Friday, February 13, 2009

The Notorious liberal ninth circuit court

According to New York Times, "The California prison system must reduce overcrowding by as many as 55,000 inmates within three years to provide a constitutional level of medical and mental health care, a federal three-judge panel tentatively ruled Monday."

Judge Stephen Reinhardt is amazing. A Carter appointee with a degree from Yale, his credentials are impressive. He is described as "ideological, outlandish, and never dull." In some sense, he resembles Alan Shore in Boston Legal. The ninth circuit has received much criticism from conservatives. A proposal to divide the ninth circuit into several parts was discussed a few years ago. The politically liberal San Francisco headquarters the ninth circuit court, whose decisions are often reversed by the supreme court. In 2002, the court has ruled the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional under the First Amendment due to its inclusion of the phrase "under God."

According to weeklystandard.com, "His flamboyance notwithstanding, Reinhardt is influential with his colleagues. One reason is that he is undeniably smart. Says Judge Trott, 'The competition of ideas is at a very high level when [Reinhardt] is involved.'" "Reinhardt is known for picking the sharpest, most liberal law-school graduates he can find."