with crimes. Is there a prosecutor involved here? If not, is it now o.k. to appoint a special counsel? Or is Biden a “unitary executive” who can not only refuse to hire one but also order any existing prosecution terminated? If so, he would now be "absolutely immune" from any charge of obstruction of justice.

[Mr. Bumble]

The tapes need not be subpoenaed by a prosecutor but by the House Judiciary committee which they have authority to do.

[Dan Schiavetta]

That depends, partly, on the scope of the House resolution creating the committee.

[Frank Drackman]

“Is there a prosecutor involved here?”
There should be, unless having Terminal Parkinson’s Disease exempts one from Prosecution.
and I’m not talkin bout’ no You-Crane bribes, Hunter Biden, don’t know shit anyway, computer, cocaine, gun crime,
I’m talking about “Accessory to Murder” for leaving the May-He-Co border wider open than Common-Law’s Labii, resulting in the deaths of 1,000’s of Amuricans directly from Violent criminals, and indirectly from Fent-a-nol (I know it’s “Fentanyl”, I’ve given up getting peoples to pronounce it correctly) Fucker couldn’t even pronouce Laken Riley’s name correctly.
Not enough evidence? no Rex Judea? Smoking Gun?
I’ll leave that to a Grand Jury in Idaho or Utah to decide

Frank

[Krayt]

If you seek to blame someone for the current lousy state of things, blame the Ds. Initiative after initiative on massive fishing expeditions, brutally abusing the power of government against an enemy. He's so popular because he treats them as an enemy and hits hard.

Wheee! Isn't it exciting! Had he done all the same things, but not been such a firebrand, the butfor would not have been activated. But then again, he might not have won.

At the time, I thought any Republican could have waltzed into office, and his mouth almost lost it.

[SRG2]

He’s so popular

He isn't.

[Sarcastr0]

In your enthusiastic anti-government bothsidesing you beg the question of Trump's innocence harder than any MAGA tool.

It's impressive, really.

[Frank Drackman]

So when will Common-law-Willie-Brown-Harris take over from President Hillary Rodman? Could you please filter your tears on November 5? I’ll give you a heads up, and pay bottom dollar(there will be a glut)
She’s gonna lose, Do-Cock-us style, but instead of one Willie Horton(did she fuck him too?) she’s got thousands, Sleepy made her Border Bitch, let’s watch her drunk cunt defend her performance

Frank

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Most of this blog's right-wing fans seem to share an enthusiastic overestimation of the number of uneducated, bigoted, evangelical, white, male wingnuts remaining in America. Maybe because so many of them live in desolate, bigoted, can't-keep-up Republican communities, which have an unusually strong concentration of half-educated, superstitious, obsolete, parasitic conservative knuckle-draggers.

Enough to put Trump back in the White House? I tend to doubt it.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

U.S. v. Nixon being handed down seems to be the more notable date but since some on this blog think it was a day that lives in infamy perhaps that is why it was skipped over.

The tapes case was quickly handled. Trump v. U.S., like the previous cases involving financial investigations of Trump, was slow walked.

Brennan was a moderate during the Warren Court. For instance, his NYT v. Sullivan was the central position, three justices wanting to go further.

He did join Goldberg's dissent in Rudolph v. Alabama (1963) that would "consider whether the Eighth and Fourteen Amendments to the United States Constitution permit the imposition of the death penalty on a convicted rapist who has neither taken nor endangered human life."

OTOH, earlier, in Trop v. Dulles, the Court granted the constitutionality of the death penalty. Brennan silently accepted it.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Thanks much (as always).

[Bob from Ohio]

"why it was skipped over"

Most of these day posts reference a oath taking, resignation or death.