A federal judge has resigned from the court in protest of Bush's illegal use of warrantless surveillance on American citizens. I'd have to say it's pretty big news for a federal judge to resign a job he's guaranteed for life in protest of the actions of our Commander-in-Chief.
The judge is James Robertson, a Clinton appointee on the bench since 1994. He served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which is so secret that Ronald Krotosyzinski didn't teach it in Con Law.
5 comments:
Not only that, but guess what it takes to get a new federal appellate court slot these days? If you guessed a robust defense of individual rights and freedoms, you're a better man than I am.
Nevertheless, I don't see why we have to persist in seeing this as a total negative. Why, one day, with sufficient sycophancy, even the meanest of us may hope for a federal judgeship.
Wait--he's still a District Court judge. He resigned from the FISA-created court. That's not small potatoes (keeps the court in the news, too), but it's not quite so grand a statement.
You're right, I thought that when he went from the District Court to the FIS Court, he left the District Court altogether, but apparently it was more like a committee.
Still a pretty big statement. Now John Roberts gets to nominate a party hack to take his place. However, I have a feeling, after today's opinion in the Padilla case, it won't be Michael Luttig.
It's a powerful statement, no doubt. And, for whatever reason, I have faith in John Roberts not to promote total hackery. If there's one thing today's Padilla opinion demonstrates (and thanks, Gus, for pointing it out--I hadn't seen it), it's that the judicial branch is jealous of its perogatives and will put its rights ahead of other ideological positions.
Excellent point. If that holds true for the warrantless spying issue, there's a good chance the program will be shut down.
Post a Comment