supreme court meme

[kmusser]

As evidenced by Katie Couric, Sarah Palin is unable to name any Supreme Court Case other than Roe v. Wade.

The Rules: Post info about ONE Supreme Court decision, modern or historic to your lj. (Any decision, as long as it's not Roe v. Wade.) For those who see this on your f-list, take the meme to your OWN lj to spread the fun.

I'm going to go with one I haven't seen posted yet:

Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill (1978)

In 1973 an idealistic Congress passed the Endangered Species Act, probably the broadest and most powerful piece of environmental legislation ever passed in this country. This was the first serious challenge to the law and the court stated that Congress meant what it said, that some tiny fish really was more important than building a dam. In the words of the Supreme Court:

"Congress has spoken in the plainest words, making it clear that endangered species are to be accorded the highest priorities. Since that legislative power has been exercised, it is up to the Executive Branch to administer the law, and for the Judiciary to enforce it when, as here, enforcement has been sought."

Edit: I can't go with just one - Worcester_v._Georgia (1832) was the case in which the Supreme Court established that Native American tribes and their sovereignty are protected under U.S. law.

Comments

[kestrel127.livejournal.com]

The one thing I will say in Sarah Palin's defense (and the idea of doing this makes me squick inside) is that she was asked to name another Supreme Court decision she didn't agree with, not just another Supreme Court decision. I'm not sure if I could find one off the cuff in that environment, but Dred Scott comes to mind now.

[kmusser]

well Bush v. Gore is the one that I disagree with the leaps to mind, but that's already been discussed at length on the friends list.

[blackpaladin.livejournal.com]

As has been pointed out by others, the actual question was to name a Supreme Court case other than RvW with which she disagreed. There are plenty of reasons to lambaste her for things at which she legitimately fails; let's not give them ammo by overgeneralizing.

That being said, with which one I highly disagree is Ledbetter vs. Goodyear, in which the SC ruled that the statute of limitations on employer discrimination lawsuits is 180 days from the first such occurrence, regardless of when the employee became aware of the discrimination.

(In this case, a female employee received lower pay than male co-workers in equal positions, but did not become aware of it for more than 6 months due to a company policy forbidding the discussion of wages. The Court ruled that because her suit was not filed within 180 days of the first discriminatory paycheck, the suit was invalid.)

As a note, Lily Ledbetter, the plaintiff in the case, was a speaker at this year's Democratic National Convention.

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

That doesn't really help much -- I can easily name recent Supreme Court decisions that I not only disagree with, but can only explain by assuming that the Justices in the majority were either 1)deliberately attempting to get around the plain language of the Constitution or 2)as high as kites. (Kelo v. New London and Eldred v. Ashcroft will do for a start).

For those court curious

[mohnkern.livejournal.com]

I recommend the LII Bulletin via email.

http://ruckus.law.cornell.edu/mailman/listinfo/liibulletin