SCOTUSbound
If all has gone according to plan, I should currently be standing in line to get into the Supreme Court. Today’s two oral arguments are:
07-208 INDIANA V. EDWARDS
May a criminal defendant who, despite being legally competent, is schizophrenic, delusional, and mentally decompensatory in the course of a simple conversation, be denied the right to represent himself at trial when the trial court reasonably concludes that permitting self-representation would deny the defendant a fair trial?07-312 FL DEPT. OF REVENUE V. PICCADILLY CAFETERIAS
Whether section 1146(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, which exempts from stamp or similar taxes any asset transfer “under a plan confirmed under section 1129 of the Code,” applies to transfers of assets occurring prior to the actual confirmation of such a plan?
I might not stick around for the second one, it sounds dense. It depends on how sleepy I am after the presumptively exciting discussion of schizophrenia. I’m quite curious to find out how someone could be legally competent and yet be delusional during simple conversation.
Who wants to give me odds on seeing Thomas ask a question? He’s got to be due soon, right? He’s like the Cal Ripken of not asking questions. If he does, should I stand and applaud?
March 26th, 2008 at 11:52 am
If I understand things correctly, you could be evicted for applauding. Although it would definitely make the legal blogs.
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March 26th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Or, stand up and yell “You call that a question!? HA!”
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March 26th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I was thinking about how to goad Thomas into speaking if I was arguing. Maybe I could structure my comments to directly address him. Would that work? Is that allowed? e.g. “Justice Thomas has himself benefited from the law as it stands under numerous occasions, for example when he x and y and z. If he felt in opposition I would assume he would have something to say on the matter, but I take his silence here an indication he is in agreement with my position. Thus, with Justice Thomas’ full support, I rest my case.”
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March 26th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
You can say anything you want. This would be laughable, but acceptable.
As a matter of fact, Thomas had a hell of a lot to say today, just none of it into the microphone. He spent a good portion of the arguments talking with Breyer on this left and, much less often, with Kennedy on his right. When he wasn’t quietly joking with his neighbors, he was very clearly reading a book. Admittedly, it looked like a law book, but it didn’t seem to have any relevance to anything that was going on in court.
Reading a book seemed pretty rude.
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