judge walton is a STONE-COLD-GOD for writing this footnote!
okay -- the set-up here, is that
a gaggle (that's an even dozen, in
non-legal parlance!) of law professorsjust got paid a pile to have asked
to weigh-in on scooter libby's pending
motion for bail, while his appeals are
handled by the courts. . .
and, of course -- the aim is to suggest
that it is a "close question" as to whether
judge walton's ruling -- sustaining patrick
fitzgerald's authority under the independent
counsel statutes, was correct. . .
forget the "all the grand-standing big academics love" facets
money can buy
to this motion -- and simply focus on that clearly-
well-grounded, solid and street-wise judge -- reggie walton.
he accepts their amicus motion, but drops a very
clever -- and worldly -- footnote, to his order. . .
[for dramatic effect, i have reversed the order,
setting his signature below the stellar footnote; in
the actual paper-version, the signature appears
above the footnote -- but these gems are so
rare -- this one simply must be seen, front
and center] click to enlarge:
so -- what judge walton just said was that he
will expect to be able to call these esteemed
men of the law, for in-depth, well-researched,
and nearly-instant, guidance -- in the future,
for truly penniless accused defendants of no
notoriety. . . and, he will expect similar
snap-to-it performances!
excellent use of snark, judge walton!
i am in awe. and i am disgusted that
these professors want to make scalia's
dissent (i.e. not binding law) the basis
for the assertion of a "close question". . .
arguing for the change of existing
law is not the same as presenting a close,
or conflicting set of cases, under unsettled
law. . . scalia's dissent in morrison has
no effect whatsover as law. nor does this
largely spurrious amicus motion, drawn with all
the resources of the r.n.c./scooter legal accumen
libby defense fund could buy
mustered by these wise-old-graybeards.
here endeth my rant.
oh yeah -- the motion's caption,
and the professors' names:
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF
AS AMICI CURIAE AND BRIEF OF LAW
PROFESSORS VIKRAM AMAR, RANDY E.
BARNETT, ROBERT H. BORK, ALAN M.
DERSHOWITZ, VIET D. DINH, DOUGLAS W.
KMIEC, GARY S. LAWSON, EARL M. MALTZ,
THOMAS W. MERRILL, ROBERT F. NAGEL,
RICHARD D. PARKER, AND ROBERT J.
PUSHAW AS AMICI CURIAE IN CONNECTION
WITH DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR BAIL PENDING APPEAL
2 comments:
the text of the note reads:
It is an impressive show of public service when twelve prominent and distinguished current and former law professors of well-respected schools are able to amass their collective wisdom in the course of only several days to provide their legal expertise to the Court on behalf of a criminal defendant. The Court trusts that this is an indication of these eminent academics' willingness in the future to step to the plate and provide like assistance in cases involving any of the numerous litigants, both in this Court and throughout the courts of our nation, who lack the financial means to fully and properly articulate the merits of their legal positions even in instances where failure to do so could result in monetary penalties, incarceration, or worse. The Court will certainly not hesitate to call for such assistance from these luminaries, as necessary in the interests of justice and equity, whenever similar questions arise in the cases that come before it.
More love for Judge Reggie Walton:
Street Justice In D.C.
Judge Steps In To Stop Assault
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 20, 2005; Page B02
In the federal courthouse in Washington, judges have a team of beefy deputy marshals protecting them from any possible run-ins with criminal defendants.
But on Chevy Chase Circle NW last weekend, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton found himself forcefully stopping an assault -- and wrestling another man's attacker to the ground.
The judge said he came upon the fight in the fairly quiet traffic circle, pulled the attacker off his victim and then held the man on the pavement until D.C. police arrived on the scene. "He started toward me, " Walton, 56, recalled in an interview this week. "I had to take him down."
Walton's story began about 6 a.m. last Saturday, when he was driving his wife and daughter to the airport for a short trip to Aruba. When he drove into the circle, a taxi blocked a right lane and two men argued next to it, he said. Then he saw both bodies fall to the ground. A larger man was on top, striking a smaller, older man, who was yelling for help.
"Initially, I really paused. In these situations, you don't know if a gun or other weapon is involved," Walton said. "But I could hear the man frantically crying out: 'Help me. Please help me.' "
The judge, who was a football player in college, is physically fit. The man getting the best of the cabdriver was in his twenties and more than 6 feet tall, compared with the 5-foot-9 judge.
But the judge grew up in the gritty steel town of Donora, Pa., and as a teenager landed in court three times for fighting. He explained that he got out of control during a period when his father was working two jobs.
Walton credits one fight with scaring him to focus on school and, ultimately, become a judge. He and his buddies decided to seek out some other youths who they heard had been "messing with our girls." The fight escalated from punching to one of Walton's friends stabbing a member of the other group with an ice pick. Walton and a friend rushed him to the hospital, and Walton said his fighting days ended there.
Walton has been a judge for nearly a quarter-century. He became a D.C. Superior Court judge in 1981 and was appointed to the federal bench in 2001. Walton told the man last Saturday that he was a judge, wouldn't hurt him and would just turn him over to police.
The judge said he's not sure what happened after that. When police arrived, he said, he gave them his account, then hurried his family to the airport to make the flight. He never learned the names of the men. As of Thursday, he said, police had not called. A D.C. police spokesman said yesterday he could not locate a report of the incident or verify an arrest. Officers working in the 2nd District said their office no longer has computer capability to review 911 calls requesting help.
Walton doesn't recommend that everyone who sees an attack get involved. "Everybody's got to make their own decision," he said. "Some would say it wasn't very wise to do what I did. But then again, if you had a loved one in that situation, you would hope somebody would come to their aid."
Police spokesman Kenny Bryson said the cabdriver was lucky that the judge was passing through. Other cars whizzed by, the judge said, and one driver even honked his horn.
"God bless Judge Walton," Bryson said. "I surely wouldn't want to mess with him. He's really to be commended for jumping in."
Staff writer Del Quentin Wilber contributed to this report.
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