Sotomayor Draws Retort From a Fellow Justice (Thomas gets snippy)

[usregimechange]

(NYT) In a minor case, part of an opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor was rejected by Justice Clarence Thomas.


WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court released its first four decisions in argued cases this term on Tuesday. They were all minor, but one was notable for being Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court debut and for prompting a testy concurrence from Justice Clarence Thomas.

The case concerned whether federal trial-court rulings concerning the lawyer-client privilege may be appealed right away. Justice Sotomayor, with methodical reasoning and a formal writing style, said no.

“Permitting parties to undertake successive, piecemeal appeals of all adverse attorney-client rulings,” she wrote, “would unduly delay the resolution of district court litigation and needlessly burden the courts of appeals.”

Justice Sotomayor said that result was dictated by sound policy and was consistent with a law governing appeals.

The decision was unanimous, but Justice Clarence Thomas declined to join the part of Justice Sotomayor’s opinion discussing why the cost of allowing immediate appeals outweighs the possibility that candid communications between lawyers and their clients might be chilled.

In a concurrence, Justice Thomas took a swipe at his new colleague, saying she had “with a sweep of the court’s pen” substituted “value judgments” and “what the court thinks is a good idea” for the text of a federal law.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/us/09sotomayor.html?_r=1


Justice Sotomayor:
"In sum, we conclude that the collateral order doctrine does not extend to disclosure orders adverse to the attorney-client privilege. Effective appellate review can be had by other means. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. It is so ordered."
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-678.ZO.html

Or according to Bloomberg news the court: "dealt a unanimous setback to businesses, limiting their ability to appeal orders that require the disclosure of documents during litigation."

Justice Thomas objects:
"Accordingly, I would leave the value judgments the Court makes in its opinion to the rulemaking process, and in so doing take this opportunity to limit—effectively, predictably, and in a way we should have done long ago—the doctrine that, with a sweep of the Court’s pen, subordinated what the appellate jurisdiction statute says to what the Court thinks is a good idea."
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-678.ZC.html

[xchrom]

1. snippy and 'justice' thomas should never be used in the same sentence.

it draws uncomfortable porn images -- :scared:

and i like porn to much to even begin to go there.

[babylonsister]

2. This is what Steve Benen from the Washington Monthly wrote:

Justice Clarence Thomas apparently isn't pleased with Justice Sonia Sotomayor. That's an excellent sign on the quality of her work.

:D

[Thickasabrick]

5. Maybe - he will get so irritated by her that he will retire. nt

[usregimechange]

7. We can only hope

[annabanana]

17. Her very presence on the Court is a rebuke to his

incompetence.

[struggle4progress]

16. !

:rofl:

[KansDem]

3. Thomas said something??!!!

:wow:

[baldguy]

11. Right. They missed the headline.

[niyad]

15. that was my first thougt as well,

[ruggerson]

4. Next time Sotomayor should quietly bring hin over a can of coke

[unkachuck]

6. "...dealt a unanimous setback to businesses..."

....this is what pissed off uncle thomas and his corporate masters....

[classysassy]

8. Madam Justice

tell boy clarence to go piss up a rope.

[usregimechange]

9. Please be aware of your use of boy and rope in this context

I have no idea if you intended it that way but others could jump to that conclusion.

[classysassy]

12. No,thanks

for correcting me,I am a black person,I mispoke,no racism was intended.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Garbo speaks???!!!!!

[RufusTFirefly]

14. Haha!! That was my reaction!

Any day (or term!) that Justice Thomas actually speaks is something extraordinary.

[EFerrari]

13. The best revenge is pissing off Lumpy.

:evilgrin:

[Le Taz Hot]

18. I can't tell you how dificult it was for me to read past this point:

"In a minor case, part of an opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor was rejected by Justice Clarence Thomas."

I mean really. Clarence Thomas, whose sole contribution to the Supreme Court has been pointing to Scalia and uttering, "What he said." Every time I think about him replacing a REAL American hero on the Supreme Court I feel ill.