Reason v. Fascism

[marmar]

AP, via HuffPost:





LUBBOCK, Texas — One of the most conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court and one of the most liberal ones sparred Friday over capital punishment, the direct election of senators and various other constitutional questions during a rare public debate that highlighted their philosophical differences.

....(snip)....

They particularly clashed on the question of capital punishment.

Scalia argued that while there's room for debate about whether the death penalty is a "good idea or a bad idea," it is not cruel and unusual punishment.

"There's not an ounceworth of room for debate as to whether it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment because, at the time the Eighth Amendment was adopted – the cruel and unusual punishments clause – it was the only punishment for a felony. It was the definition of a felony. It's why we have Western movies because horse thieving was a felony."

Breyer said 200 years ago, people thought flogging at a whipping post was not cruel and unusual.

"And indeed there were whipping posts where people were flogged virtually to death up until the middle of the 19th century," he said. "If we had a case like that today I'd like to see how you'd vote." ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/12/scalia-breyer-spar-capital-punishment_n_783081.html

[hansberrym]

1. They were on the same side in Kelo, and also in Raich.

Neither sided with reason in those cases, while Thomas sounded like a liberal in the true sense of the word. How did we come to the point where the most liberal judges side with the system (government plus corporate power) against the people in Kelo?


Breyer's origianl purpose method is little different in operation than Bork's original intent, and Scalia jetison's his legal theory when cases such as Kelo and Raich come along.

[CanonRay]

2. Maybe the other Justices will finally figure out Scalia is nuts

[SpiralHawk]

3. "Hey, Fat Tony. Get a clue." - Gee Hovah

"Thou shalt not kill."

"That's one of my Commandments. I didn't put no special Republicon weasel clauses in that so you and your RepubliCronies could escape responsibility, as usual. Get real."

- Gee Hovah