June 27, 2005

Busy Day at the Supreme Court

A bunch of Supreme Court rulings came down today. I'm going to wait a few more hours to gather more than instant analysis. The Ten Commandments rulings seemed odd. Oh the power of one justice. The file-sharing ruling seems reasonable, but I've never supported intellectual property anarchy on the internet. Lyle Denniston already has some interesting thoughts. I'm pleased with the ruling allowing cable companies to decide who can use their networks. (It's interesting that Justice Scalia dissented.) But who's to say government couldn't just claim them under eminent domain from last week's Kelo ruling?

What I find most interesting is no word that Chief Justice Rehnquist has stepped down. Court watchers expect that to happen with the presumption that all hell will break loose in D.C. over his replacement. I don't think there will be a hard, ideological fight. Rehnquinst is a conservative. Presumably President Bush would nominate a conservative to replace him. Liberals wouldn't be concerned the court would swing widely to the right. Now, if O'Connor, Kennedy, or one of the liberals retired we'd really see forces amassed on both sides.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin's post reminds me the court didn't rule that there was a special reporter's exemption for keeping confidential sources. It's good to know this court didn't weigh into the impossible task of defining a reporter.