Stephen Breyer robbed at West Indies vacation home
WASHINGTON A Supreme Court spokeswoman says Justice Stephen Breyer was robbed last week by a machete-wielding intruder at his vacation home in the West Indies.
Spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Breyer, wife Joanna and guests were confronted by the robber around 9 p.m. EST Thursday in the home Breyer owns on the Caribbean island of Nevis. Arberg said the intruder took about $1,000 in cash and no one was hurt.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72814.html#ixzz1mIbN5CWt
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,660 posts)That HAD to be really scary.
I hope everyone is OK.
And I hope they catch the intruder.
CAPHAVOC
(1,138 posts)RebelOne
(30,947 posts)In fact, at that time, the most serious crime was a home robbery, according to the local newspapers.
CAPHAVOC
(1,138 posts)Do not go. They will cut your throat. Look what just went on in Nevis.
former9thward
(32,046 posts)The Supreme Court is out of session and on vacation from the beginning of June to the beginning of October. That is four months.
onenote
(42,724 posts)I'm pretty sure there is internet communication in Nevis and that Breyer could be reviewing opinions drafted by his clerks while in Nevis.
former9thward
(32,046 posts)They do about 50 cases a year out of the thousands that are appealed to them. The SC has become very lazy and this is just an example.
onenote
(42,724 posts)The court receives around 10,000 appeals a year these days. Far from becoming "lazy" -- that's a huge increase over the caseload of just a few decades ago. In 1960, it was under 2500 appeals. The court doesn't just "do" around 50 cases. From 2005 through 2010, the court averaged 82 full written opinions per year -- that's thousands of pages of written and researched material. Another 80 or 90 cases are disposed of by the full court, but without a full opinion. The remaining appeals are denied based on recommendations from the justices' clerks.
The clerks do most of the research and initial drafting, but the justices themselves have a significant workload in reviewing the memoranda and drafts prepared by their clerks, reviewing opinions circulated by the other justices, editing their own opinions, dissents and concurrences.
They are in no way "lazy". Stop by your local library and see if they have a set of Supreme Court reporters. See how thick the volumes are for recent court terms compared to court terms from a few decades ago.
former9thward
(32,046 posts)I have seen enough for a lifetime, thank you. The court takes about 1% of the cases that are presented to it. Yes, the opinions are lengthy but they don't have to be. The number of cases the court has taken has decreased significantly over the years. I would rather see more cases taken and the number of pages in the opinion go down. If you think a job that has a four month vacation plus countless other breaks is hard work then there is nothing I can say.
onenote
(42,724 posts)As you acknowledge, opinions are lengthy. Indeed, they are much much lengthier than they used to be. In the 1950's the median length of a decision was around 2000 words. In recent years the median length of the majority opinion alone is more than twice that -- over 4700 words. And there are a lot more dissents and concurring opinions than in the past. The median length of a decision (majority and all separate opinions) in 2009 was over 8200 words. So yes, the court is hearing fewer oral arguments and issuing full court decisions in fewer cases than back in the 60's. And yes, I agree that it would be better if the court didn't have such lengthy opinions or as many dissents or concurrences and instead decided more cases. But its hard to argue that they're "lazier" than before given the increased number of opinions and the increased length of those opinions.
Also, the "four month vacation" is something of a misnomer. The court officially convenes in public session on the first Monday of October and adjourns at the end of June. However, it holds at least one conference in September. Which is why it is able, on that first public session date, to issue hundreds of rulings, mostly denials of cert, but also summary rulings reversing or affirming cases without argument, denying or granting motions, etc etc. And its not as if the members of the court show up for that September conference without having spent time reviewing memoranda on and discussing with their clerks the cases that are going to be considered and/or discussed at that conference. And while the court stops hearing oral arguments in April (so that it has time to complete work on those ridiculously long opinions before the end of the session in late June or early July, it continues to meet weekly in public session through the last week of June and has conferences through that period as well. July and August are indeed generally "vacation" months, but as noted, its not as if appeals aren't coming in and being reviewed and summarized by clerks throughout the summer and its not as if the Justices aren't involved in what their clerks are doing throughout that period. Indeed, orders granting or denying stays, and other procedural motions are issued by the court or individual justices all through July and August.
Finally, to varying degrees, the Justices also spend time giving speeches and lectures to law schools, bar associations, etc. For example, despite her bouts with cancer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has given, on average, one lecture/speech per month every year for the past six years. These only include appearances that involve travel away from DC for which she is reimbursed, not local appearances. These appearances occurred both during the court's October - June "session" and outside the bounds of that session. From my perspective, which you may or may not share, giving speeches and lectures, even when you can't be paid for them (which is typically the case for SCOTUS Justices) is not "vacation" time.
In short, I think you are mistaken if you think being a Supreme Court justice is an easy job or that justices are "lazy." These folks didn't get to where they are by being slackers and they don't become slackers when they reach the court.
former9thward
(32,046 posts)In law school I had courses which were taught by two Justices, one current and one retired. (The current one taught in the summer break). Even though I disagree with their politics they both did a good job with the subject matter. I think the length of opinions contributes to more ambiguity in the meaning of the law. When you write long enough someone can always find something to hang their hat on. I blame most of this on the Chief Justices in recent decades. They have a great deal of influence in administration of the court and I think they should make it leaner.
onenote
(42,724 posts)Plus it takes an ungodly amount of time to read through many decisions plus the dissenting and concurring opinions. Concurrences in particular bug me because they almost always make the state of the law less clear rather than more clear.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Glad everyone's okay.
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)I wonder what the SC might be taking up that Rove wants to go his way.
Bluzmann57
(12,336 posts)Or not.
Maybe Breyer just got robbed by street criminals. I think a pertinent question might be why was he carrying so much cash? Don't thet take credit and/or debit cards down there?
Ian David
(69,059 posts)However, traveler's checks are nice.
morningfog
(18,115 posts)Justice Breyer, his wife and guests were robbed. $1,000 total were taken. No mention of the money breakdown. And, it was in his home. It isn't like he was walking down the street with $1,000 in hi pocket.
onenote
(42,724 posts)It wouldn't be surprising that between them they had a grand. When I travel to the Caribbean, I use credit cards a lot, but I also bring along a sufficient supply of cash for purchases at local shops that don't always take credit cards and to pay for cabs etc.
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)Bluzmann57
(12,336 posts)Neither do you.
Ter
(4,281 posts)...As long as you won't miss it if it's lost or stolen. And he won't.
Bosso 63
(992 posts)They probably do from now on.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Justice Bryer has said in a Supreme Court opinion:
I can find nothing in the Second Amendments text, history, or underlying rationale that could warrant characterizing it as fundamental insofar as it seeks to protect the keeping and bearing of arms for private self-defense purposes.
ellisonz
(27,711 posts)You think that this is karma. You think if he had used a firearm in self-defense this would have resulted in a better outcome? I think if anything the peaceful outcome shows the wisdom of non-violence. Furthermore, conflating a constitutional opinion with an incident like this is off-base.
brentspeak
(18,290 posts)sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)Peregrine Took
(7,416 posts)It was just voted # 1 vacation spot by Frommer's.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)Did anyone else's mind go there? My heart flipped for a moment at the breathtaking horror of losing Stephen Breyer. At how easily he was accessed by an intruder.
I really, really hope they ramp up security for these guys. This is a pretty shocking episode for one of the most important people in the US, literally.