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Grubble Grubble
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Friday, January 23, 2004 :::
Antonin Scalia, what were you thinking?
rant
A case is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding meetings between the adminstration's energy policy task force and members of the energy industry, specifically those in oil and gas. Vice-President Dick Cheney is a defendant in the case.
A sitting judge's responsibility is to maintain impartiality in regards to the cases they hear and those involved. Or at least maintain the appearance of impartiality.
Earlier this month, Dick Cheney invited Supreme Court Justice Scalia on a hunting trip to Louisiana. I can accept that these two men know each other and have a long-standing friendship. However, until this case is resolved Scalia is duty-bound to refuse such an invitation from an individual who is currently involved in a case sitting before his court.
Did he? NO. He went and hunted with a litigant. He states that this does nothing to bias his opinion regarding the case. He goes on to note that social interactions between administration figures and judges "have never been thought improper" where the judge is determining an issue of "official capacity" as compared to "personal capacity." Since Cheney would not face personal loss as a result of this case, Scalia defends his right to continue his social recourse with Cheney.
What if the findings of this case show a level of impropriety that is alleged by the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch, the two entities that brought suit? There could be great personal loss for Dick Cheney based on the findings of this case. His reputation and even perhaps his job.
Of course, Scalia could opt to recuse himself from the case, citing conflict of interest. Given his statements, however, I do not see that happening. Of course, perhaps the little bit of attention being given to this story will encourage Scalia to reconsider that option.
Should he decide to not recuse himself, I fear we will suffer a great miscarriage within our legal system.
Antonin Scalia, I hope you are wise enough to live up to your appointment to that bench.
/rant
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