Brett Stuff

Judging the Judges

I don't know when I started reading Supreme Court Slips. Maybe, it was in 2015. And if that's the case, then I've been reading them for three years (come the start of the 2018 Term); and that clearly makes me an expert... or more probably, not. After all, I'm not a lawyer. And I am still struggling to understand many of those legal terms. But then, this isn't a legal text. It's a text about personal morals. For in the end, the intent (of this project) is to determine how much (or how little) I agree with the Supreme Court of the Land.

And that's, probably, enough of an introduction for an Index Page. Please see the first post in the series (Introduction & Disclaimers, below; and from which one can cycle through all the entries in this series by following the links at the bottom of the page) for more insight into my quest... and the tip of the iceberg when it comes to My Website's Disclaimers & Qualifications.


2020 Term Year

2020 Term Year: Rough Notes (full of random asides and over-the-top disclaimers) is going to be about as good as it's going to get.
2020 Term Questions: Answers to all of the questions (hypothetical, rhetorical, and otherwise) posed in the preceding file, taken completely out of context and answered however I liked with nary a care for reality or the world.


2019 Term Year

Let's Keep This Short.

2019-01: First Impressions: A Reading
2019-02: Continuing On
2019-03: Not so much An Analysis, as An Analysis regarding the lack of a need for Any Analysis.


2018 Term Year: Holistic Analysis

Following this section (i.e. in the next section after this), please find write-ups for every case The Supreme Court reviewed in 2018 (all seventy-three of them). This section, on the other hand, concerns the Term Year as a whole and includes (or at least, at some point it will include) charts, graphs, and statistical analysis, along with any meta-analysis or commentary I feel like including.

Intended to be a cohesive whole. So, best to start at the beginning.
2018-A1: Intro & Disclaimer
2018-A2: Data Munging
2018-A3: Opinions Authored
2018-A4: My Level of Agreement
2018-A5: Relative Agreement
2018-A6: Some Closing Notes


2018 Term Year: Case By Case

Listed in the order published by The Court.
Full case names and identifying data included on each page.


2018-00 - Introduction
Ya got to start somewhere.

2018-01 - 17-587 - Mount Lemmon Fire Department
A total nothing of a case.

2018-02 - 17-71 - Habitat
If it's not Habitat, can it be Critical Habitat? Ironically, I say yes.

2018-03 - 17-765 - Career Criminals
Might as well flip a coin. It won't be the last time.

2018-04 - 17-1660 - Qualified Immunity
Concerning the right of The People to Police those who would Police them.

2018-05 - 18-56 - Time Barred
Turns out Justice has a Sell By Date.

2018-06 - 17-773 - Lawyer Fees
Given the choice of Fixing the System or Patching It Up, The Supreme Court chooses the later.

2018-07 - 17-1272 - Arbitration
Has The Supreme Court just decided that the Legal System is not the appropriate venue in which to settle Matters of Law and other Legal Disputes?

2018-08 - 17-5554 - More Gunplay
Do the Crime. Do the Time. Also, if you're a Felon, don't go near firearms. Certainly, don't carry one around in your backpack.

2018-09 - 17-340 - More Arbitrage
Sorry. Sorry. We changed our minds. The Legal System is the appropriate venue in which to settle Matters of Arbitration... along as certain conditions are met.

2018-10 - 17-1229 - Patents
Perfect your Paper Work or you will lose your Patent.

2018-11 - 18-443 - Killing Idiots
If you are going to kill someone, it might as well be an idiot, you know, if you ask me.

2018-12 - 17-1091 - Excessive Fines
If a law has a stated Maximum Fine, that's the Maximum Fine.

2018-13 - 17-419 - Unequal Taxation
Being treated Unequal Under the Law is par for the course.

2018-14 - 18-272 - Heartbeat Required
A Life Tenure means until one retires or dies, whichever comes first.

2018-15 - 17-1094 - Fourteen
This Supreme Court Slip concerns itself with the letter of the law, which in this particular case, is the number fourteen.

2018-16 - 17-1011 - International Organizations
Who is immune from immunity? And is immunity itself a valid defence against immunity? From talking nonsense, I most certainly am not immune.

2018-17 - 17-1026 - Waiver of Appeals
In order to provide Competent Counsel, must a lawyer File a hopelessly futile Appeal?

2018-18 - 17-7505 - Forgetful
Forget the crime. Forget the time.

2018-19 - 17-571 - Copyright Registration
Registration happens at the moment of registration and not before. Like, duh.

2018-20 - 17-1042 - Railroad Workers
Calling me Politically In-Correct is likely a bit of an understatement. Also, if you try to Pigeon-Hole me, you're just going to jamb up the slot. Meaning, I could care less about the case.

2018-21 - 17-1625 - Software Copyright Infringement
A copy is a copy is a copy. And if you need to know more, read your licensing agreement.

2018-22 - 16-1498 - Taxing Indian Nations
OK. Fine. We won't tax them. How about if we charge a fee?

2018-23 - 16-1363 - Arresting Aliens
Laws should be written so a Sixth Grader can understand them... and be so few in number, a Sixth Grader could read all of them while still in Sixth Grade.

2018-24 - 17-1104 - Warning Labels
WARNING: The Supreme Court has been known to make some whoppingly bad decisions in its day.

2018-25 - 17-1307 - Debt Collectors
Who is what, where and when, but not so much why?

2018-26 - 17-961 - cy pres
Making a donation in my name is nowhere close to donating money directly to me.

2018-27 - 16-1094 - Foreign Service
One's Legal Address and where they accept mail are not always one and the same.

2018-28 - 17-949 - Alaskan Rivers
Sorry, lower courts. You were wrong... again. Why don't we handle this one for you?

2018-29 - 17-1077 - Define Make
Can we not recognize Fraud when we see it?

2018-30 - 17-1184 - Substantial Evidence
Must we reinvent the wheel at every hearing? Unfortunately, I think that we must.

2018-31 - 17-8151 - Unusual Delays
In which it is proposed that unusual pleadings will break the system.

2018-32 - 18-459 - Improvidently Granted
The Supreme Court has declined to review this case. And as such, neither shall I.

2018-33 - 17-988 - Class Arbitration
Pushing Granular Decisions at Law to a whole new level!

2018-34 - 17-1201 - The TVA
Step right up! Step right up! It's OK to sue the TVA!

2018-35 - 17-1299 - State Sovereignty
This State is My State.
That State is Your State.
Ta-da-ya yah-ya.
Ta-da-ya yah-ya.
Lawsuits were made for me and you.

2018-036 - 18-315 - Relator Limitations
Does a law say what is says? In this case, the answer is yes. Were that more often the case.

2018-37 - 17-204 - Marketplace
Are we talking about a Market or a Marketplace, because it makes a difference.

2018-38 - 17-290 - Contraindications
The government does seem to want it both ways. To totally constrain action. And then, punish one for not making the right choice... even if it is not among those actions allowed.

2018-39 - 17-532 - Hunting Rights
There's a reason his name is Wolf Bow.

2018-40 - 17-1657 - Bankruptcy
I'm sure it's based on the premise that one cannot be forced to go further in debt and allows the easier unwinding of interlinked claims.

2018-41 - 17-1174 - Arctic Man
Party! Seriously, what else do you need to know?

2018-42 - 17-1471 - Defendant
Is the Thing of a Thing still a Thing?

2018-43 - 17-1606 - Finality
This is the Final Judgement!

2918-44 - 18-483 - Rational Basis
When you stop and think about it, it's sort of an Oxymoron.

2018-45 - 17-8995 - Imprisonment
Does it apply? Yes, it does. Next question, please.

2018-46 - 18-525 - Jurisdiction
Over Law, I have none. According to The Constitution, over Myself, it is nearly absolute... well, that's the theory, anyway. Odd, how often theories are wrong.

2018-47 - 18-489 - Contempt
In the end, a Free Man must yield to no one... or he is not free.

2018-48 - 17-1484 - Notice
I hereby give notice that I have given you notice.

2018-49 - 18-389 - Filling in Holes
Every Supreme Court Case is about Filling in Holes in The Law... making The Law ever tighter, ever more convoluted, and ever more mind-numbingly stupider. All hail, The Rule of Law.

2018-50 - 17-1594 - Patently a Person
Per The Dictionary Act, Corporations are People. I wonder how this will effect the ingredient list on those new Soylent Green Bars?

2018-51 - 17-778 - Remaining In
It's not so much Breaking & Entering as Staying & Doing.

2018-52 - 18-281 - Standing
Standing requires a compensatable injury caused by some action.

2018-53 - 17-646 - Double Jeopardy
Double? Triple? How many Jeopardies do you want?

2018-54 - 16-1275 - Preemption
In a surprising twist, this decision does not preempt common sense.

2018-55 - 17-1702 - Public Access
Can I have Access to your Public?

2018-56 - 17-1705 - Unsolicited Advertising
Or is it your intent to remain ignorant about the Marketplace?

2018-57 - 17-1717 - Church & State
The Establishment Clause demands the Separation of Church & State. Good luck with that.

2018-58 - 18-485 - Statues of Limitations
The Statute of Limitation is Three Years in this particular instance... just as long as one measures that Three Years from the correct moment in time. It may just take a court to decide when that moment occurs.

2018-59 - 17-6086 - Impermissible Delegation
We have Separation of Powers for a reason.

2018-60 - 17-647 - Takings Clause
If thou takest, thou shall giveth.

2018-61 - 17-9560 - Knowingly
Did you know that you knew that you knew?

2018-62 - 18-457 - Trust Fund
Yet another example of inequity under the law.

2018-63 - 17-9572 - Voir Dire
Gaming the System: Pure and Simple!

2018-64 - 18-266 - Seaworthy
If a Ship must be fit to Sail, must a Website be fit to Read? If not, I suppose the cure is to simply not read it.

2018-65 - 18-302 - Fuct
Do certain words annoy you? Well, then, please insert a mental list of all such words right here, you ------- -------!

2018-66 - 18-481 - Free The Information
Information may well want to be free. Too bad The Government wants to keep it in chains.

2018-67 - 18-431 - Void for Vagueness
If a law is vague, it does not exist. So, class, what does this tell us about the existence of God?

2018-68 - 18-96 - Commerce Clause
A case in point as to why ever increasingly specific laws are a bad idea.

2018-69 - 18-15 - Agency Deference
The Bureaucratic State takes one on the kisser.

2018-70 - 17-1672 - Supervised Relesae
When is Parole not Parole? When it is Supervised Release, you silly goose.

2018-71 - 18-422 - Gerrymandering
Rigging The System? Nay, I am Fixing The System!

2018-72 - 18-966 - Citizenship
Even if you ask, they won't tell. So, why bother?

2018-73 - 18-6210 - Drawing Blood
Is an invasion of privacy still an invasion of privacy if the invadee is too drunk to know their privacy has been invaded.


Preliminary Stuff
and/or
Front Matter

00 - Introduction & Disclaimers
This is an Emotion Based (and/or Honour Based) work and not a legal one. I do not care about your Rule of Law.

01 - Citizens United
Read as a Test Case in preparation for the 2018 Term. I probably should get on that.


Judging the Judges
The First Post


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