US Supreme Court

It has been widely reported that Sen. John McCain has promised to appoint Supreme Court Justices in the model of John Roberts (see right) and Samuel Alito (see left). Of course this sends a signal that Roe v. Wade is again under attack, and that other medical procedures, genetic research and biomedical research will be curtailed. He proposes a conservative-leaning “Justice Advisory Committee.” The group will be chaired by former solicitor general Ted Olson and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback and will include Robert P. George, a Princeton University professor who is a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics known for his pro-life movement activities. But Alito and Roberts are also pro-business and anti-worker activists, so this promise is welcome code to both the family values and the corporate wings of the Republican coalition.

Access to justice was the big loser in the US Supreme Court on Monday when the court upheld Indiana’s voter identification law, Crawford v. Indiana. Beyond

Stumptown Earth First! banner on Burnside Bridge (over Willamette in Portland) (April 1, 2008).

In a ruling earlier this week which may give some support to LNG terminal opponents in Oregon, the US Supreme Court sided with the State of Delaware. DE had refused to permit a four mile long liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal proposed by energy giant BP on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. The terminal would receive 150 or more ships yearly, each carrying a large cargo of super-chilled fuel. The case was unusual in several ways, and may have limited impact in other disputes.