Archive for June 12, 2008
The purpose of habeas corpus
Jun 12th
More from Boumediene:
Indeed, common-law habeas corpus was, above all, an adaptable remedy. Its precise application and scope changed depending upon the circumstances. See 3 Blackstone *131 (describing habeas as “the great and efficacious writ, in all manner of illegal confinement”); see also Schlup v. Delo, 513 U. S. 298, 319 (1995) (Habeas “is, at its core, an equitable remedy”); Jones v. Cunningham, 371 U. S. 236, 243 (1963) (Habeas is not “a static, narrow, formalistic remedy; its scope has grown to achieve its grand purpose”).
Boumediene and habeas corpus
Jun 12th
Plenty of other commentators have far more intelligent comments and insights on Boumediene [pdf] than I have to offer, so I will direct you to them (see this SCOTUSblog post for a collection of links as well).
I do want to leave you with this quote from Justice Kennedy’s opinion, via Orin at Volokh:
Officials charged with daily operational responsibility for our security may consider a judicial discourse on the history of the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 and like matters to be far removed from the Nation’s present, urgent concerns. Established legal doctrine, however, must be consulted for its teaching. Remote in time it may be; irrelevant to the present it is not. Security depends upon a sophisticated intelligence apparatus and the ability of our Armed Forces to act and to interdict. There are further considerations, however. Security subsists, too, in fidelity to freedom’s first principles. Chief among these are freedom from arbitrary and unlawful restraint and the personal liberty that is secured by adherence to the separation of powers. It is from these principles that the judicial authority to consider petitions for habeas corpus relief derives.
There is a reason it is called The Great Writ.
Porn is in the eye of the beholder
Jun 12th
A variant on “I’ll know it when I see it”. When the story broke yesterday that pornographic images and videos were discovered on the personal website of the Ninth Circuit’s Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, I was naturally curious to see these pictures and read about how they were discovered.
Turns out, the man who leaked these pictures has come forward and provided some of them to Patterico who, taking the man at his word, has posted some pictures purported to be downloaded from that site (the site is, wisely, no longer available).
Folks, let’s be honest. We’ve all seen porn. This is not porn. These are exactly what Judge Kozinski described them to be: funny pictures.
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