Reading the judicial tea-leaves

Earlier today I posted some general comments about David Broder’s column regarding the NSA intercept program. I also want to comment specifically on Broder’s argument that language in Justice Kennedy’s recent opinion upholding Oregon’s assisted-suicide law bodes ill for the government’s defense of the NSA program.
Broder’s point, which has been made by others as well, emphasizes that in the assisted-suicide case Justice Kennedy rejected the notion that vague language granting the executive implied authority overrides a carefully crafted regulatory scheme that limits executive power. This portion of Kennedy’s majority opinion is said to be significant because the Bush administration argues that the intercept program was authorized by Congress when it authorized the president to

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Reading the judicial tea-leaves

Earlier today I posted some general comments about David Broder’s column regarding the NSA intercept program. I also want to comment specifically on Broder’s argument that language in Justice Kennedy’s recent opinion upholding Oregon’s assisted-suicide law bodes ill for the government’s defense of the NSA program.
Broder’s point, which has been made by others as well, emphasizes that in the assisted-suicide case Justice Kennedy rejected the notion that vague language granting the executive implied authority overrides a carefully crafted regulatory scheme that limits executive power. This portion of Kennedy’s majority opinion is said to be significant because the Bush administration argues that the intercept program was authorized by Congress when it authorized the president to

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses