The Supreme Court has been featured prominently in a number of mainsteam media publications and the legal blogosphere. Adam Liptak, at the New York Times, reports on a study conducted by Northwestern and Chicago law schools. The study notes that business interest cases have occupied a greater piece of the Supreme Court’s docket than previous Courts. Pro-business rulings, the article also reports, have increased during the Roberts Court’s run.
The Times article also cites CockleBur Contributor David Franklin’s paper on the Chamber of Commerce’s litigation effectiveness before the Court.
Orin Kerr, at the Volokh Conspiracy, has his own theory on one topic contained in the Times article. Professor Kerr believes that the rise of the specialized Supreme Court bar occurred because of an increase in the number of clerks the Supreme Court hired beginning in the 1980s.
In this article, John Schwartz of the New York Times, interviews law professors to gauge their predictions about the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care plan. Last week, a federal district judge in Virginia declared the Affordable Care Act an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause.
The Boston Globe rep0rted on effect of the Supreme Court’s landmark 2005 decision in Booker v. United States. A Stanford Law Review study concludes that sentencing disparities between district court judges in Massuchusetts have increased. Professor Douglas Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy commented that even “the most casual follower of federal sentencing developments since Booker should not be surprised by the findings in the Scott study.”
Daniel Fisher, at Forbes, posted an article describing three cases “that may determine the future of class-action litigation are before the Supreme Court. If business advocates get their way on all three, plaintiff lawyers could have a much harder time convincing courts to certify lawsuits on behalf of large groups of consumers and employees.”
And William Saletan at Slate discusses the future of sexual morality after the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” over the weekend and the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas.