Recently in Politics Category

The Hertiage Foundation apparently felt the burning need to hold an entire panel discussion so that Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff could inform us that Homeland Security is not like the TV show "24."

Well, gee, Mr. Secretary, thanks for that newsflash. Of course, if real life was like 24, the entire federal government would, for no really good reason, have relocated to Los Angeles, where, again for no really good reason, the world's terrorists would focus all of their efforts. And then the Department of Homeland Security would, yet again for no good reason, alternate randomly between entrusting the entire nation's defense to one ultraviolent dude with a man purse and issuing arrest warrants for the dude for no good reason because it mistakenly believed that the dude was doing things wrong or illegally. Even though this guy is always proven right in the end, the Department will repeatedly jump to the wrong conclusion without trusting him.

Oh, and Dave Barry would mock the Department's efforts on his blog.

The Detroit News has reported that my old boss, Judge Henry William Saad of the Michigan Court of Appeals has asked to have his name withdrawn from consideration for an open seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

In the article, Judge Saad said that "it made sense for me to step aside." Maybe. I rather think it makes no sense that it came to that. It has become convenient, politically speaking, for some to label Judge Saad as a right-wing extremist who is biased against "workers" and "the little guy." As I learned while serving a judicial clerkship with him, I know that nothing could be further from the truth. And lest one think me biased, I'll remind everyone that such bastions of right-wing extremism as the Michigan Education Association (the state teacher's union), the AFL-CIO, and the UAW endorsed his elections to the Michigan Court of Appeals. In case anyone missed the dripping irony, these are typically quite left-wing organizations that would typically prefer to endorse a ham sandwich as opposed to someone who was truly a "right-wing extremist."

Sadly, partisan politics have won again, and the federal appellate bench has been deprived of a good man and a well-respected jurist.

I have always wanted to volunteer for a political campaign, but for various reasons, never ended up doing so until now. This November, Michigan will be voting for governor, and I'll be volunteering in the Dick DeVos campaign. Michigan definitely needs a change of leadership -- Michigan is about the only state in the country whose economy is not on the way up, and someone needs to do somethign about it. I've watched too many of my friends move elsewhere to start careers and families. In fact, it's gotten to the point where the entire state of Wyoming is coming here to lure our workers away because Wyoming has jobs and Michigan does not. Nothing against Wyoming -- I've been there, and it's a beautiful place -- but I'd much rather stay here.

So, it's been a while. So much to ramble on about, so little time. I'm sure all two of you who still read this thing regularly have been crushed at the lack of posting.

I basically missed blogging about the entire University of Michigan football season. Which, given the fact that it was the worst season Michigan has had in over 20 years, is probably a good thing, for my blood pressure. Plus many of you have simply taken to reading last year's rants about Lloyd Carr, which are equally applicable now, if not moreso.

I find myself adjusting quite nicely to the private practice of law. Time truly does fly when you're having fun -- it's been almost a year since the end of my clerkship and the beginning of my private practice adventures. The firm I work for continues to be a cool place to work, and I see a lot of interesting cases. My very first oral argument, however, is the same day, in front of the same panel as a case my boss is arguing. That ordinarily wouldn't be a big deal, except for the fact that my boss is probably one of the best appellate attorneys around, her opinion is important to me, and I'm certain that my first oral argument ever will be a lot less Clarence Darrow and a lot more Porky Pig in terms of oratory style. The only way it could get more embarassing is if I somehow forgot to wears pants that day.

The Super Bowl XL in Detroit hype has finally died down here in the Detroit area. It was nice to see Detroit make a good name for itself, though, and the game itself was pretty damn good. Indeed, I know my good friend Ben Kepple was quite pleased with the results.

Don't you hate when you can't think of something good to write for an ending?

Guess WDIV was right.

WDIV-TV in Detroit reports that federal Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That court is often considered a feeder for Supreme Court justices. Judge Roberts also has the distinction of not being one of the judges discussed as a possible nominee lately.

My old boss's nomination still languishes in the limbo of the Senate judicial confirmation debate, and the recent compromise that left him in the dust, together with the recent retirement of United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, don't make it look very promising for Judge Saad. However, the Detroit Free Press reports that "Republicans Seek to Revive Mich. Judge's Nomination."

The article describes the pressure being brought to bear upon Republican Senator John McCain (R-AZ), likely 2008 presidential hopeful and architect of the recent judicial compromise that put two of the "Michigan Four" on the Sixth Circuit. Some Republican leaders here are warning Senator McCain that he might face trouble at the next primary if Judge Saad is not confirmed.

I find the whole thing quite interesting given that many of the judges confirmed under the recent compromise were considered to be quite "extremist," whatever that means, while Judge Saad (any potential biases I might have toward him aside) is arguably one of the least controversial, in terms of his legal acumen and judicial opinions.

While I am not one to endorse threats or blackmail, I do hope that Senator McCain will use his considerable influence to help move this whole mess along.

The Detroit Free Press ran a very interesting article about my former boss, Judge Henry Saad of the Michigan Court of Appeals, one of President Bush's nominees to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Until my very recent transition to private practice, I had the honor and privilege of serving as Judge Saad's law clerk.

As the article points out, Judge Saad has been stuck in the limbo that is the Senate judicial nomination filibuster debate since he was first nominated in 2001, and through his two renominations in 2003, and earlier this year. Indeed, way back in 1992, the first President Bush nominated Judge Saad to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and that nomination died in committee with the election of President Clinton.

The local NBC affilate just reported that the Senate has reached a compromise with respect to judicial nominations -- hopefully Judge Saad will finally see the resolution of this long, long process.

Well, I've seen everything now. The New York Times reports that "Oddly, Hillary, and, yes, Newt Agree to Agree." The article discusses the fact that Senator Hillary Clinton and, of all the damn people, Republican and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich see eye-to-eye on health care, and of all the damn things, a possible 2008 run for president for Hillary.

I'm not even sure what else to say.

Today was the last day of my judicial clerkship, and now, a few days shy of the second anniversary of my graduation from law school, I'm getting ready to enter the private practice of law.

My clerkship has proven to be quite a valuable experience, one that has given me a look at a side of the law that many people don't see. I was fortunate to work for an excellent judge, one of the highest caliber (indeed, President Bush has nominated the judge to the federal bench, but the nomination is currently mired in Senate politics.)

I'll soon be joining a law firm that specializes in civil litigation. Though I truly cherished my time clerking, I'm looking forward to practicing law in front of the bench, as opposed to quietly advising the bench behind the scenes.

I'm also looking forward to doing some more blogging. I tried to keep the subject matter of my posts relatively low key while I was serving my clerkship -- indeed, there are some posts that I decided not to publish right away, and some of those may gradually begin to appear (or in some cases, reappear) as time goes on, and I may post some retrospective items looking back on my clerkship, for all three of you who might find that interesting.