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June 22, 2005
SCOTUS Cogitation
Hendrick Hertzberg is in knots over the SCOTUS decision in Raich:
The least muddled opinion was Justice Thomas's separate dissent, certain passages of which (e.g., "In the early days of the Republic, it would have been unthinkable that Congress could prohibit the local cultivation, possession, and consumption of marijuana") could have been written by Justice Cheech or Justice Chong. Thomas's private views on marijuana are unknown, but if he had his way, as expressed in this particular opinion, any federal interference with homegrown, home-smoked pot, whether for medical or recreational purposes, would be ruled out as an unconstitutional usurpation of the states' powers "to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens." But, then, almost any federal effort to protect those things would be similarly inadmissable. Hello to bong hits, but goodbye to workplace safety, environmental regulations, and Medicare. Thomas's view has the virtue of consistency. But consistency is not the same as wisdom.
Hey, wait! This reminds me of the NY Times editorial (link is an excerpt) on Raich("...we hope that Justice Antonin Scalia, who seems to be campaigning for chief justice, remembers that he concurred with the majority this week the next time the court hears a federal-powers case on, say, air pollution).
In any case, court watchers were aflutter reacting to news Justice Rehnquist could retire as early as Monday, as Clarence Thomas gains steam, and Antonin Scalia may be losing some, as conservatives' fave.
Meantime, Ted Kennedy, who isn't the President, says Thomas is not an option.
Paging Anita Hill! Paging Anita Hill!
Posted by bill at June 22, 2005 08:45 PM
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