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Articles by Lawrence Baum
Split Definitive: How Party Polarization Turned the Supreme Court into a Partisan Court
Since 2010, when Elena Kagan replaced John Paul Stevens, all of the Republican-nominated Justices on the Supreme Court have been to the right of all of its Democratic-nominated Justices.1 This pattern is widely recognized, but it is not well recognized that it is unique in the Court’s history. Before 2010, the Court never had clear ideological blocs that coincided with party lines. Today’s partisan split, while unprecedented, is likely enduring.
Washington Independent Review of Books
With the Supreme Court's 2017 term underway, the newly confirmed justice Neil Gorsuch went before the Federalist Society's annual banquet in Washington to thank the assembled conservatives for helping put him on the nation's highest court. Gorsuch assured his admiring audience that his hard-fought confirmation to succeed the late justice Antonin Scalia proved that a "committed originalist and textualist" could be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances The Company They Keep: How Partisan Divisions Came to the Supreme Court by Neal Devins and Lawrence Baum Oxford University Press, 235 pp., $29.95 The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts by Joan Biskupic Basic Books, 421 pp., $32.00 1. The Supreme Court opened its 2018 term last October amid a highly charged political battle over the confirmation of its newest justice, Brett Kavanaugh.
How the Federalist Society Became the De Facto Selector of Republican Supreme Court Justices
How the Federalist Society became the de facto selector of Republican Supreme Court justices. By Lawrence Baum and Neal Devins Jan 31, 201710:12 AM Justice Samuel Alito leaves after speaking at Georgetown University Law Center on Feb. 23 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images During last year’s campaign, Donald Trump offered an unprecedented guarantee regarding any potential Supreme Court nomination.
The Company They Keep: How Partisan Divisions Came to the Supreme Court
With the Supreme Court's 2017 term underway, the newly confirmed justice Neil Gorsuch went before the Federalist Society's annual banquet in Washington to thank the assembled conservatives for helping put him on the nation's highest court. Gorsuch assured his admiring audience that his hard-fought confirmation to succeed the late justice Antonin Scalia proved that a “committed originalist and textualist” could be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation has a silver lining
No doubt, Roberts is a conservative with strong views about many of the issues the court addresses. With four even more conservative justices now on the court, Roberts is well positioned to see his views adopted into law.
Silver lining in Kavanaugh confirmation
Democrats may find a surprising silver lining in the impending confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh: Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. With Kavanaugh replacing the more moderate Anthony Kennedy, Roberts will now sit at the ideological center of the court. And the Kavanaugh fight may move Roberts to show more restraint in the pursuit of conservative goals than if some other Republican nominee had been confirmed.
Democrat's silver lining of Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation
Democrats may find a surprising silver lining in the impending confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh: Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. With Kavanaugh replacing the more moderate Anthony Kennedy, Roberts will now sit at the ideological center of the court. And the Kavanaugh fight may move Roberts to show more restraint in the pursuit of conservative goals than if some other Republican nominee had been confirmed.
The silver lining of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation | Opinion
The debilitating political rancor over the Kavanaugh confirmation has deepened the perception that the court is caught up in partisan politics, and statements in Kavanaugh's testimony suggested that he will bring strong partisan feelings with him when he joins the court (so much so that Kavanaugh felt the need to write an opinion piece expressing regrets about saying "things I should not have said"). We can expect Roberts to fight that perception.
What next for the court? Roberts may moderate - Salisbury Post
Democrats may find a surprising silver lining in the impending confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh: Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. With Kavanaugh replacing the more moderate Anthony Kennedy, Roberts will now sit at the ideological center of the court. And the Kavanaugh fight may move Roberts to show more restraint in the pursuit of conservative goals than if some other Republican nominee had been confirmed.
Opinion | The hidden silver lining if Kavanaugh is confirmed
Democrats may find a surprising silver lining in the impending confirmation of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. With Kavanaugh replacing the more moderate Anthony M. Kennedy, Roberts will now sit at the ideological center of the court. And the Kavanaugh fight may move Roberts to show more restraint in the pursuit of conservative goals than if some other Republican nominee had been confirmed.
The Federalist Society will soon have a 5-4 stranglehold on the Supreme Court.
On Monday, Donald Trump is set to nominate a Supreme Court justice who is tied to the Federalist Society and who has been vetted by leaders of that group. This is precisely what Trump did when he chose Neil Gorsuch in 2017. And in doing so, he will be continuing a pattern that dates back to the George W.
How the Federalist Society Became the De Facto Selector of Republican Supreme Court Justices
During last year’s campaign, Donald Trump offered an unprecedented guarantee regarding any potential Supreme Court nomination. The Republican nominee promised that, if he were elected president, his judicial nominees would “all [be] picked by the Federalist Society.” Trump likewise acknowledged he had turned to the “Federalist people” and the Heritage Foundation to assemble a list of 21 potential Supreme Court nominees.
Democrats always pick moderates like Merrick Garland.
President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court may have come as a surprise to the political world. But it shouldn’t have. Garland is the kind of nominee whom we would have expected from Obama under ordinary circumstances. Indeed, in important respects he is similar to Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, the nominees whom Obama chose early in his presidency.
Dictionaries 2.0: Exploring the Gap Between the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals
Introduction The remarkable rise in dictionary usage by the Supreme Court since the mid-1980s has been a subject of considerable scholarly and media interest.
Cam Isle 360 sails against the wind - Stanwood/Camano News : Camano Scene
Last year, Camano Island Sailing Association (CISA) proclaimed it a piece of cake to sail the Stillaguamish Channel with the aid of a light northerly tailwind and the southerly-flowing current of the channels at high tide. But, a big question remained: Could the same leg be sailed against the wind? An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. You need an online service to view this article in its entirety. Choose an online service. Current print subscribers Need an account?
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