ALL NINE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES RESIGN EN MASSE !

[saltpoint]

For the hell of it, say all nine current Supreme Court Justices announce they are resigning, en masse, effective at the end of this term.

Also for the hell of it, say that you are the lone arbiter of Justice selection and that you alone are asked to appoint their replacements. The Senate will rubberstamp all nine of your appointees.

The U.S. Constitution does not specify qualifications for Supreme Court appointees. Traditionally they are men and women with significant judicial experience, natural-born citizens, and of an approximate age, but you are in charge now and you may follow those criteria or not.

My nine would be:

1 ACLU President NADINE STROSSEN
2 former NY Governor MARIO CUOMO
3 former Baltimore Mayor KURT SCHMOKE
4 ELIZABETH EDWARDS
5 GORE VIDAL
6 former Connecticut Senator LOWELL WEICKER
7 JULIAN BOND
8 BILL MOYERS
9 BARBARA BOXER


If you were at the helm, which nine people would comprise the Court?

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RetroLounge]

3. Dean is a Doctor, not a Lawyer...

RL

[saltpoint]

43. Hi, RetroLounge. You're right, and the traditional criteria

would favor a nominee with judicial / legal experience.

But I learned from the web that the Constitution does not expressly require judicial or legal experience. Nominees winning confirmation have it as a matter of tradition and "evaluative affirmation" and as a political consideration. Same with age and citizen-status.

But it's not expressly required. I did not know that. (Probably my high school history teacher -- who was excellent -- taught me this but I have since lost it as a fact.)

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[beyurslf]

57. You don't have to be a lawyer to be on the SCOTUS.

[Bake]

61. But it sure helps.

I'm just sayin'.

Bake, Esq.

[saltpoint]

4. I wouldn't have any trouble AT ALL with Dean on the Court.

god knows we need people with some fire and some smarts on that panel.

Excellent suggestion.

[newyawker99]

53. Hi Southerntown!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[kliljedahl]

70. What did Southerntown say?

I have yet to see a comment prior to deletion. DAMN these mods are good.


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[NewJeffCT]

2. Weicker is a great choice...but

but, i didn't know about the natural born citizen requirement. he was born in Germany, I believe.

[saltpoint]

6. Traditionally, justices have been natural-born citizens

but it is not a Constitutional requirement.

Those are included only as "traditional criteria" and not requirements.

[NewJeffCT]

16. well, the good thing is...

you can say Weicker is a Republican and you're attempting to be "fair & balanced" in your selections, even though Weicker is to the left of Lieberman and pretty liberal overall.

[Captain Hilts]

5. I'd add Charles Barkley

He's conservative, but smart and funny.

And, yes, he's a diva. Where better but on the court?

Lauren Bacall's too old. Damn.

[saltpoint]

10. I guess I could go with Barkley on the strengths of his personality

although I wish he were more liberal.

Lauren Bacall? Well, hell, why not? In some ways, she's a lot yonger than some people half her age!

[Captain Hilts]

73. Betty Bacall's a real rock 'em, sock 'em Democrat

She'd make things interesting.

[catzies]

59. Actually, Sir Charles has come around. He's becoming populist, and

dropping some of the "Screw y'all, I got mine" rhetoric that was his raison d'etre for becoming Republican in the first place.

He's smart, funny, honest, and learns from his previous positions.

From one court to another Court, I say!

Oh, and he admitted to being a pothead back in the day. We could have used him on the court last Monday for sure!

Welcome to DU.

on edit: Great Barley quote:

"You have those over at Fox News, who say they're fair and balanced, and they're lying. We should start our own network, Unbalanced and Unfair, and we'll get the good half of the country."

http://www.clintcam.com/barkley/

[rwenos]

7. Big Bill Clinton as Chief Justice

Then:

Maxine Waters
Lawrence Tribe
John Conyers
Me

That's five. Who cares who else.

Edit: Justice #6: Barak Obama

[OldLeftieLawyer]

11. He's kind of disbarred right now

Could be problematic.

But, did you know that there is no legal requirement for anyone to be a lawyer in order to sit on the Court?

LIVE IN FEAR, CIVILIANS!!!!!!!!!!!

[rwenos]

14. Big Bill's Suspension was for Five Years

and thus is just about up.

He can apply for reinstatement anytime now. And should. The five years was bullsh*t, even for alleged perjury regarding an immaterial matter in a deposition. In most cases a 90 day suspension would have been about what he'd have gotten.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

17. That's what I said

But, that's a rather icky thing on his record. Personally, I wouldn't trust him as a Justice. He's been a miserable disappointment these past few years.

[saltpoint]

18. rwenos, I think you're on solid ground there.

Someone help me on this who knows officially -- but I think the first Supreme Court only had 5 members.

If that's so, you're home free.

I liked your choices alot. Conyers really does it for me (and makes me embarrassed I left him off of my own list!)

Clinton as Chief Justice? Why not?! He'd be a thoughtful addition to history and besides, it would piss off Rush Limbaugh somethin' fierce!

[rwenos]

26. Annoying Fact about Big Bill -- He's a Good Lawyer

I think he's extremely bright, writes well, has a good grasp of federal law, and would pay some attention to Antitrust, Securities Regulation and the Rehnquist BS regarding "states' rights," which should be stuffed in the same hole as the Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson cases.

And he might even find the Fourth Amendment, which the Rehnquist court has clearly misplaced.

[Bluebear]

8. One would definitely be Priscilla Owen

8-1
8-1
8-1
8-1
8-1

bwahahahaha

[saltpoint]

20. From your very progressive and forward-looking posts on DU,

I would say your other 8 choices would be excellent, Bluebear, and the 8-1 decisions would probably all have Judge Owen's name beside the "dissenting" column!

Good deal.

[Bluebear]

25. I jest...

But one thing I will always mourn is Mario Cuomo not being named to the Court. There is a brilliant man with heart.

[saltpoint]

36. Fully agree.

(I understood about Judge Owen in your post... I liked the way you did it, too.)

Your description of Cuomo -- "a brilliant man with heart" -- is perfect.

[Bluebear]

38. These words needed to be heard again....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3837395

[Cats Against Frist]

72. Mario Cuomo is third, only to Thomas Jefferson & Frank Zappa

on my most-admired Americans list. And he would be my Chief Justice:

Chief Justice Mario Cuomo
Bill Clinton
Robert Kennedy Jr.
John Ralston Saul (I know he's Canadian, but screw it.)
Jacques Derrida (I know he's French, but screw it.)
Gore Vidal
Barbara Boxer
Lew Rockwell
Chuck D

I haven't thought this TOTALLY through -- but this is the prelim.

[saltpoint]

76. Looks like a pretty good list to me, Cats Against Frist.

And I really appreciate your comment on Mario Cuomo.

I have a near-religious respect for him. he just strikes me as a magnificent citizen.

Chuck D's also on your list. Maybe his time has come to make a major career shift!

And your including Robert Kennedy Jr. reminds me of how great a citizen he is -- very definitely his father's son and perhaps a more bold personality. Somewhere in the future, when his kids are more grown, I deeply hope to see him run for public office.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

9. Just so's you know ...........

OldLeftieLawyer is in tears right now.

Would that it were so, champ. Would that it were so ............. :cry:

[saltpoint]

23. Hi OldLeftieLawyer.

In tears because you're missing the 9 just-resigned justices? (That can't be!)

In tears because the cat in your signature field has drunk all your beer?

In tears because the current White House resident is going to appoint someone well to the right of Hitler for the next couple of Court appointments?

Hi, there. Nice to see you again, as usual.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

27. In tears

because the idea of Mario Cuomo on any court is so divine and so impossible and so devoutly to be wished, OldLeftieLawyer gets all choked up.

But, as usual, you start the absolute best threads, my friend. Good to see you, too.

(There is always more beer...............)

[saltpoint]

32. Yes. Mario Cuomo. I'm a devoted minion.

He is a tremendous speaker as well -- there's a kind of fearlessness to what he says in the political arena.

And then to add to my admiration for his political accomplishments, I heard him interviewed on a history-of-baseball program on PBS and he absolutely blew me away.

In a better world than this one, Old Leftie Lawyer, Mario Cuomo would be the Court's Chief.

I LOVED how you spoke of him in your post.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

34. Oh, Crusoe

You're a Mario fan. Of course you are.

Anything he speaks or writes is magic. The man embraces words and thoughts the way a lover embraces ......... oh, you know.

His book on Lincoln, by the way, is sublime. It led me to this - http://tinyurl.com/8fv95 - which was a whole other kind of wonderful trip. Check them out.........

[saltpoint]

40. I might have checked them out anyway, OldLeftieLawyer, but with

your recommendation, it becomes a sure thing.

I will have a look and then report back.

Thank you!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

44. Good on you, sweetie

Did you see this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3837395

[saltpoint]

46. No, I didn't see it yet. Thanks for sending it along.

Bluebear knows the secret passwords to all the galaxies of the stars. A true patriot, in the best progressive tradition, if you ask me.

I will contact Bluebear with a thank-you.

(Thanks for the heads-up!)

[NewJeffCT]

12. Some names. How about Clinton? I mean Bill...

I think former NFL star Alan Page has had his name brought up in the past, as well as former Detroit mayor Dennis Archer. Archer was the first African-American to be named head of the bar association, I believe.

I would not take any sitting senators...

Mario Cuomo would be a great choice, as well as Laurence Tribe, but both are a bit older now. How about Bill Clinton?

Elizabeth Edwards is good, but does she still practice law? Is Moyers a lawyer at all?

[rwenos]

29. Agreed, See Post #7, and Alan Page

would be a great Justice #7, or replacement #6 if Obama doesn't want on.

I'd go to the mat for John Conyers for sure. He'd make a fine justice.

And just about every lawyer under 60 has learned Constitutional Law from Tribe's treatise.

[saltpoint]

69. Page would be great. One of the most

persuasive souls walking the planet these days. He would be a great Chief Justice, even.

[ruggerson]

13. Courtney Love and Gary Coleman n/t

[saltpoint]

28. ruggerson, I'd go with Courtney Love on grounds that she would

make reading the official transcripts of decisions extremely colorful.

I like foul-mouthed, hardlivin' Supreme Court justices, or at least I think I do, if we ever had some.

She'll do just fine.

Gary Coleman? He wasn't on my ... uh... short list.... but he'll do too, especially compared with Scalia.

[ruggerson]

42. Agreed on Love

and Coleman would be worth the price of admission just to see him in the robe.

[Warren DeMontague]

15. Stipe, Buck, Mills, Berry, Lesh, Weir, Hart, Kreutzmann...

And Clinton.



George, That is.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

19. Chief Justice -

Since he's running for the governorship of Texas:

Kinky Friedman.

[catzies]

62. Love your first four - they'd be great!

Mad love for my Athens boys. :loveya:

/end threadjack

[hootinholler]

21. you wouldn't want me to appoint the court.

I'd do something silly like have a lottery, or pick plain old folk. Not lawyers, but patriots all. You know people who know right from wrong, and probably at least half athiests or pagans.

What was that? they don't know the law? Who cares, that's what they have staff for.

Maybe I'd throw in The Rude Pundit, Whoopie Goldberg and Robin Williams too just so people would actually read the opinions.

-Hoot

[saltpoint]

45. I might WANT you to appoint the next Court, hootinholler.

A few atheists and pagans wouldn't hurt one iota, IMO.

Jim Dobson might not agree, but if progressive rule the Court, Jim Dobson's sorry ass will NOT be a factor.

Thanks for your post.

[Al-CIAda]

22. Aquaman vs. Spiderman -who wins? n/t

[saltpoint]

33. I'm pro-stem cell research, so I'll go with Peter Parker

--the honor-winning science student.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. How about these:

Elliot Spitzer, Eric Holder, Barbara Boxer, Mario Cuomo, Morris Dees, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Janet Reno, Barak Obama.

[saltpoint]

55. Hey there, ocelot. How are you? That's a great list.

Morris Dees? Yes! Very good choice, no matter what.

It would be a freer America with people like that on the high court.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

74. Morris Dees is awesome.

I went to a lecture he gave a couple of years ago -- just knocked me over. He's a real hero, did great work shutting down some of the nastiest white supremacists.

[saltpoint]

80. Yes. I heard him in Ohio and came out of that auditorium feeling

MUCH better about my country.

People like him have already done great things, but I agree with your including im on a list of justices -- let's give people like this every available opportunity to do still more for an even greater number of people.

And he was an engaging speaker too -- I should add that. In substance he was sensational, but his speaking abilities are underrated. I think anybody from 10 to 110 could have heard him and he would have inspired change and thoughtfulness in them.

Ocelot, for the next Court vacancy, you are definitely on the committee to choose replacements!

[Just Me]

30. Why are you creating more meaningless noise?

Why?

There are so many challenges that no one can be bored.

Please, stop creating noise.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. You can ignore it if you like... nobody is requiring you to participate.

Some of us are having fun with this.

[anitar1]

35. I like your list

especially Gore Vidal and Bill Moyers.

[saltpoint]

37. Hi, anitar1.

Thank you for saying that. I'm a Moyers fan from the word go -- and would even like to see him run for president. Imagine what he would do to a confused soul like Bill Frist!

Gore Vidal is my kind of American. He has that great hunter's nose for revealing where the truth is. My god I even love his novels. A true progressive mind.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

48. You surely are tripping me out tonight, OC

I'm currently in the middle of this - http://tinyurl.com/9vgzq - and it's making me love him even more than I did before.

This administration has really brought out the hero in Vidal, I think.

[MrSlayer]

39. I think we need a balance.

I don't want extreme left-wing as much as I don't want extreme right-wing. I would lean liberal majority 5-4 or maybe 6-3 but I don't want a total one-sided anything.

[saltpoint]

41. MrSlayer, that's fair enough.

You offer a considered & thoughtful idea and in the real world, I'd go for it in a minute.

I did put a former Republican, Lowell Weicker, in my list, but you are right to pick up that he is not a very conservative Republican.

Your point on a balanced Court is well taken. Thank you.

[Blue_In_AK]

47. Hard to improve on yours, OC...

I especially like that you have Bill Moyers on there.

[saltpoint]

49. Hi, Blue_in_AK -- I just had to put Bill Moyers on the Supreme Court.

I think he is one of the most persuasive people who ever got into public service.

[Blue_In_AK]

52. I have always loved him...

So bright and so compassionate.

[saltpoint]

56. Yes. And there's a great vein of poetry to him, in his words.

He makes the words ring in my head, makes them more than temporary sloganeering.

[fricasseed_gourmet_rat]

50. a bunch of Chippendales

They could wear, like, nothing under those robes.

But more seriously, I'd put Eliot Spitzer on there.

[saltpoint]

54. I think a lot of people would agree with you on Spitzer.

He's a good man and I have a feeling he'll be the next Governor of New York.

After that? President? or Supreme Court justice?

Sounds pretty good.

[La Coliniere]

58. The New Supremes squared

Sheila Jackson Lee, Cynthia McKinney, Maxine Waters, Whoopie Goldberg, Barbara Lee, Barbara Boxer, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Barbra Streisand, and Rosanne Cash.
A new kind of thang.

[saltpoint]

65. An exciting lineup, to be sure. I like it.

The building itself would have to be fortified to handle all that charisma.

Rosanne Cash!? (A favorite of mine!)

[sweetheart]

60. interesting challenge

1. Mario Cuomo
2. Jerry Brown
3. Dennis Kucinich
4. Rob Kampia
5. Adida Franklin Jones
6. Barbara Boxer
7. Hillary Clinton
8. DU member: noirblu
9. DU member: Eloriel

[saltpoint]

66. Entirely fair and admirable to nominate DU members, sweetheart.

Good for you.

Jerry Brown is on your list -- I considered him also but ran out of spots. He would be terrific. He's someone who has never lost the sense of public service.

[immoderate]

81. I nominate mopaul!

--IMM

[Sgent]

63. Hmm... Lets thank

Nadine Strossen
Jay Sekulo (ACLJ Founder & Director, throw one bone to the idiots)
Mario Cuomo
Larry Flynt (if he can/will take it)
Charles Ogletree (Harvard Law Prof, contemporary of Cochran)
Alan Dershowitz (Law Prof, first amendment advocate, OJ co-council)
Micheal Moore (Former AG of Mississippi)
Bill Clinton (I've got other plans for Hillary :)
The terry Shivo Judge
One more deserving soul who is a current judge.

[saltpoint]

67. Glad to see you mention Alan Dershowitz.

He's long deserved appointment, IMO. Really like him.

Bill Clinton on the Supreme Court is also an exciting idea. And you're right -- his wife may be holding another job in a couple years...

[Sgent]

82. Yea

out of all the ones we're throwing around, I think Alan is probably the most qualified by far. He could be one of the best constiutional lawyers of the last 50 years who isn't on the court.

[yankeedem]

64. The 9 top progressive grads from law school

So we wouldn't have to worry about losing rights for a good sixty years.

[saltpoint]

68. Hi, yankeedem. That would be a group of nine very young appointees

and I love your idea that they would be progressives with MAJOR longevity on the Court.

We could use SEVERAL of them right now, in fact.

I think you've got a good idea on your hands.

[karlrschneider]

71. John Dean, Vincent Bugliosi

Yes, -that- John Dean.
:D

[saltpoint]

77. karlrschneider, I think you are right to include John Dean.

To me he represents the idea that a Republican -- even a Nixon White House Republican -- can still be an honorable citizen. of course he didn't have much competition in Nixon's den of theives, but I personaly feel I owe John Dean a great debt for his eloquent and persuasive testimony to the Senate (and to the nation) regarding Watergate.

And ever since then, he has been speaking bold truths in times and places where many other people in the collective media have cowered.

The GOP is much-trashed on DUs boards, and rightly so. But there was a time when GOP senators, congressfolks, and so forth were simply conservative, but often moderately so, and Dean seems to be from that tradition. I would prefer a more liberal progressive Democrat to Olympia Snowe, but I GREATLY prefer Snowe to Jeff Sessions, Tom Coburn, Rick Santorum, etc.

I think John Dean is probably appalled at the GOP these days, too.

Very good suggestion.

[AX10]

75. The New PRO-AMERICA Supreme Court:

1-John Conyers-D
2-Al Gore-D
3-Pat Leahy-D
4-Bernard Sanders-S
5-Lowell Weicker-R(Chief Justice)
6-Gore Vidal-I
7-James Doyle-D(Governor-Wisconsin)
8-Jon Corzine-D
9-Mario Cuomo-D


I may also extend the court and add two more members:

1-John Conyers-D
2-Al Gore-D
3-Pat Leahy-D
4-Bernard Sanders-S
5-Gore Vidal-I
6-Lowell Weicker-R(Chief Justice)
7-James Doyle-D(Governor-Wisconsin)
8-Jon Corzine-D
9-Mario Cuomo-D
10-Ed Schultz-D
11-Ron Paul-R

[saltpoint]

78. AX10, I would be delighted to live in your America ANY time.

Solidly progressive and downright uplifting.

:toast:

[Independent_Liberal]

79. Interesting...

I never thought about this. There are some people I'd like to appoint, but I can't think of them all off hand.