I Spit On Your Grave

Checking Tubi, I see the original and the sequel are available. I hold to my earlier remarks. The author of a (defunct) blog named after the film continues to post on social media (including Bluesky) and elsewhere. The sequel looks ridiculous (and ridiculously overlong). 

Missionary, Birthright Citizenship, Gay USA

I cover various topics on Substack, including how the Trump Administration is honoring a Catholic martyr while violating all he stood for. Also, co-host of Gay USA retires after thirty years. 

I recently watched Once and Again on YouTube. I vaguely recall watching at least some of it. It was first on before this blog began (mid-2003). I found one passing reference on the blog. 

Florida's Double Execution

Carrying out multiple executions within a day is rare in the modern era, with only two states doing so in the past 26 years: Arkansas in 2017 and Texas in 2000. Florida hasn’t executed more than one person in a single day since 1964, according to the state’s correctional records.

The Supreme Court rejected final appeals in two death penalty cases from Florida. A core concern: Florida was executing two people on the same day. 

Questions have arisen about the state's lethal injection execution protocols after execution logs were released last year that seem to show cases where insufficient or even different chemicals were used, and autopsy records for 33 executed inmates that showed each one suffered flash pulmonary edema, which causes a feeling like drowning.

That makes it more likely for problems to occur. Problems repeatedly alleged to have been ongoing. Not that anyone, except for Sotomayor (once), said a word about such claims.

Occhicone, convicted of the 1986 murder of his ex-fiancée's parents, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection six hours after the planned execution of another man, former Lake County police officer James Duckett, convicted of the 1987 rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa Mae McAbee. If both executions go as planned, it would be the first multiple execution in Florida since 1964.

 

Florida continues to execute people first sentenced years back. They keep on having a new "oldest inmate to be executed," this time someone eighty. That adds another layer to the reasons for complaint: older people having various ailments affecting the execution. 

These lengthy delays create two special constitutional difficulties. First, a lengthy delay in and of itself is especially cruel because it “subjects death row inmates to decades of especially severe, dehumanizing conditions of confinement.” Second, a lengthy delay undermines the death penalty’s penological rationale.

There remains the general concern regarding executing people after such a long time, which no current justice has deemed problematic. The second crime specifically is particularly heinous. But it happened 40 years ago.

Volokh Conspiracy had several Supreme Court posts, including talking about leaks. One comment (not from a troll) noted that the justices explained their "decisions." 

That is bullshit unless you are using it narrowly to apply to a small subset of decision-making. Steve Vladeck's book covers that ground. Today's "no comment" orders underline the point. A "decision" was made. No explanation.

Many will say that the final appeals were weak tea. They don't deserve any comment. 

I disagree, including when the challenge regards something occurring only for the third time in sixty years. The last time didn't go smoothly. 

Either way, a decision was made. No comment. It's the shadow docket. Sorry, Justice Kagan. 

Florida executed both. 

One thing that stands out in that discussion is that a jury split 7-5 on giving one of the two the death penalty. This sort of thing repeatedly occurred. But it doesn't really become less troubling. 

The other (more heinous) defendant partially alleged innocence. DNA evidence that might provide proof, however, was at best inconclusive. 

I have not found a comprehensive take on how recent executions in Florida match the allegations of problems. Each article I see simply states the person was executed. 

The Martian

I read The Martian after watching part of it on television. The book has too much science porn. 

I'm not a scientist. If this were about a subject I knew more about, the level of "into the weeds" in it would still get too much at some point.

Plus, it got repetitive. People obviously enjoyed the book. But just saying as one of them.

Something comes up, he figures a way to deal with it, in intricate scientific detail, rinse/repeat. Please, can we get back to the other people? They even sometimes have to deal with intricate scientific details. They do not go into that much detail. Other stuff also happens.

It's appreciated that we get repeated reminders of the possibility of human error, unplanned occurrences that will screw things up, etc. But this got tiresome.

I liked the book as a whole once I got into a groove of quickly reading all of these details.  I have noted that it is harder for me to get into books in recent years. 

I completed this book in less than a day. So, you know, not all bad.

The human element is done well overall. Sometimes, I wanted to learn more about the other characters. The rest of the crew, e.g., seem interesting.

I suppose online there is fan fiction covering their adventures. We receive a few snapshots of their personal stories, including a single home-to-ship live communication. Three are married, and the other two have a thing going on with each other.

We know the maroon crew member's parents are alive; he's from Chicago and doesn't seem to have a significant other. Other than that, there is no backstory. One of the discussion questions addresses that. The book is largely about one guy, alone, and you do not get to really understand him too much. 

It was flagged in an earlier morning thread that a key science point was problematic. The author edited the book over time as he received feedback on scientific details (my copy has an interview with the author). 

He did not fix everything. Dramatic license and other factors do come into play.

He later noted he was aware of the issue. And, anyway, I saw one account that said it "may" be a problem. We don't know for sure.

The book tosses in a somewhat out-of-left-field comment about alternative food supply options. I wondered how long that would last.

Checking online, one commentary noted they left that part out. It is a cannibalism hypo. I can see why. 

They also left a few things out of Hail Mary, a recent well-received film also based on the author's novel. My copy provided the first chapter as a preview.

From what I saw, the Matt Damon film was well made. Good cast and so on. 

I cannot judge the science of it all.

I also appreciate the sentiment about how it is human instinct to help people, with some exceptions. A key plot point involves the Chinese Space Agency helping, with some sacrifice to their own efforts. 

Checking Wikipedia, the film tells you what Matt Damon's character will do when he gets back. 

The book ends with his rescue. So, you know, maybe there is a disaster later on, and the whole crew dies! 

SCOTUS Watch: Summer Order List

The Mets came back and played competitively against two good teams. A misplayed ball by Baty, who shouldn't have been playing the outfield, was a major reason why they didn't win both series. 

Order List

Oh. This is supposed to be about the Supreme Court. Well, the week was somewhat bland. 

The big news was that they granted cert in a case involving the Excessive Fines Clause. It is somewhat unclear why it did so now, but it isn't shocking or anything. They, for whatever reason, got it over with. 

The first scheduled summer order list was otherwise, as usual, basically a housekeeping matter. As noted here, did provide a way to finalize some things sooner rather than later. Nothing special, though.

The cert grant had a catchy hook about someone's plane being seized for illegally transporting a "six pack of beer" to a dry town in Alaska. That is more sloganeering than the full story. There was much more beer involved. 

OTOH, along with them taking the case when the lower court ruled against the defendant, it might have been a sign of what is to come. 

Kagan Spins 

Justice Kagan, during her joint testimony with Barrett, pushed against the "shadow docket" label since they have been doing a better job at transparency. 

It is a work in progress. It was as much spin as truth.

I re-read Steve Vladeck's book on the subject. He's writing a new one on judicial reform. A new edition of The Shadow Docket would have a new introduction, which would show that there are a lot of shadows remaining. Sorry, William Baude.* 

She also told the Ninth Circuit, where she's the circuit justice, that the Supreme Court is not a "rubber stamp" for Trump. Hey, look at the tariffs and birthright citizenship decisions!

Kagan has to work with these people. She is trying to win as much as she can. She can't say they are just a rubber stamp. They acted like one regularly, though. 

And Also ...

Thomas Goldstein, previously of SCOTUSBlog, has been sentenced. Sounds like a prime candidate for a Trump pardon. 

Upcoming

There are two more scheduled summer order lists. Two executions are likely next week. 

The Nixon Tapes case was handed down fifty-two years ago. Nixon resigned soon afterwards.

Wasn't that fun? 

---

Shadow Docket: Let's do a bit of a deep dive here on this issue. The "shadow docket" is, as Steve Vladeck notes in his book, a collection of things. 

It would include the choices made in the Order List, such as choosing this specific Eighth Amendment case over numerous others involving a person serving a long prison sentence. 

The shadow docket is not just the "emergency docket," though final death penalty appeals both fit that bill and underline that the term still fits. If anything, we have less transparency; Sotomayor, for instance, provides fewer statements in such cases.

Baude (and the new SCOTUSBlog) wants to use "the Interim Docket," which is bullshit. 

As Vladeck and others note regularly, the things decided there are effectively final. We saw that with a lot of the Trump administrative state destruction. 

Baude (see the link in the main discussion) is upset—is he afraid of Alito? -- that the term sounds "nefarious."  Also, we see what they do (often digging deep on the docket pages, not linked to the main orders, where their bare decisions are noted), so it is not really "hard to see."

Again, that is bullshit. We do not know a lot about their decision-making. They still largely work in the shadows, including decision-making (this is cited in the book) by not posting transcripts on the website.

Ginsburg did so. Kagan, after defending her colleagues for being more transparent, did not. 

ETA: I also was excited about Melissa Murray's new constitutional commentary. Eh.

The preface was a quick summary of its creation that seemed like forcing a bunch of stuff into a few pages. And doing so in a somewhat simplistic way.

The summary of each section is helpful, if often a tad too basic for someone who already has more than a passing understanding. It isn't meant to be comprehensive, but sometimes it seems a tad thin. 

It serves its function as a one-volume reference book for the average reader (though now and then tossing in words like "chattel" without comment). Sometimes, there are particularly interesting discussions, at times, with very up-to-date material. 

Murray provides a balanced view, including points of view that she personally doesn't support. At times, you do get the idea she isn't some originalist. 

The subtitle is "A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader." It does cover the whole document in annotated form and is written for the modern reader. It has Civics 101 potential.  

The book is formatted comfortably. OTOH, there are no charts, pictures, or anything of that sort. 

I enjoyed Linda Monk's books better. 

SCOTUS Watch: Budget Edition

Kagan/Barrett Testimony

COVID and other things (that can't explain the much longer Senate lag time) ended the regular tag team (one liberal, one conservative justice) going up to Congress at budget time. 

The appearances not only provided a chance to discuss budget matters. Congress members could ask justices other questions, including diversity of court personnel and other matters. 

For instance, the "shadow docket" or ethics. To cite stuff covered this time. Likewise, an ethics code, which Kagan is open to having some enforcement mechanism. Leaks were also discussed. 

It is a useful, if not profound (hearings rarely are), dance. Some useful information is shared, and justices remember that they are not just above it all. 

One thing some sneered at was the justices' discussion of increased security concerns in recent years. "Yeah, threaten our liberty, you will get push back." 

Barrett being told by her security staff to wear a bulletproof vest is a bit more. Bluesky comments talked about gun drills in schools. Okay?

If people sent you pizzas in the name of a judge's murdered son or "swatted" (fake police reports) your house, it still would bother you, correct?  This is not a pissing contest. There are serious concerns here. 

It is not totally coincidental that the uptick overlaps with the Trump Era. Liberal and conservative judges have been affected. But Trump stands out. 

He played a significant role. Schumer once talking about "reaping the whirlwind" doesn't make it "both sides do it," when Trump regularly uses violent and delegitimizing rhetoric about the courts.  

Yes, Barrett is part of the problem. She supported Trump, significantly so she could get her job.

But security is still a concern. 

Dennis Sochor Execution

Florida continues to execute senior citizens. Sochor raped and murdered someone in 1981. 

These lengthy delays create two special constitutional difficulties. First, a lengthy delay in and of itself is especially cruel because it “subjects death row inmates to decades of especially severe, dehumanizing conditions of confinement.” Second, a lengthy delay undermines the death penalty’s penological rationale.

Yes, Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, and Stevens. 

The final appeal, rejected without comment, provided additional information regarding alleged evidence that Florida's execution method is cruel and unusual. 

His lawyers claimed Florida wrongly blocked an attempt to make such a claim. Various recent appeals in some fashion addressed this concern, including requests for information. 

Sotomayor once released a statement noting her concern. Otherwise, crickets. 

Kagan, during her testimony, challenged the use of the term "shadow docket" because the justices have explained things more. Well, that explanation is only a matter of degree. 

He was executed later in the day. The coverage does not suggest any issues. But I did not find any in-depth discussion of the overall claims, either. 

Two more at the end of the month.

Trump News

The Supreme Court has done much to help enable Trump. One thing they did not do was block this. 

They did delay it somewhat. The other civil judgment, involving much more money, is still pending. 

Carroll received the money more than three years after a jury found that the president was liable for sexually abusing her in a Manhattan department store in 1996, and then for defaming her on social media. Trump has repeatedly appealed the judgment to no avail — including petitioning the Supreme Court multiple times — and last week launched a last-ditch attempt to block her from getting the money.

But this is a start. 

Like the one successful prosecution, thank you, New York, for helping to obtain a modicum, a small modicum, of justice and consequences. 

Other Stuff

The first summer Order List, traditionally a short nothingburger, is due on Monday. 

Mets End First Half 40-57

 

But firing the manager doesn’t change what is ultimately a disjointed, poorly constructed roster. You could also make the argument that when it comes to the 2026 Mets, this team is what it is: talented individual players who can’t seem to fit together, regardless of who is calling the shots.

Maybe another guy "calling the shots" should go.

Senator Lindsey Graham Dies

He had his moments. He was lately a tired, pathetic Trump supporter. More here with an extended bit on Mitch McConnell.