Odds and Ends

Holidays 

It's that time of the year again. 

I'm Irish (mom) and Italian (dad). St. Patrick's Day (the traditional meal for us was corned beef and cabbage with potatoes) was yesterday. St. Joseph's Day (Italians) is tomorrow. A special bonus is my dad was a carpenter (and city worker).  In between? My own creation (JP Day) in honor of Irish-Italian mutts!  

Freedom Libraries 

Freedom Libraries: The Untold Story of Libraries for African-Americans in the South by Mark Shelby (a librarian) is a good little book about a largely forgotten part of the Civil Rights Movement. 

Brown v. Board underlined the importance of education. Brown v. Louisiana involved a protest at a library. (The book quotes the author of the plurality, Justice Fortas, but does not specifically address this case.)  This book specifically talks about "freedom libraries" opened up in the South and elsewhere (Philadelphia is cited) during the 1960s.

Order Day

The Supreme Court Order List was mostly a nothingburger. As usual, there are a few interesting tidbits. There are likely to be one or more orders during the week, including perhaps regarding a pending execution. 

(ETA: And, yes, two orders dropped extending again a stay in the Texas border case. There is also another opinion day tomorrow as SCOTUS starts to slowly get to speed, still behind schedule.

Chief Justice Roberts also denied a request from Peter Navarro to hold up his prison stint for contempt of Congress. It's ruling on a narrow claim. Footnote: it was an opinion in chambers, which is a tab on the SCOTUS website. The last time it was used was a decade ago by Roberts.

Navarro refused to testify to the 1/6 Committee. Over and over again people stonewalled Congress without consequences. Stephen Bannon's appeal has been going on for years now.) 

Alito continues not to explain why he recuses. Kagan does. Jackson has joined her. I am not sure if Sotomayor had a chance to do so, not recalling her last recusal.

An Easter Egg: among the list of cases not taken involves the one person so far disqualified for actions arising 1/6. As the state notes, the case is a mess, including procedural problems that deny SCOTUS jurisdiction: 

In all events, the Petition fails to satisfy the traditional criteria for certiorari. This case is an abysmal vehicle to decide anything. And Petitioner is wrong on the merits.  

The case is a reminder that the insurrection disqualification retains some bite, especially respecting state offices.  

Meanwhile, Breyer has a new book out, and he has begun to promote it. It sounds like a dissent.