For SCOTUS wonks

[drwex]

WTF is wrong with Justice Kennedy? I can understand Scalitomas - they're ideologs clinging to their ideology. Roberts... I don't get him. But Kennedy ought to know better. Really. Why is he so interested in pursuing governmental "efficiency" (*cougheminentdomaincough*) over individuals' rights?

(Context: SCOTUS just basically said "if you're a whistle-blower, expect to get screwed". See http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/05/31/justices_limit_whistle_blower_rights/)

Comments

More and Less than that

[feste-sylvain.livejournal.com]

I just commented on this as well. Kennedy has been a fervent supporter of the first amendment, so this came as quite a shock. But if you read the actual decision (which my entry links to), you'll find a technocratic reading of public employee contractual obligation.

It's as if one of your former employers actually tried to enforce every last letter of the "No Compete" clause, and the judge managed to miss a decade or so of precedent which invalidated it.

Re: More and Less than that

[drwex]

Yes, I saw your entry and skimmed the decision. I think your reading is correct, but doesn't explain Kennedy (who's generally assumed to be liberal, at least insofar as that term applies to SCOTUS) and what he's doing on the wrong sides of these decisions.

Re: More and Less than that

[gsh]

You are the first person I've seen refer to Kennedy as a liberal, except for the John Birchers.