lemon lines

"The difficulty is, however, that even while acknowledging the sympathy that all must feel for people..."

Wed, 30 May 2012 10:25:50 -0700

“The difficulty is, however, that even while acknowledging the sympathy that all must feel for people afflicted with painful, debilitating physical ailments that cannot be remedied, the court cannot take the place of Congress.”

- Kuromiya v. United States

37 F. Supp. 2d 717

"It may be that it is the obnoxious thing in its mildest and least repulsive form; but illegitimate..."

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:17:21 -0700

“It may be that it is the obnoxious thing in its mildest and least repulsive form; but illegitimate and unconstitutional practices get their first footing in that way, namely, by silent approaches and slight deviations from legal modes of procedure.”

- Boyd v. United States

116 U.S. 616 (1886)

"This Court ordinarily is not so eager to abandon its precedents. [… ] [T]he Court’s..."

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:30:13 -0700

“This Court ordinarily is not so eager to abandon its precedents. [… ] [T]he Court’s reasoning in reaching its result is transparently wrong.”

- R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, Minn.

505 U.S. 377 (1992)

"Does a hospital treating a patient in constructive police custody who dies at the hospital from..."

Sat, 12 May 2012 01:49:22 -0700

“Does a hospital treating a patient in constructive police custody who dies at the hospital from gunshot wounds inflicted by police owe a duty to the decedent’s relatives to locate and notify them? We conclude that the hospital does not owe such a duty.”

- Aguirre-Alvarez v. Regents of Univ. of California

67 Cal. App. 4th 1058, 1060, 79 Cal. Rptr. 2d 580, 581 (1998)

"The Court does not expect the parties to hold hands and sing “Kumbaya” around a campfire..."

Tue, 08 May 2012 23:00:01 -0700

“

The Court does not expect the parties to hold hands and sing “Kumbaya” around a campfire beside the Medina River. Nor does the Court expect the respondents, superintendent, and band director to engage in a public spectacle of self-flagellation for communicating words better left unsaid.

[…]

Finally, the Court reminds the parties of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution which provides in part that “no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” While it is invoked for criminal prosecutions, its underlying premise is instructive for Homo sapien relationships in general: Trouble does not come from words unspoken, particularly in this age of e-mails, tweets, cameras and recorders.

”

- Schultz v. Medina Valley Independent School District

Non-Kumbaya Order: The Homo Sapiens Saga Continues

Civil Action No. SA-11-CA-422-FB

"JUSTICE BREYER: Can I make that statement in an opinion, and you’ll say, that’s..."

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:17:21 -0700

“JUSTICE BREYER: Can I make that statement in an opinion, and you’ll say, that’s right?
MR. CLEMENT: I think what you could say —
JUSTICE BREYER: Can I say that?
MR. CLEMENT: I don’t think you can say just that.”

- Justice Breyer, Arizona v. U.S. oral arguments

"No, I understand that’s their argument. I can question them about that."

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:20:00 -0700

“No, I understand that’s their argument. I can question them about that.”

- Justice Sotomayor, Arizona v. U.S. oral arguments

"The RNC’s argument that the fact that President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, RNC..."

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:36:56 -0700

“

The RNC’s argument that the fact that President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, and another RNC leader are minorities justifies vacatur or modification of the Decree hardly requires a serious response.

[…]

Are we to conclude that all issues that affect African-Americans will now get greater funding, greater attention, and more focus because of President Obama? Our jurisprudence cannot depend on such assumptions.

”

- DNC v. RNC

"Under our criminal procedure the accused has every advantage… . Our dangers do not lie in too..."

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:09:02 -0700

“Under our criminal procedure the accused has every advantage… . Our dangers do not lie in too little tenderness to the accused. Our procedure has been always haunted by the ghost of the innocent man convicted. It is an unreal dream. What we need to fear is the archaic formalism and the watery sentiment that obstructs, delays, and defeats the prosecution of crime.”

- U.S. v. Garsson

291 F. 646, 649 (D.C.N.Y. 1923)

"Those confined in prison retain basic constitutional rights."

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:12:33 -0700

“Those confined in prison retain basic constitutional rights.”

- Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U. S. 520, 545 (1979)

"Silence is golden. Silence would also have been the better choice for six lawyers who paid a dear..."

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:33:21 -0700

“Silence is golden. Silence would also have been the better choice for six lawyers who paid a dear price and lost their law licenses for, among other things, talking too much.”

- Schultz v. Medina Valley Independent School District

Non-Kumbaya Order: The Homo Sapiens Saga Continues

Civil Action No. SA-11-CA-422-FB

"Like a good cook, the Court has purposely let this latest matter dished upon the Court simmer for..."

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:05:00 -0700

“Like a good cook, the Court has purposely let this latest matter dished upon the Court simmer for several weeks.”

- Schultz v. Medina Valley Independent School District

Non-Kumbaya Order: The Homo Sapiens Saga Continues

Civil Action No. SA-11-CA-422-FB

"The propaganda technique used in this case significantly increases the risk of unwanted pregnancy..."

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:15:13 -0700

“The propaganda technique used in this case significantly increases the risk of unwanted pregnancy and venereal disease. It is as though a State decided to dramatize its disapproval of motorcycles by forbidding the use of safety helmets. One need not posit a constitutional right to ride a motorcycle to characterize such a restriction as irrational and perverse.”

- Carey v. Population Services, Int’l

431 U.S. 678 (1977)

"Most laws passed by Congress do not contain even a ghost of a constitutional question."

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:15:31 -0700

“Most laws passed by Congress do not contain even a ghost of a constitutional question.”

- Flast v. Cohen

392 U.S. 83 (1968)

"To a wide and deep extent, the law depends upon the disciplined standards of the profession and..."

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:10:41 -0800

“To a wide and deep extent, the law depends upon the disciplined standards of the profession and belief in the integrity of the courts.”

- Schware v. Bd. of Bar Exam. of State of N.M.

353 U.S. 232, 249, 77 S. Ct. 752, 761, 1 L. Ed. 2d 796 (1957)

"One does not have to inhale the self-adulatory bombast of after-dinner speeches to affirm that all..."

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:41:01 -0800

“One does not have to inhale the self-adulatory bombast of after-dinner speeches to affirm that all the interests of man that are comprised under the constitutional guarantees given to ‘life, liberty and property’ are in the professional keeping of lawyers.”

- Schware v. Bd. of Bar Exam. of State of N.M., 353 U.S. 232, 247, 77 S. Ct. 752, 760-61, 1 L. Ed. 2d 796 (1957)

"The bar has not enjoyed prerogatives; it has been entrusted with anxious responsibilities."

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:23:40 -0800

“The bar has not enjoyed prerogatives; it has been entrusted with anxious responsibilities.”

- Schware v. Bd. of Bar Exam. of State of N.M.

353 U.S. 232, 247, 77 S. Ct. 752, 760, 1 L. Ed. 2d 796 (1957)

"The mere fact that a man has been arrested has very little, if any, probative value in showing that..."

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:45:00 -0800

“The mere fact that a man has been arrested has very little, if any, probative value in showing that he has engaged in any misconduct. An arrest shows nothing more than that someone probably suspected the person apprehended of an offense.”

- Schware v. Bd. of Bar Exam. of State of N.M.

353 U.S. 232, 241, 77 S. Ct. 752, 757, 1 L. Ed. 2d 796 (1957)

"We have a written Constitution; and it is full of ‘thou shalt nots’ directed at Congress and..."

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:48:18 -0800

“We have a written Constitution; and it is full of ‘thou shalt nots’ directed at Congress and the President as well as at the courts. And the role of the federal courts is not only to serve as referee between the States and the center but also to protect the individual against prohibited conduct by the other two branches of the Federal Government.”

- Flast v. Cohen

392 U.S. 83 (1968)

"Classifications treated as suspect tend to be irrelevant to any proper legislative..."

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:46:19 -0800

“Classifications treated as suspect tend to be irrelevant to any proper legislative goal.
[…]
We reject the claim that “illegal aliens” are a “suspect class.””

- from footnotes 14 & (following ellipsis) 19

Plyler v. Doe

457 U.S. 202 (1982)