Posted on 03/01/2006 10:54:55 PM PST by Tim Long
Justice dozes off during political redistricting hearing, colleagues let her sleep
Was it a case of dreaming of a better America, napping on the job, or just being asleep at the switch?
Serving on the highest court in the land is apparently a tiring affair for at least one Supreme Court justice who caught 40 winks on the bench, literally.
According to the Associated Press, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg snoozed during testimony today over political redistricting in Texas.
"The subject matter was extremely technical," notes AP writer Gina Holland, "and near the end of the argument Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dozed in her chair."
During a report by Megyn Kendall of Fox News, an artist's sketch of the hearing was aired with Ginsburg's head using the bench as a pillow.
There was no word if there was any audible snoring echoing through the esteemed chamber, but the sleep session was noticed by Bader's colleagues who made a snap judgment to let their associate continue her slumber.
"Justices David Souter and Samuel Alito, who flank the 72-year-old, looked at her but did not give her a nudge," writes Holland.
Why shouldn't she sleep?
She's already made up her mind.
I'll bet anyone here serious money that she'll vote AGAINST the redistricting.
After all, Tom Delay had a hand it it. Foregone conclusion.
YES !
Some people can sleep anywhere, but me, I can't really sleep soundly till my head hits my desk on Monday morning.
I've heard that Ginsburg has bladder cancer. She may just be holding on, hoping that Hillary will appoint her successor in 2009. It may be really difficult for her to hang in there, so, even though I don't share her views and convictions, I have to admire her guts and determination.
My thought as well.
Hypocrisy?
Sure.
Look at what they did VP Quayle for his spelling error. If any conservative did this, the late night jokes/media madness would make Cheney's shooting incident look trivial. (Which it was.)
Any judge on the SCOTUS who can't do without an afternoon nap should consider retiring. No wonder the press said it was "a rare afternoon session that lasted two-hours" with these old geezers involved. But then she already knew she'd be voting against the Texas Republicans, so why not nap? The rule ought to be that a judge who does not hear the testimony should not get to vote on the matter they were absent from or snoozed through.
"She did have cancer before and could be weak."
This is when you use a medical leave of absence -- not stay on the job and sleep.
Where's the pic?
FOX should have it on their homepage.
Fox News with Britt Hume showed the sketch...and indeed, Bader does have her head on the bench. Wouldn't this get the average J. Doe fired if this happened on their job?
I believe he was referring to a screen capture of the artist's sketch from Fox News.
I wondered how quickly someone would find a way to tie this to a potential retirement. :-)
Obviously, that would be exceptional news (the retirement of course... not the cancer).
I might dismiss it out of hand, but somebody certainly thinks one more judge is going to retire in the next couple years. States (SD/MS) wouldn't be pushing forward with total bans on abortion if they thought the current court would get the case... there are (at best) four votes against Roe today. Given that the cases will take at least two years (possibly longer) to reach the Supreme Court... there must at least be speculation that Ginsburg or Stevens won't make it through Bush's second term.
Replace either one of them with a real conservative, and the court moves solidly to the right for at least a couple decades.
I think Stevens is going to retire. If Ginsberg's cancer is flaring up again that could well be two seats. Ginsberg may happen before the elections.
The 4 (hopefully) conservatives judges do have a 15-year youth advantage over the 4 liberal justices. As long as we can keep the white house, it is only a matter of time. I really don't think any of them will retire. If one did, that would send shockwaves to the liberals. They would be in panic mode like we have never witnessed before in history.
There's really no reason for her to stay awake. Since she rarely writes any opinions, she only has to make a call to the ACLU near the end of each case so she will know which way to vote.
SNORDER IN THE COURT!!
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