JUSTICE KAGAN INVOKES SPIDEY WISDOM | Trump Taps Eugene Scalia | New SCOTUS Book Not Your Typical Beach Read
July 19, 2019
PAYING RESPECTS
|Richard Wolf with USA Today reports that JUSTICE JOHN PAUL STEVENS will lie in repose at the Supreme Court next Monday, the day before his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. A private service will be held Monday morning inside the high court’s Great Hall, where Stevens’ casket will be placed on the Lincoln Catafalque, on loan from Congress. Current and former Supreme Court justices will be present, along with many of Stevens’ former law clerks serving as honorary pallbearers. Beginning at about 10:30 AM and continuing into the evening, members of the public will be invited to file past.
THE CASE OF HIS LIFE
|“Retired Supreme Court Justice JOHN PAUL STEVENS, who died Tuesday at the age of 99, saw many remarkable sights in his life, famously including the ‘called shot’ home run hit by Babe Ruth during the Yankees-Cubs World Series game in 1932. Yet the most important thing this remarkable jurist saw, I suspect, was the arrest of his father, Ernest Stevens, on charges that he and two other family members had embezzled funds to cover losses at their downtown-Chicago hotel.” That’s Garrett Epps writing for The Atlantic about the case that he thinks changed Stevens’ life.
WITH GREAT POWER
|At a Georgetown University forum yesterday, JUSTICE ELENA KAGAN was asked about a 2015 patent dispute over a toy Spiderman glove that could shoot “webs.” In response to the Spidey question, Kagan affirmed that while yes, the Supreme Court has great power, it also has the great responsibility to respect precedent and wield its power sparingly. Joan Biskupic with CNN reports on the justice’s appearance.
KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY
|Yesterday, PRESIDENT TRUMP announced he plans to name EUGENE SCALIA, the son of late Supreme Court JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA, as his next Labor secretary. Seung Min Kim and Damian Paletta with The Washington Post report, “Scalia, one of the late justice’s nine children, is a veteran attorney well-versed in regulatory matters who served as the top lawyer for the Labor Department under the George W. Bush administration. He is a partner at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, a Washington law firm, specializing in administrative law and bringing with him deep experience in challenging federal regulations.”
POD DU JOUR
|The latest episode of SCOTUS 101 features an interview with Carrie Severino and Mollie Hemingway who discuss their new book, “Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court.” The description of the pod says: “It’s not your typical beach read, but you won’t be able to put it down!”