that said, i don't like this new chief justice much, and don't like his arguments much, either. he strikes me as kind of a hack, and maybe the best example of critical legal theory that i've ever seen.

there wasn't any good reason to defer specifically to "peace, order and good government", which is this goofy phrase that nobody else in the history of the country has ever taken remotely seriously. i mean, it's a joke.

the reality is that the law simply doesn't infringe on the division of powers, and the ruling should have just kept to the point. by using this stupid phrase that makes everybody cringe, he's putting in place a can of worms - it's giving the federal government almost free reign.

it follows that while the outcome of the ruling is correct, the ruling itself could create a lot of problems down the road, as the government cites this broad authority to overrule the division of powers, something that wasn't in any way necessary to put in place in order to uphold the law.

i was sorry to see beverly mclaughlin go and expected a bad chief justice to replace her. in a sense, it's a function of how long she was in control for. but, as with everything else, the fact is that the pmo fucked this up - they let the conservatives pick the justice. idiots....

let's just hope this new guy doesn't make it to 75 and the next one is better, and reflects a better process put in place to pick it.