Speaking of Justice

Hiddly-ho, Neglecterinos! The first things that came to mind when re-reading my last post that rambled far into Old Man Simpson territory ("My story begins in nineteen dickety-two. We had to say 'dickety' because the Kaiser had stolen our word for twenty. I chased him down the road but gave up after dickety-six miles...") re: Justice Thomas were these:

1. Chris Noth's return to Law & Order
2. Justice Scalia's visit to Boston
3. Justice Breyer's new book
4. Recent supreme court news
5. Justice, Maggie Lizer's dog, on Arrested Development

The hardy or foolhardy will now suffer the consequences.

Chris Noth on L&O

The next best thing to Jerry Orbach rising from the dead to assume his rightful place as Lennie Briscoe (fingers still crossed, though). I've never been a Criminal Intent fan and don't get the appeal of D'onofrio's porcine performance. Now that they've brought back Noth, I actually watch it. Det. Logan is still very much the same man (although I swear I spotted a wedding ring when he was sitting in a car -- not a thing one would expect on Mike Logan), but as the New York Times puts it, "older, wiser, wearier." Partnering him with with the subdued Annabella Sciorra (ahem, I'm looking in your direction, Mr. D'onofrio) shows good casting instincts. It's not Scully and Mulder, and thank heaven it's not Olivia "Elliott, why won't you talk to me about your feelings..." Benson and Stabler. So far, so good.

Justice Antonin Scalia: Demonic Genius or Genius Demon?

Justice Scalia holds few opinions that I share, but his is the first voice that comes to mind when thinking about Supreme Court jurisprudence. His dissents in particular may be caustic, but they linger with you long after you've forgotten the majority opinion that you agree with.

Justice Scalia will be in Boston to speak at the New England School of Law Law Day Banquet on March 15, 2006. If you want to get to know more about him and cases are too boring for you, check out his book A Matter of Interpretation. It's under 200 pages, witty and very accessible.

Breyer's Book: Naturally Good

Justice Stephen Breyer's new book, Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution, which many view as a response to A Matter of Interpretation, has just been released. You can listen to him talk about the book with Terry Gross of NPR's Fresh Air.

Supreme Court Scuttlebutt: Roberts, Miers, Takings, Anna Nicole

Given that I can't come up with an original thought about Law & Order, there is nothing I could say about the Sturm und Drang that would add anything. However, in the interest of maintaining my nerdliness, I will point out that according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word scuttlebutt first appeared around 1805, coming from "water cask kept on a ship's deck," from scuttle "opening in a ship's deck"+ butt "barrel." Earlier scuttle cask (1777). It's meaning as "rumor, gossip" was first recorded 1901, originally nautical slang. Folk etymology has it that the meaning evolved because of custom among sailors of gathering around the scuttlebutt to gossip.

Justice is Blind

As I enjoy opportunities to make gratuitous references to Arrested Development, the whole justice theme begs me to say "Mr. Bluth, Justice is blind." How can you go wrong with a show that has a woman feigning blindness being led around by a guide dog that is, in fact, blind? I command thee to watch this show, dammit! It’s like the Ten Commandments say, you know? “Be true to thine own self, and to thine own self...”

If oonuh ent kno weh oonuh dah gwine, oonuh should kno weh oonuh come f'um

According to a story in The Beaufort Gazette, which I again found through the daily headlines on the Archaeology magazine site, archaeologists are using radar in an attempt to find slave cabins on Coosaw Island, South Carolina. If any of evidence of the cabins remains, they most likely were part of plantations owned by the Bull or Butler families, although the families rose to prominence about a century apart. What makes this project especially interesting is that the project directors hope it will be driven by local volunteers and that oral history will be given a prominent role. Research through the state archives and the Library of Congress will also supplement the archaeological record. To date, archaeologists have uncovered slipware pottery, daub, nails and tobacco pipe stems. No cabins have yet been located, but a likely trash put has been located. Trash pits are excellent sources for determining how people actually lived, what they ate, what kinds of material resources they possessed, etc.

The story also tickles another my more nerdly interests, i.e., linguistics. The South Carolina Sea Islands – of which Coosaw Island is one – are home to the Gullah language and culture. Census data show that the language is fast disappearing. In 1979, 100,000 South Carolinians were speaking Gullah, but 1990 Census data show only 180 listing it as the language they spoke at home.

Here are some links on Gullah language and/or culture:

• De Gullah Roots Tour
• Gullah: A Vanishing Culture
  
• The Gullah Dialect
  
• Gullah Net
  
• Glossary of Gullah Words
  
• Gullah Culture

Because I am such a ginormous nerd, I found that the story tickled another nerdly interest of mine: law-talking guys. Justice Scalia, who most assuredly deserves to be a cartoon villain or superhero depending upon one’s point of view, authored the opinion in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council a few years back that had to do with a South Carolina barrier island and the Takings Clause. Now I know you’re thinking, “this could not possibly get any more exciting. I best buckle my seat belt, stow away my tray table and return my seat to an upright position so that I can safely handle all of the turbulence.” And you would be right. This will not get more exciting.

It seems that in the mid-80s, this guy named Lucas bought two residential lots on a barrier island in order to develop them. The adjacent lots already had residences on them. At the time, the lots were not subject to state coastal building permit regulations. Alas for poor Lucas, the legislature then enacted a law that prevented him from constructing residences on his parcels. No doubt having a clever, free-markety, laissez-faireish lawyer, Lucas filed suit against the state, arguing basically that the construction ban was an act by the state that robbed him of all “economically viable use” of his land and effectively worked a taking under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. So the state could no show him the money, so to speak, as the takings clause requires just compensation to people like Lucas. The case winds through the courts for a few years and eventually makes it to the Supreme Court. So Justice Scalia dons his shiny black helmet, affects an asthmatic wheeze and tells the plaintiff “Lucas, I am your justice.” (Yeah, that was bad, I admit it. Humor me. I’m tired.) To make a long story somewhat shorter, Scalia basically agrees with Lucas. State regulation that acts to deprive a property owner of all economically viable use of his land is one of the types of takings that require just compensation. To allow otherwise would be inconsistent with “the historical compact” supposedly undergirding the Takings Clause. For those awake or truly interested, there is also an entertaining exchange between Justices Scalia and Blackmun. See footnote 15 for a paradigmatic example of Justice Scalia both eating his cake and having it, too.

Incidentally, Justice Thomas grew up speaking Geechee (which what the Gullah language is called in parts of Georgia and North Florida). Check out his brief comments.

Greatest American Hero

Oh where, oh where, is Photoshop when I need it? If anyone deserves a cape, tights and a superhero letter on his chest right now -- all of the entirely hetero variety, of course -- it is Justice Stephen Breyer for showing up to jury duty in Marlborough District Court the other day. As the glorified abacus that is my computer can't handle the program, this nifty undoctored pic will have to do. The Justice is wearing something vaguely capelike, after all, and it is more flamboyent than your standard office attire. Given that your average A/R representative tries to weasel out of jury duty -- apparently unaware of the meaning of the word duty -- because he is "too busy" or has "other priorities" like Dick Cheney did during Vietnam, Mr. Justice, of whom it could be said has rather weighty professional obligations, deserves superhero status for fulfilling his obligations as a citizen of this fantastic country. Who better to lead the Justice League of America? When the official results are announced, presumably by a group of pasty guys in their early 20s, I hope he gets extra points for doing so without self-congratulation.