Today in Supreme Court History: July 26, 1892

7/26/1892: Justice George Shiras Jr. takes oath.

Justice George Shiras

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

DeBoer by Darrow v. DeBoer, 509 U.S. 1301 (decided July 26, 1993): Stevens denies (on grounds of lack of a federal issue) couple’s petition to stay Michigan Supreme Court’s order to hand over to biological parents the baby girl they had taken care of for two years; Michigan held that papers signed by biological mother giving child up for adoption were defective and did not have required 72-hour waiting period. (Years ago when I ran a crisis center I allowed it to serve as the site for handing over children in such situations, or for later visitations with a biological parent who had lost custody; there is no more heartbreaking scene.)

Trump v. Sierra Club, 140 S.Ct. 1 (decided July 26, 2019): Staying the District Court’s injunction against building the border wall (on both environmental and humanitarian grounds) pending Ninth Circuit determination and then possible certiorari on the grounds that plaintiffs probably have no standing to bring suit in the first place; Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan dissent; Breyer notes the harm if the wall is built (environmental damage) versus the Gov’t’s claim of harm if not built (construction contracts not finalized and loss of funds) and argues that a middle way would be to stay construction but let the contracts get finalized. (A year later the Court maintained the stay even though contracts had been finalized, so the wall got partly built, but when Biden came in he stopped the project and the parties agreed to discontinue.)

[Frank Drackman]

Now THOSE are some righteous Mutton Chops, would fit right in with Dick Tidrow or Chris Chambliss.
Speaking of Facial Hair, Common- law may become the first POTUS since Benjamin Harrison with a “Beard”

Frank

[not guilty]

Was the first president with a beard James Buchanan?

[Dan Schiavetta]

I can’t find it now, but Hearty White did a good visual enactment of the progression of Presidential Facial Hair.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Pun alert.

[Dan Schiavetta]

I’m pretty alive to these things but I’m missing this one.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

"Beard is a slang term, American in origin, describing a person who is used, knowingly or unknowingly, as a date, romantic partner (boyfriend or girlfriend), or spouse either to conceal infidelity or to conceal one's sexual orientation. The term also refers, in some areas, to anyone who acted on behalf of another, in any transaction, to conceal a person's true identity. The term can be used in heterosexual and non-heterosexual contexts but is especially used within LGBTQ+ culture. References to beards are seen in mainstream television and films, and other entertainment." /Wikipedia entry on "Beard (companion)"

In Buchanan's case, this is what's being referred to:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/bosom-friends-9780190914592?q=Bosom%20Friends:%20The%20Intimate%20World%20of%20James%20Buchanan%20and%20William%20Rufus%20King&cc=us&lang=en

[Dan Schiavetta]

Ok

I was a beard once, when living with my housemate Jennifer. We’d go to a bar and if a guy approached her she didn’t care for, she’d nuzzle up against me. But if she thought he was hot, suddenly I became her “brother”.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Shiras was something of a non-entity.

His main claim to fame was his apparent switch to the majority in the income tax case but even that was eventually deemed unlikely.

Shiras promised to resign at 70 and did so. He lived for another twenty years. So, knowing when to go is his real legacy.

Stevens references the "carefully crafted opinion of the Michigan Supreme Court contains a comprehensive and thoughtful explanation of the governing rules of law."

It's nice when a justice references the efforts of lower courts.

Stevens later praised his law clerk Kate Shaw ("especially competent law clerk”) regarding her work in D.C. v. Heller & she suggested she will put the words on her tombstone.

Kate Shaw (Chris Hayes' husband) is a co-host on the Strict Scrutiny Podcast.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Thanks as always!