RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Russell Wheeler, October 23, 2009, The Brookings Institution
October 20, 2009 marked nine months since President Barack Obama took office. Russell Wheeler compares the nomination process for the courts of appeals and district courts of the George W. Bush administration with the current one, focusing on nominations made, hearings held, nominees confirmed and nominee characteristics. Wheeler reveals two striking findings: the relatively paucity of Obama administration nominees and the delay in full Senate action on those nominees. Read More
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009-2010 term will consider major arguments on issues ranging from state’s rights and separation of powers to dog-fighting videos. On October 7, the Brookings Judicial Issues Forum hosted a panel discussion to preview the most anticipated and important cases. Read More
VIDEO
Russell Wheeler, August 07, 2009
Sonia Sotomayor took the judicial oath of office on August 8, becoming the first Hspanic and third woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Visiting Fellow Russell Wheeler examines how the Obama administration will impact the judicial system and what we can expect from Justice Sotomayor.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Melissa Rogers, July 07, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee began July 13th. Melissa Rogers urged Senators to engage Sotomayor in a discussion of the broad principles and values animating the constitutional commands on religious freedom. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Melissa Rogers, May 19, 2009, The Brookings Institution
President Obama will soon make his first Supreme Court nomination. It seems unlikely that the addition of President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court will change the outcome in church-state cases, writes Rogers, but the views and voice of his nominee will certainly affect the debate at the Court and shape decisions long after Obama leaves the White House. Read More
VIDEO
Russell Wheeler, March 20, 2009
Russell Wheeler says President Obama’s nomination of David Hamilton to serve on the appellate court was a thoughtful choice but will still draw criticism.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Russell Wheeler, March 18, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Following the announcement of President Obama’s first judicial nomination, Russell Wheeler offers clues to how President Obama might affect the composition of the United States Courts of Appeals. A reasonable estimate is that the proportion of Republican appointees could drop from 56 percent to 43 percent; Democratic appointees could rise from 36 percent to 57 percent. Read More
PAST EVENT
Friday, February 20, 2009
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC
The Justice Department’s immigration courts have been the object of attention not only for how their judges have been selected but also for their heavy caseloads and shortage of resources, including the inadequacy of legal representation available to aliens. On February 20, Russell Wheeler moderated a discussion on these issues with Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and other immigration law experts. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Russell Wheeler, October 21, 2008, The Brookings Institution
Brookings expert Russell Wheeler offers clues to how a President McCain or Obama might affect the composition of the United States Supreme Court as well as the courts of appeals. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Russell Wheeler, September 09, 2008, The Miami Herald
Hot-button social topics often dominate voters' views of where presidential candidates stand on judicial appointments. Plus, as in much of U.S. politics, the process of getting judges on the bench has become cantankerous and divided. Russell Wheeler says that the next president should try to work with the Senate to restore civility. Read More
PAST EVENT
Thursday, September 04, 2008
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC
The next U.S. president may well have to reconfigure both the Supreme Court and the U.S. courts of appeals. On September 4, the Brookings Judicial Issues Forum hosted a discussion of how John McCain or Barack Obama might approach this opportunity differently and how they might address the challenges associated with appointing judges and shaping courts. Read More
PAST EVENT
Friday, June 27, 2008
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC
In June 2008, the Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns and ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute someone who rapes a child. The Court also ruled in favor of Guantánamo detainees' habeas corpus rights. On June 27, Brookings Fellow Benjamin Wittes moderated a briefing on these rulings and other developments of the 2007-08 term. Read More
PAST EVENT
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
11:00 AM to 12:15 PM
Washington, DC
Brookings hosted a speech by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer on international governance and American law. The event celebrated the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in Governance Studies at Brookings, which is named in honor of longtime Brookings trustee Ezra K. Zilkha. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Wittes, April 28, 2008, The New Republic
The Supreme Court recently handed down a decision upholding as constitutional the specific mixture of drugs by which thirty states put condemned prisoners to death. In this piece, Ben Wittes writes about the Supreme Court's failure to rationalize its decisions about cruel and unusual punishment. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Thomas E. Mann, April 16, 2008, The Forum, Volume 6, Issue 1
The fascinating 2008 presidential election has produced recent campaign finance developments, writes Thomas Mann, suffiently dramatic as to raise questions about the viability of the entire regime of campaign finance law. Read More