Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Nevilledog

(55,082 posts)
Sat Jun 12, 2021, 12:47 AM Jun 2021

Why Does Elena Kagan Keep Roasting Brett Kavanaugh?



Tweet text:
Slate
@Slate
Kagan ridiculed Kavanaugh for complaining about “how unfair it is” that he lost.

Why Does Elena Kagan Keep Roasting Brett Kavanaugh?
The justice’s latest opinion may be an ominous sign for Supreme Court’s upcoming blockbusters.
slate.com
9:27 PM · Jun 11, 2021


https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/06/elena-kagan-brett-kavanaugh-borden.html

The Supreme Court is quiet. Too quiet. It is almost mid-June, and the court has yet to release any blockbuster decisions. What’s going on?

The simple answer is also the obvious one: These cases have sharply divided the justices, who are still circulating majority opinions, concurrences, and dissents between chambers, sniping at each other in acid footnotes that belie their public claims of collegiality, civility, and mutual respect. That’s nothing new; tempers frequently flare as the court completes its work for the term (usually by late June). This anger often boils over into smaller decisions that don’t grab headlines, but provide clues of what’s coming down the pike. On Thursday, the Supreme Court released such a decision. And while the outcome is progressive, the opinions themselves hint that the liberal justices are bracing for a wipeout in the coming weeks.

Thursday’s decision, Borden v. United States, is not the kind of case that usually grabs headlines. It involves yet another dispute about the Armed Career Criminal Act, or ACCA, a federal law that consumes a shocking amount of the Supreme Court’s time. ACCA imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence on people who are found guilty under federal law of illegally possessing a firearm if they were previously convicted of three “violent felonies” under state law. But every state has a different criminal code, and their definitions of a “violent felony” don’t map neatly onto ACCA’s. The law’s “elements clause” defines a “violent felony” as “the use” of “physical force against the person of another.” In Borden, the court had to decide whether a “reckless” offense—as opposed to one committed with criminal intent—falls under this definition.

Again: This case is not the stuff of breaking news chyrons. But Justice Elena Kagan drew more attention to Borden than it might have otherwise received by relentlessly owning Justice Brett Kavanaugh at every turn. Kagan did not just rebuke Kavanaugh’s dissent; she ridiculed it with the wry incandescence of a stand-up comedian shutting down a heckler.

*snip*

12 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

Hekate

(100,133 posts)
1. Behind the scenes: "sniping at each other in acid footnotes"
Sat Jun 12, 2021, 12:50 AM
Jun 2021


And more:
Presumably, while she and Kavanaugh were going back-and-forth behind the scenes, Kagan recognized that her colleague had not taken well to her roasting. She could have toned it down, but instead seems to have amped it up. Her opinion in Borden does not evince deep concern for Kavanaugh’s feelings or respect for his intellect. Like Sotomayor, Kagan sounds as if she is done trying to appease Kavanaugh, to woo him over to her side.

msfiddlestix

(8,178 posts)
3. I like this writers style, saucy metaphors and other descriptors, makes it enjoyable reading.
Sat Jun 12, 2021, 01:06 AM
Jun 2021

No respect for his intellect? Well there isn't evidence Kavanaugh is in possession of any to respect.

Volaris

(11,705 posts)
5. Sounds to me like Brett is being a whiny bitch, acting the butthurt snowflake just cause he lost one
Sat Jun 12, 2021, 01:24 AM
Jun 2021

And Kagen ain't playin that. If you cant handle losing one now and again, dont be here. And for damn sure dont fuckin cry about it. Time to take it like a grown assed man, Brett.

mitch96

(15,805 posts)
10. "Brett is being a whiny bitch, acting like a butthurt snowflake"
Sat Jun 12, 2021, 09:47 AM
Jun 2021

Her way of expressing Backpfeifengesicht...... a face that needs to be punched...Bravo!!
m

rampartc

(5,835 posts)
9. snark aside, kagan is pointing at the "original intent" believer
Sat Jun 12, 2021, 07:31 AM
Jun 2021

who wants to change a word or 2 to "presto" make the law read the way he wants it to.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Why Does Elena Kagan Keep...