Comments on: Miller-Jenkins and the SCOTUS

By: Update: Chuck Colson and Miller-Jenkins case

Update: Chuck Colson and Miller-Jenkins case — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:42:11 +0000

[...] won’t hear Miller’s visitation request”, Winchester (Va.) Star, Dec. 12) (via Box Turtle Bulletin). One of the Miller camp’s most vocal and misleading public advocates has been evangelist [...]

By: Secular Right » Presidential medal for Charles Colson

Secular Right » Presidential medal for Charles Colson — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:20:27 +0000

[...] group Liberty Counsel has obstinately persisted in violating a valid court order; I see (via Box Turtle Bulletin) that the U.S. Supreme Court has now declined for the fifth time to hear an appeal by Liberty [...]

By: Timothy Kincaid

Timothy Kincaid — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:55:42 +0000

mgh,

Ok now I’m confused. But if you give me the dates and the events I’ll update the timeline.

By: cd

cd — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:08:18 +0000

They might not be putting the four votes together for cert because they recognize they can’t get the fifth for the verdict they want. IIRC Kennedy sank them on Lawrence v Texas.

The original suit to prevent gay marriage in Massachusetts under the Tyranny Clause was also denied cert. That will not have been for reasons of Scalia not wanting to.

By: mgh

mgh — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:53:52 +0000

sorry, minor edits to previous post:

In first paragraph, it should be, “the first time it was appealed from the Virginia Court of Appeals”

In second paragraph, it should be “Virginia Supreme Court,” not “Supreme Court”

By: mgh

mgh — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:52:26 +0000

I’d say there’s a bit of error in your timeline. There have been two Virginia Court of Appeals decisions. The first time it was appealed from the Virginia Supreme Court, Liberty Counsel didn’t file their appeal on time, and so the appeal wasn’t accepted by the Virginia Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court.

The right wing then appealed again when it went back to the trial court, and the Virginia Court of Appeals again ruled for our side. That’s when (in 2008) the Supreme Court ruled for us — and basically only on the grounds that the major issues of the case had already been decided and the time to appeal them had lapsed.

By: cmh

cmh — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:47:24 +0000

Judge Prosser is an activist judge making up laws that don’t exist to usurp jurisdiction in a case where virginia had no authority. Prosser. Poseur.. wanker.

By: Pender

Pender — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:35:05 +0000

Rule #1 of Supreme Court commentary is you do not read anything into a denial of cert. There are a million and one reasons to deny cert, it is denied over 99% of the time, and the Court will often deny cert on a particular several times before unexpectedly granting it.

By: John

John — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 22:44:16 +0000

Timothy,

I don’t think the SCOTUS turning down this case has anything to do with pro or anti-gay feelings on the court. This is just another inter-state ugly child custody case with a small lavender twist.

There would be no way for them to look at this case without undoing decades of work trying to keep ugly custody cases in the court juristiction where the case started.

Virginia does not and cannot have juristiction in this case since it has already been before a Vermont court. Folks who are unhappy with a custody ruling have wanted to jump to another state for years and every time they get spanked down.

One loose string in this case is Virginia Judge Prosser. This judge should be removed from the courtroom for making a ruling that opened up the “fleeing from one juristiction to another to get a better ruling” can of worms.