Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Case for Scalia Recusal Becomes Overwhelming

Posted on February 5, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

The LA Times gets the scoop:

  • The Vice President's office paid for Justice Scalia's plane trip to the now-notorious duck hunt
  • At least one of Justice Scalia's children also flew on Air Force 2, although the article doesn't say who paid for that ticket
  • In what looks a lot like a sign of guilty consciences, photographers were not allowed to take pictures of the Veep and the Justice deplaning, but were allowed to take pictures a few days later, when the Veep, this time not accompanied by the Justice, was boarding the aircraft.

I'm not saying that every single time a Justice in the course of things related to their official duties gets something of value from the White House they should pay for it, even if the White House has an important case before the court. If, for example, a Justice goes to a state dinner, s/he should not be expected to pay for the meal.

This is totally different. It's a personal not an official thing.

Traditionally the legal definition of chutzpah was 'killing your parents and throwing yourself on the mercy of the court because you are an orphan'. Maybe it's time to redefine it as 'going on a private hunting trip partly paid for by the Vice President's office, then sitting to hear a challenge to the legality of secret meetings held by the Vice President.'

I am certain that history will be brutal to these people, but that's rather cold comfort.

Posted in Law: Ethics | 2 Comments

Google By Voice (Idea for Cell Phones?)

Posted on February 5, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Google has an interesting-looking Voice Search Demo online. The way it says it works is that you call the number, say your query then go to a link that will have your search results.

As far as I can tell, the current demo doesn't address the issue of how a system that supported multiple simultaneous users would match users with output (caller ID? cookies? dedicated dialup?) but it seems like Google is thinking ahead to the needs of cell phone surfers….

Posted in Internet | Comments Off on Google By Voice (Idea for Cell Phones?)

They Get You for the Coverup

Posted on February 4, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Below, in an update, I linked to Phil Carter's explanation of what records should exist of GW Bush's military service.

Now comes a respectable reporter and blogger with tales that suggest that these exact records may not exist, or might have been “sanitized.” It sounds like a tinfoil hat kind of suggestion…until you read the various evidence and hearsay assembled by David Neiwert at Orcinus. Then you may be seized by considerable doubt.

Hiding evidence is one thing. Shredding it and falsifying it is another. And in our recent history, we tend to get politicians for the cover up more often than the underlying offense.

This does not make me feel good at all. I actually find myself hoping it is not true, because I think it could tear the country apart. And I can certainly understand why reporters may be reluctant to look into this and set off the avalanche. Breaking Presidents gets to be too much of a habit after a while, and next thing you know you are living in an unstable society akin to a bannana republic.

Yet, these questions will not go away. And if any of this stuff is true then the country deserves to know it. In fact, if none of it is true, we'll all be better off for knowing that beyond a doubt.

The Bush administration has shown this week that when scared it bends to pressure. Not only are they setting up a commission to report back after the election on the Iraqi intelligence (and many other) issues, but today they announced that the 9/11 commission will be extended 60 days.

What sort of pressure will it take to get them to release whatever military records exist?

Posted in Politics: US: GW Bush Scandals | Comments Off on They Get You for the Coverup

After 2.5 Years in the Brig, One of the American Disappeared Gets to See His Lawyer (but isn’t allowed to answer questions)

Posted on February 4, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

After two and a half years in the brig, one of the American Disappeared gets to see his lawyer, and learns he has a case, but the meeting is stuffed with military witnesses and taped, and he can't answer questions.

Recall that guilty or innocent, Hamdi is a US citizen. Captured in Afghanistan and brought to the US, the Bush people treat him as neither POW nor criminal. He gets no Geneva convention rights, nor any of the rights of a citizen. Although the facts of this case are not quite as raw as the Padilla case, they are troubling indeed.

How can anyone who says s/he's a conservative and cares about freedom or believes in a strict construction of the Constitution even contemplate voting for the Bush/Cheney/Ashcroft government when it says that says its policy is that it can arrest anyone it decides is dangerous, and can hold a citizen without formally charging them, incommunicado, indefinitely?

Terror Suspect, Attorneys Meet for 1st Time: Federal Public Defender Frank W. Dunham Jr. emerged from the one-hour meeting with Yaser Esam Hamdi, whom the government has declared an “enemy combatant,” and said he was pleased to finally see the man whose case he has litigated — sight unseen — for more than two years.

“This was becoming a hypothetical case to us, and now were are reminded it's about a human being who happens to be a U.S. citizen,” Dunham said. “Seeing the client in person, being able to put a human face on this case, had an effect on me that is not measurable.”

Dunham and Assistant Federal Public Defender Geremy Kamens delivered legal papers and newspaper articles to Hamdi, who Dunham said seemed equally happy to see his attorneys. “I'm sure it made an impression on a client who has been looking down a lightless tunnel for 21/2 years, not knowing anyone is doing anything for him, and now he knows that he has a case in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

But Dunham continued his criticism of the restrictions placed on the meeting at the Charleston Consolidated Naval Brig in South Carolina. Under guidelines drafted by Pentagon lawyers, military observers attended and recorded the meeting, and Dunham was not allowed to question Hamdi about the conditions of his confinement. “We were not able to talk about anything substantive,” Dunham said.

Legal experts said the meeting was significant amid a debate over the Bush administration's handling of the war on terrorism and with the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled to take up Hamdi's case in April. Hamdi is the first of the three people known to have been designated enemy combatants by the military to meet with an attorney.

Posted in Civil Liberties | Comments Off on After 2.5 Years in the Brig, One of the American Disappeared Gets to See His Lawyer (but isn’t allowed to answer questions)

What It Would Look Like if Sen. Daschle Found His Spine

Posted on February 4, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

If Sen Daschle, the vanishing Senate vanishing Minority Leader were to find his spine, it might look like this.

But of course instead we have to all sing along with this.

Posted in Politics: US | Comments Off on What It Would Look Like if Sen. Daschle Found His Spine

Specs vs. Weblogs

Posted on February 4, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

[dive into mark] explains the difference:

Specs are things with important-sounding words like “W3C Recommendation”, “RFC 2616”, or “ISO 8879” at the top. Weblogs are things with cat pictures at the top.

Posted in Internet | Comments Off on Specs vs. Weblogs