National Lawyers Guild calls for Scalia to recuse himself on torture
By John Amato Friday Feb 15, 2008 2:30pm
When I read Antonin's statements to the BBC about torture I was appalled.
Justice Antonin Scalia told the BBC that “smacking someone in the face” could be justified if there was an imminent threat. “You can’t come in smugly and with great self satisfaction and say ‘Oh it’s torture, and therefore it’s no good’,” he said in a rare interview. He also accused Europe of being self-righteous over the death penalty.
I'm glad to see that the NLG is just as sickened as I am.
The National Lawyers Guild calls on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to recuse himself from any case coming before the Supreme Court involving the constitutionality of torture as an interrogation technique. In a BBC interview that aired on Tuesday, Scalia defended the use of torture to extract information from persons in custody by law enforcement officials in some cases. Although no case involving the use of torture is currently before the Court, recent events suggest that such a case may be forthcoming.
Guild President Marjorie Cohn said: “The Guild is appalled that a sitting Justice of the United States Supreme Court has ventured in a public forum his belief that it is justifiable to attempt to extract information from persons in custody by the use of torture. A justice of the highest court in the land, sworn to uphold the Constitution, whose views so undermine the fundamental right of security of the person guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, is unfit to sit on that Court.”...read on
UPDATE: via Think Progress: "The AP notes six other occasions in which Scalia’s comments have prompted calls for his recusal"
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SICK BASTARD
Ordinary Americans call for Scalia to Go F*%k himself.
I'm so sick of this bastard, I could spit.
What do you expect from the guy who thinks its okay to go on a fully paid-for duck hunt with someone who has a case pending before his court (Cheney) without any need to recuse, notwithstanding the glaring appearance of impropriety which we (lawyers) are all repeatedly taught to scrupulously avoid? Recusal? His recidivism in ethical lapses call out for resignation.
So it's okay if it's not meant as punishment? Seriously? Does that mean it's okay if I walk up to Scalia and belt him in the mouth? I'll just tell him, "It's not punishment. I just thought maybe you knew where my car keys got to."
(Attn law enforcement: that was a hypothetical comment; I don't advocate violence against people - even the elected or appointed ones)
I've asked this question a few times in blogs recently: Since some of our elected officials no longer seem to care if their actions break the law; and other elected officials have lost the backbone needed to hold the lawbreakers accountable, how can we, as citizens; legally hold our government accountable? Waiting until the election will take too long. This administration is out of control, its ideology is sociopathic at best; psychotic at worse, and its leader is insane. There has to be a legal, binding way we as citizens can take action.
Isn't there?
just one of a thousand things that makes me sick. A judge on our highest court being lead around on a leash doing tricks for Chaney/Bush.
Scalia recuses himself? When hell freezes over . . .
The more religioso the man, the more sadistic and barbaric. Bush, Lieberman, and Scalia are typical churchies - brutal thugs. Big stinking crybabies if their tribe is offended but happy to shove bamboo under the nails of their enemies. Let people be churchy if they must, but we decent people should shun them.
this is what happens when you give absolute power to someone who sees the law and the constitution only in theoretical terms
of course he also doesnt consider gitmo to be us proper...and that is a bit troublesome
but he wont recuse himself
Zog the Obvious @ 5:
Ummm...damn...I dunno...but dare I invoke the "R" word?
oh, and i have another question
during confirmation hearings, scalia and others have refused to answer questions in regards to issues where they may be asked to rule
why is it ok for them to refuse to answer these questions to congress, but ok to answer to a journalist after they are on the court
and i also guess that if one of our service people is ever tortured, scalia would be ok if that regime were not held for war crimes
So it's okay if it's not meant as punishment? Seriously? Does that mean it's okay if I walk up to Scalia and belt him in the mouth? I'll just tell him, "It's not punishment. I just thought maybe you knew where my car keys got to."
No Zog. according to him, it means the cop can punch us in the mouth because he thought we were going to run, or maybe taser you because he thinks you lied about your weight on your license.
Scalia wasn't 'fit' to be nominated,let alone confirmed and seated. But,alas, nobody asked US,did They? Except at election time,eh?
What we have to do at some point is muster that sort of zen ability to take a disaster in stride and create something great out of tragedy.
What do you expect from one of the supreme stooges that selected Bush president in 2000? Equal protection...my ass.
L.A. Confidential @ 14:
I have done This. I don't vote,therefore I have No Guilt. It works.
our govmint makes the mafia look like daycare providers.
Recuse himself? He should resign!
David Hawes @ 16:
As a Connecticut voter ,I voted for LIEberman many times. Now,that I have moved to FloriDuh,my ass still hurts. I think The Who had it right-We won't be fooled again-cuz I hate feeling a Fool.
David Hawes @ 19:
sorry about your sore ass!
Waterboard ol'Scaley and that tune will change, I guarantee it!
Attention wire tapping fascist officials: As an American citizen I fully endorse the waterboarding of Justice ol'Scaley and anybody else who has any questions about the constitutionality of waterboarding or any other form of torture. Let us make the constitutionality of such questions at hand judged by first hand experience with these activities in dispute! Let's call it; "Been there, had that done to me!".. "It was torture!".
This man cannot be more repulsive.
They shoot horses, don't they?
tyree @ 20:
David Hawes @ 24:
geeze cant a guy feel some compashion for a sore asshole?
Good! Although Scalia is likely to write another sneering letter and not recuse himself.
You bore Me and everyone else. Unfortuately,I'll go take my talents elsewhere. I don't need another worthless conversation with You. You're a creep.
"Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories" - President George W. Bush - November 10, 2001
David Hawes @ 27:
bless you!
David Hawes @ 27:
That was for tyree the mirrorkisser.
David Hawes @ 30:
oh and i hope your ass heals soon!
This freak show for a human being should recuse himself from the practice of law and the Supreme Court.
"Insanity is a perfectly natural adjustment to a totally unnatural and negative environment" - R.D. Lang
mmmmmm... if theres one thing that makes me want to lift my personal prohibition on the use of violence it is that insolent fucking pig Antonin Scalia. mmmmmm.....I hope his obese state leads to mmmmmmm..
IdahoMoe @ 1:
You said it first.
...
here is where the mafia should intervene, and cut this fat bastard's tongue and stick it on his ass.
Actually, having Scalia recuse himself from every torture case from now on would be fantastic... because once Bush & Cheney are gone, we are bound to have these cases go to court. Imagine mister bigot lardass ruling against a torture case because "it was just a slap in the face". I hope to hell he is forced to recuse himself.
File it all under "67 honest senators." That is when we can impeach this goon.
nieddu @ 36:
He looks better with a Columbian necktie.
left of center @ 12:
I posted a sarcastic response -- "Feh. You've heard of "hyperbole", haven't you? ;)" -- before something told me to re-read your reply and I caught your reference to lying about your weight and I realized you were indulging in that very same hyperbole.
... guess that means you win the virtual kewpie doll.
Is it possible to disbar a sitting judge? Can this be done? If one loses their license to practice law, can they continue to judge?
Billy Bob @ 38:
As an Italian, I shall not get offended by your archaic "goon" remark
Supremes can be impeached, too! ITMFA!!!
The whole doctrine of originalism, like rigid federalism, so zealously adhered to by Scalia and his ilk, can be discarded when necessary to achieve the "right" outcome.
More here.
nieddu @ 42:
I didn't realize the term "goon" was a referrence in any way to those of Italian descent ?
If so , I apologize if I ever used that term , too
There is absolutely no question that Scalia has a moral obligation to recuse himself in this case. I applaud the NLG for standing up for what is clearly right in this case.
However - a sense of moral obligation has not stopped Scalia from inserting himself inappropriately in cases where this has been true in the past.
He's an aberration. He's a human being without a soul. Wait a minute ... I guess that just makes him a re-PIG-lican. Emphasis on the PIG portion of that.
*
Patriot Scholar @ 41:
He can be impeached.
*
Excellent! The lawyers have started to wake up, and realize the problem is with the leadership in the legal community. Let's hear it for an ethics investigation into Scalia. It is a problem if the Supreme Court says, "We can only review ourselves, and if we do not recuse ourself, that is final". Scalia has allegedly made reckless comments raising doubts about his willingness to enforce the Geneva Conventions.
Geneva bars all abuse. Period. Yet, Scalia's comments suggest he think abuse is "OK", and this contradicts Geneva. Rather, the problem isn't whether or not the POWs should or shouldn't be abused -- they should not -- but whether the Supreme Court jsutice that refuses to enforce Geneva, as Scalia allgedly says he will not, will or will not be prosecuted. The Justice Trial at Nuremberg was about the same thing: Prosecuting judicial officers, prosecutors, attorneys, and judges who refused to enforce the Geneva Conventions.
Scalia, if brought before the justice Trial in the 1940s, might have been prosecuted for war crimes. There is no reason any American should have confidence in the US judicial system. This leadership condones war crimes. Indeed, Scalia could and should be impeached for his alleged stated policy not to enforce Geneva.
It appears this man is contemptible, and unprincipled. Both he and Clarence Thomas are unfit for the seats on the court they occupy, considering their public statements. Clearly the statue with the scales of justice has her blindfold missing in these men's minds.
MCMetal @ 45:
No worries mate, apology accepted.....I was not aware either of this derogatory appellation, till my Irish-American wife told me so.
we need to remove this fat fucking demented bastard from
the supreme court. he is as embarrassing as the president.
Scalia Pro-Torture stance not new:
Scalia has also promoted Torture as punishment in the past.
The National Lawyers Guild has forgotten that Scalia's recent statement about punishment is a flip-flop from one of his dissenting positions on a torture case by guards at a state penitentiary several years ago. In that case he promoted torture as punishment for inadequate work.
# 5 Zog the Obvious; # 10 liberalNmoderation; and # 12 Left of Center, you might remember Scalia mocking the case brought on behalf of the prisoner (I can't remember if it was in Ala., Miss, or LA) who was strung up by his wrists in temperatures ~100 degrees and left unconscious for much of the day after guards determined he wasn't working hard enough. Scalia's comment was:
Can anyone can redirect me back to that case (? '02 -'03) so I can refresh my memory? Sure would appreciate it.
Anyone who is sick of the corporatocracy and believes there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans should always thing of Scalia and the current make-up of the Supreme Court. There are four out of nine justices that have show strong support for the bogus "unitary theory of the executive" which is dictatorship by any other name.
There have been a number of 5 to 4 votes where this country has avoided unchecked dictatorship in the true sense of the word.
Therefore we put the very existence of the United States as anything but a tyranny in extreme danger if any Republican is elected to the presidency for at least 30 years. (I should have said 'if any Republican is made president by any means').
Spread the word, Wake up the couch-potatoes, the defrauded Republican voters, the Independents. Elect only Democrats (or Independents if possible) not beholding to corporations (i.e. not DLCers unless a Republican is the only alternative) to the presidency or to either house of Congress until the Supreme court is safe.
Peace,
JQ
Please pardon all the typos in my post.
They should read:
"Can anyone redirect me back to that case?"
"...should always think of Scalia.."
etc.
Sorry, Thanks,
JQ
Scalia is nothing but a facist pig.
I really despise that man.
Antonin Scalia is not mentally or intellectually fit to be on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Scalia belongs locked up in a state psychiatric facility with the criminally insane.
Scalia is a shining example that Americans work alongside sociopaths and psychopaths daily without often even realizing it. Scalia is a very mentally disturbed person and I do not give a rat's ass what bench he sits on.
Scalia is not fit to be a judge of anyone. As a matter of fact this guy Scalia _______________________......fill in the blank yourself---you know what I mean....not worth much of a person and belongs in the same category with any sadistic serial murderer/rapist in any prison today.
Remember there is often a fine line between the "real criminals" and those who put them behind bars. American society has certainly been degraded thanks to the right wing sickos in America that bow and kiss the ring of this P.O.S. Scalia.
Scalia is an asshole. There's no nice way to say it.
There has been growing support for changing the Constitution's section for the Supreme Court. It received quite a bit of ink in 2005. I suspect most of you are aware of short-comings in the current system. I saved a few links from back then. This one is from USA Today and is a short op-ed. It mainly deals with lifetime tenure-ships. But, it also briefly touches on other peripheral issues as well.
While reading the articles, and op-eds, it was clear that remedies would almost always find resistance from some (or many) groups. SCOTUS has become too involved with public policy. They have exceeded their primary purpose; to interpret the Constitution. During my lifetime, Scalia is one of the worse judges to sit on the bench. IMHO, it is not within his scope of responsibility, to determine what is, or is not torture. The Geneva Convention says that it is, and we are by our own hands bound to honor that, regardless of what he thinks about it personally.
Judicial code of conduct applies to lower court judges and is a mere suggestion for supreme court judges. The constitutional code of conduct does apply. Impeach him and thomas for good measure. This is why the repubs fix the voting machines because we probability elected more than 67 senators but we can't have that now can we?
How about "immediate resignation"?
MacDaKnife @ 58:
Absolutely. The guy is fucking deranged and believes he can make the laws for the whole world.
Sale of Government Properties,ILEP and the Judges
In my letter to the Prez i try to point out the case of the ILEP racketeering and the Judges involved, everyone should check the story at examiner.com/ (link below)
,but i know that the White House is run by the neocon team of Bolten,Abrams and Kellner-Kaplan-Braunstein,they will never Investigate and also that we will get hit again and John "HGH" McCain will get in with Lieberman , Bloomberg and Emanuel and then he will do pufffff ! from so much enhancing and the neocons will take over, what a criminal shame !
Dear President Bush, these are issues were your leadership is needed:
a) the House and Senate are pushing forward Legislation to streamline
the process to sell , in only 30 to 90 days , about 20.000 USA Government Properties around the country,empty or in disrepair and
worth 17 billion dollars, " Real Property Disposal Pilot , 2009 Budget " , W.Post,Feb.8.08, before it had to have 13 different reviews to
approve one sale,the new fast streamlined process is being pushed by the Congress Committees, so we know the "grease and juice" is in
motion, in other words,when the D.C .Congress Committee's get excited,
better hold on to your pocket,call the cops and tie down the properties before they fly for pennies to Bermuda,Cayman Islands and
beyond...its racket time ,big time !!!.....so , if we could have an honest sale, the Taxpayers could make some money, but since it's the
last year in a Presidents term,we know its "clean-up time" and "connected time", it's nightmare and beyond, could you please keep
one eye on it ? and keep the "sticky fingers of the neocons" in D.C.
away from the cake ?
b) Amtrak needs only 1.7 billion a year to do its thing and do it good,but some politicians would like to cut the money,let the rails
go down and build condos and offices on the tracks and stations,after
all,they use helicopters and jets to make deals,but for the rest of
America,Amtrak and Light Rails is a "no-brainer",and with 7 billion
more over 3-5 years , what we spend in 2 weeks in Iraq and Afghanistan, Amtrak can have a total upgrade, for rail , engines and
cars, and service everywhere, just what any other country can only dream about ,and right here in the USA we can have it , could you and
only for your Legacy, make sure Amtrak/Local Rails are upgraded,tune-
up and ready to go for another 50 years ? we could test fuelcells,coal-
to-gas-to-liquid , electric,hybrids,etc., what a chance !
c) in the FCC auctions, the Safety spectrum,D Block,has no takers so
far , and just 1.3 billion is needed, and since the whole auction took
in 19 billion instead of the expected 10 billion, , why not do it
right ? ,right now ? and give all Police,Fire, First Responders,etc., a tip-top communications system ? a first class network ?
if you notice,these 3 vital issues, require only what we spend in one
month in Iraq and Afghanistan, and can be paid with the sale ,honest
one ,of the Government properties above mentioned , so it's a matter
of getting organized and making sure the "sticky fingers " don't stick
on anything, can you make sure it gets done right ?...just by keeping
the usual neocons away, its 99% done.
and thanks for including in the Budget still debated , money back for
clean fusion reactors, http://www.iter.org/ the sun energy, America as invested good money in fusion and we are getting closer,let's
get the technology to work and let's hope the Oil Lobby does not "delete"
the funding from the final Legislation, and thanks also for some Money
to clean-up and recycle nuclear waste, too bad the FutureGen Project got erased by Sec.Bodman at Energy, well we know he is a good neocon that on
ly cares for oil and gas,tokeep the USA stuck in the Middle East and sending money to Israel and Saudi Arabia,we know that !
Training of
carpenters,plumbers,electricians,masons,engineers and architects in the new solar homes with thermal tubes,concentrators
and PV panels,with turbines and batteries,with hydrogen fuelcells, with
plug-ins for the cars,with ethanol,with geothermal,with fusion and
with coal to gas to liquid capturing carbon dioxide is vital, can you
please get on with it ? this year LeMans car racing series run with
E-85 , so if they can,why not the rest of the country? why not you ?
d) in the wireless world, America is losing ground and now we find out
in the Media, W.Post,NYT,WSJ on Feb.11.08 that Motorola is about to sell a mayority stake in its wireless network systems to Nortel, now
run by Zafirovski, the same guy who almost wrecked Motorola before,and
Motorola wireless networks are part of the Government and Military
infrastructure, how can they sell it to a neocon like Zafirovski and
with his prior record? ...........and Comcast is at it again with snooping, with deep packet inspection with whatever intent(!!!) ,
with slowdown in service of anybody in competition with its own video
offerings,etc.,so we got a real problem, we are going backwards
instead of forward, can you save Motorola and set Comcast and its
neocons straight? , because Washington D.C. is busy with other
things ike wealthy baseball players ,steroids , HGH and gossip....so what
about old politicians running for office with sudden muscle build-up
and sudden massive energy attacks ?
e)The whole Housing Market collapse is because owners can't afford the mortgage,plus utilities and gasoline to go to work,we should have
switched to solar and wind turbine homes with electric plug-in cars and hydrogen fuelcells with gas as fuel years ago , but Washington
D.C. is so corrupt with Oil Lobby Money and the neocons keeping us
addicted to that Oil so that we have to keep our troops in the Middle
East and sending them money that we don't have any money left to move the country forward and free from this stupid -------, what a
criminal shame !
f) As you well know, the Chukchi Sea between the USA and Russia in Alaska has about 10 to 15 billion barrels of oil and gas, could we
make a massive deal with Russia and , saving the whales , the bears
and their herds with pathways and food sources,go down with great care and without spills and get the stuff up? we need new ships, new
drill technics, new platforms,new partnerships with Norway and Sweden that
have experience, etc., why not do something smart for a change? , insted of constant fights with everybody, why not try smart energy
partnerships until we can get out of the Oil and Gas Dependency? and never mind Joshua Bolten and Berman and Abrams, you are a big guy
now, you don't need to do always what the neocons from the Mossad advise
you to do , right? ...i know you will never do it, but at least i try...
g) just to show you how corrupt some of these friendly neocons are ,
check the http://www.examiner.com/ series on ILEP and Milberg Weiss
the 13,14, and 15 of February ,2008 , Lawyers gone Wild,
http://www.examiner.com/a-1222532~Are_they_hiding_something_.html?cid=
, were we find out that Judges and Trial Lawyers were really working
as a team, all the way to the Bank, and this is just the tip of the iceberg...by the way, Michael Mukasey was also a guest of the
ILEP...so why not break a while from the neocons and really do something new and wonderful for America?
h) On Geothermal, so may projects here and there are working great but
disconnected, why not a National Plan ? power plants of 300 to 1000-kilowatts can be set up with just 160 F underground water,why not
launch a national infrastructure? Popular Mechanics has a great
story this month,
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4245896.html, what a way to go Energy Independent!
As Monsanto controls 88 % of all the Genetically Modified seeds and we
still don't have Genetic,Chemical and Clone Labeling in all our foods,
i hope your trip to Africa provides all of us with new Trade,Commerce
and Friendship opportunities,as well as a new GI Bill for veterans here at home,we need new ideas and smart new entrepeneurs, training
and capital is the key and you still got 11 months left to do wonders.
If he had recused himself in Bush vs. Gore, the USA would not be torturing "folks"
This guy should recuse himself from the Supreme Court. He's the perfect reason for term limits.
The Constitution does not literally say you can't shove a broom up a Supreme Court Justice's ass, either, if you think it might improve the lot of ordinary Americans, but I think Scalia would find something wrong with that as a First Amendment freedom issue.
Most (68.3958%) of the public believes judges are fair and impartial. Silly people.
spuorgoohay @ 62:
Spuor old buddy,
No need to write short letters to the Prez. Next time just let it all out.
Why recuse him? If we are going to torture, he should be part of it. Strap 'em down I say.
Funny... the Italian-Americans I know (Well, most of them. It IS Brooklyn, after all.) do everything they can to distance themselves from acting like the gang on the Sopranos. Here we have a Justice of the Supreme Court doing everything but calling for "a f---ing whacking". What a disgrace!
If you'll recall, Scalia in Lawrence vs Kansas objected in horror to striking down sodomy laws on the grounds that it might decriminalize masturbation. (And who can forget Gilbert Gottfried's famous crack to the effect that, if masturbation is illegal then "By the time I was fourteen I was Al Capone!"?) Yet Scalia shrugs his shoulder at torture. Few things sums up conservative mishegos better than that: Masturbation bad. Torture defensible.
This is one of the biggest assholes ever in the Surpeme Court. He should resign, which I know won't happen, or a better way, he should be impeacehed. He is so dumb, he should be set up easyly.
Doesn't anyone else realize that the size of the supreme court is not limited by the Constitution? It is only limited by laws passed by congress, therefore if you wanted to, you could increase the size to eleven, and put a few more sane judges on the bench, or decrease the amount and take off a few insane ones.
Was there ever a conservative who wasn't a sorry SOB?
Can we go ahead and remove this sorry peice of shit already? If he can't be impeached by congress he should be disbarred.
Your honor, you have none.
This barbarian is on the United States Supreme Court?
the supreme court is the most untouchable of the three branches of government. there are no time restrictions either for age or for length in office. short of resigning himself or his own health issues the only thing that can remove him is impeachment.
they all know this, hence scalia's outrageous pronouncements on torture, hence thomas's nutso oh bew hew hew oh woe is me idon'twannabehere lament crapola. they both know there's no way they're going to get called on it. in the real world in real jobs, both these nits would be out on their asses already and they know it.
What a creepy,evil SOB.
nieddu @ 50:
I think there's a confusion here between "goon" and "goombah."
"Goon" is probably derived from "gooney," an old word for a stupid person. It obtained its meaning of "thug" from the character "Alice the Goon" in the comic strip "Thimble Theater," the one featuring Popeye, Olive Oyl, Wimpy, et al.
"Goombah" is probably a linguisltic corruption of a southern Italian familiarity for "friend" but has taken on a sense of criminal associations or conduct and a number of Italians object to the term for that reason.
Too bad he doesn't recuse himself from life.