Today in Supreme Court History: March 19, 1891

3/19/1891: Chief Justice Earl Warren's birthday.

Comments

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Earl Warren's autobiography was an interesting read.

An American success story. His popularity and political success led to his support being important for Eisenhower, ultimately leading to his appointment to the Supreme Court.

The rest as they say is history.

Warren was friendly with the Kennedys. He later headed the commission investigating the JFK assassination.

Trump released documents. Not surprisingly in a helter skelter way:

President Trump’s national security team was stunned and forced to scramble after he announced on Monday that he would release 80,000 pages of documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy with only 24 hours’ notice.

https://archive.ph/gArnV

[Frank Drackman]

His position on interring Japanese American Citizens was a little skewed, I mean slanted.

[Dr. Ed 2]

I'm not sure -- were they required to be interned, or merely not live within a few miles of the coast and have no place else to go?

The effect may be a distinction without a difference, but I have always seen this mentioned as a removal and not an incarceration.

And there WERE Japanese subs out there -- one could have taken out a US oil refinery if their marksmanship had been a wee bit better and they'd actually managed to *hit* what they were shooting at....

The Battle of the Atlantic was bad enough, can you imagine a Battle of the Pacific? The Cali coast was isolated and desolate at the time, and it would be easy to tell the Japanese Navy when ships left.

[Stupid Government Tricks]

Oh, bullshit. The generals involved all knew the West Coast Japanese were no threat.

* The Hawaiian Japanese were left alone. They should have been a bigger threat, especially because of all the paranoia about spies having enabled the Pearl Harbor attack.

* A Japanese invasion of Hawaii or the West Coast was a logistical impossibility.

* Submarines are lousy shore bombardment ships. They could not have "taken out" an oil refinery. Hundreds of bombers dropping thousands of bombs couldn't take out German oil refineries. No measly submarine was any kind of real threat.

The military knew all this. It was raw government power at play, absolutely inexcusable.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Eisenhower later stated that appointing Earl Warren was the biggest mistake he made during his 8 years as President.

[Syd Henderson]

Appointing Whittaker about the worst. Or maybe initiating plans for the Bay of Pigs invasion.

[Paladin_44]

Where's today's Open Thread?

[JoeFromtheBronx]

It was there until recently. Probably a glitch.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Austin v. New Hampshire, 420 U.S. 656 (decided March 19, 1975): New Hampshire commuter tax applicable only to out-of-state residents (Maine) violated Privileges & Immunities clause even though Maine gave its residents credit for it

Snyder v. Louisiana, 552 U.S. 472 (decided March 19, 2008): rejecting prosecutor’s bogus reason for peremptory strike of black juror (nervous about effect of jury service on his college grades, but white jurors accepted despite more serious issues) (murder conviction and death sentence vacated and remanded for retrial)

Ohio v. Reiner, 532 U.S. 17 (decided March 19, 2001): contra Donald Trump (“if you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth?”), and also the Ohio Supreme Court, upholds Fifth Amendment immunity granted to babysitter in trial of father for shaken-baby murder despite her claim of innocence (defense theory was that she was the true perpetrator and “it was reasonable for her to fear that answers to possible questions might tend to incriminate her”)

Meghrig v. KFC Western, Inc., 516 U.S. 479 (decided March 19, 1996): Resource Conservation and Recovery Act does not provide private cause of action to recover cleanup costs where waste was not present danger to health or safety (statutory phrase is “may present imminent and substantial danger”) (city had ordered KFC to clean up underground petroleum it found when digging up prior gas station; KFC tried to sue gas station owner)

Wayte v. United States, 470 U.S. 598 (decided March 19, 1984): “passive enforcement” of selective service registration law (i.e., prosecuting only those who admitted violation) did not violate First Amendment freedom of speech (defendant, like me, had been ordered to register for the draft in 1980, but unlike me, wrote a letter refusing)

Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, N.C., 470 U.S. 564 (decided March 19, 1985): applies “clearly erroneous” standard to trial court’s finding that plaintiff was denied city recreation director job due to her sex; upholds verdict in her favor (can credit just one witness above all others so long as testimony is plausible)

United States v. Gillock, 445 U.S. 360 (decided March 19, 1980): immunity of Congress as to their official acts (art. I, §6, cl. 1) does not apply to state legislators or state legislatures (here, state legislator prosecuted under RICO)

Lascaris v. Shirley, 420 U.S. 730 (decided March 19, 1975): striking New York law which added extra conditions to federal AFDC benefits (requiring that parent assist in compelling other parent to provide support)

United States v. General Dynamics Corp., 415 U.S. 486 (decided March 19, 1974): yes, deep shaft coal mining business which acquired strip-mining business would concentrate the coal business, but other factors would do that too; judgment for defendant affirmed; 5 - 4 decision, dissent by Douglas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Vgs66kRAo

Burns v. Fortson, 410 U.S. 686 (decided March 19, 1973): approves (just barely) Georgia’s 50 day pre-election deadline for registering to vote (except for President and V.P.); minimum time necessary to verify voter lists

[A Japanese Student]

I've always wondered why US requires voter registration (except maybe ND). Can't they register everyone at birth? Is it because you can't tell a newborn's party affiliation?

[ducksalad]

Well, we're not just registered as voters at large. We're registered to a particular locality and it's quite granular.
Towns are few and far between in ND and it's all one congressional district. In more populated areas the precincts are constantly being reassigned to different districts (sacrificing the idea of representation due to an obsession with precise numerical equality.). Until the GIS district finder software came online I needed the registration just to know what districts I was in.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

I think registering at birth is unnecessary and possibly problematic since things change over 18 years, including residency, which is significant in the U.S. local-based system.

Party registration should not be a problem. If a person has no party registration, at most, they won't be able to vote in a closed primary.

There should be automatic registration at the age of 18.

Another possibility that I would support is to have a mandatory civics course in high school with voting registration included. The class can have a "learner's permit" where the budding voter is allowed to take part in certain elections as part of their education.

A student, for instance, might be allowed to vote in a school election. Multiple SCOTUS justices have been concerned about civics education, including Justices O'Connor, Souter, and Sotomayor.

[John F. Carr]

My elementary school was next door to the town's polling place. We got to use the voting machines for some pointless class election. They were the old-fashioned kind with lots of levers. Scanned paper ballots are easier.

[Dan Schiavetta]

"Is it because you can't tell a newborn's party affiliation?"

You hit upon it right there.

[A Japanese Student]

Damage to Property Case (Grand Bench, decided March 19, 1952): Search warrant with a typo in the landowner's name is still valid; Constitutional requirement that "each search or seizure shall be made upon separate warrant" met when a warrant authorizes both search and seizure

Stimulants Control Act Case (First Petty Bench, decided March 19, 1976): No credit for time served in pre-indictment detention for uncharged offense (arrest someone for minor offense, get a 23-day detention without bail, interrogate as much as possible, release, and arrest at the doorstep for a second offense)

South Kyushu Tax Accountants' Association Case (Third Petty Bench, decided March 19, 1996): Political activities by tax accountants' association ruled ultra vires under Tax Accountants Act; plaintiff was expelled from association (which only one can exist per tax office jurisdiction) for failure to pay annual fee (which went to PACs), and under TAA, plaintiff could no longer practice accounting due to lack of association membership

[The Margrave of Azilia]

As a sleazy stripper, did Warren jump out of his own birthday cake?

(Note: this joke is to test your cultural literacy.)

[David Nieporent]

Now who's being naive?

[John F. Carr]

Also on this date, in 1957 Warren's co-conspirator Brennan was confirmed by the Senate. Brennan was already serving under a recess appointment. In those days the Senate did not hold so many pro forma sessions. Senator Joseph McCarthy was the only "no" vote. Brennan had used the expression "witch hunt" to describe anti-Communist investigations.

[Dan Schiavetta]

By that time McCarthy was a tragic figure, friendless, drunk, unheeded. Adopting a baby girl was his only joy.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Earl Warren was followed by Warren Earl Burger.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

The only thing Berger had going for him was that he resembled a TV Chief Justice more than any other real Chief Justice except Charles Evans Hughes.