Epstein Secrets

rely possible in a heterogeneous and divided democracy. A similar process is today underway with regard to equality for gays. Abortion is different. The Supreme Court’s decision, now more half a century old, changed few minds on this issue, because those who believe that abortion — or certain kinds of abortion — is t

r going to be neatly resolved in a pluralistic democracy; it is an ongoing tight rope walk that requires sensitivity from all sides. It also requires a Supreme Court willing to buck popular pressures in this highly sensitive area that the framers of our Constitution deliberately removed from majoritarian politics.

ce and opposed the arms embargo against the Jewish state. Its membership over the years has included such distinguished lawyers as Thurgood Marshall, Arthur Goldberg, Ferdinand Pecora, Paul O’Dwyer, Louis Boudin, and William Hastie. During its early years, splits developed between the anti-Communist liberals and t

The Supreme Court had a small basketball court on the fifth floor. The clerks called it “The Highest Court in the Land,” since it was directly above the Supreme Courtroom itself. Rumor had it that in previous years the clerks used to play basketball while the Justices were hearing arguments, and the sound of the bounci

his law clerk with him. In the end, Judge Bazelon was regarded as too liberal for the Kennedy Administration and was passed over for labor secretary Arthur Goldberg, who had no judicial experience, but boasted a distinguished career as a labor lawyer before he joined the Cabinet as Secretary of Labor. Bazelon and

excluded, so long as the “externalities” —that which appears in public view outside the theater—is not obscene. I have kept my promise, and despite the Supreme Court’s continued insistence—most recently in the violent video games case—that “obscenity” is not protected by the First Amendment, porn is widely available

ion. This is not to suggest that justice should remain blind to the existence of a real emergency endangering the survival of the nation. As Justice Arthur Goldberg once wrote: “While the Constitution protects against the invasion of individual rights, it is not a suicide pact.” But it is precisely during times o