The Ginger (Law) Librarian

In a surprise ruling, SCOTUS ruled that a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional for having no legitimate purpose. "The case on the federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307, considered the part of the law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman for purposes of federal benefits. The decision on the federal law was 5 to 4, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy writing the majority opinion, which the four liberal-leaning justices joined. The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity,” Justice Kennedy wrote. “By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.” This is a surprise ruling given the Court's conservative stance on ...

How much influence does a judicial law clerk have on the happenings of a court? At the United States Supreme Court level, the Justices' clerks may be the key to judicial reform that keeps pace with current society. Edward Lazarus, a former law clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun wrote a booked called  Closed Chambers: The First Eyewitness Account of the Epic Struggles Inside the Supreme Court that was released in 1998. In the book, Lazarus "claims that clerks hold too much influence over their justices-- they succeed in persuading the justice to accept the clerk's view." In a law review response piece to Lazarus's book, Sally J. Kenney, writes, "I think clerks do have a positive influence on the justices and the Court by bringing fresh ideas and providing a close-knit group wherein justices can reconsider their positions if they choose to do so. Being persuaded by clerks to reconsider a position or accept an argument is very different from being manipulated...

Yesterday marked the beginning of National Library Week and today is Tax Day -- reasons to celebrate all around!  Ugh. There have been numerous articles in anticipation of Tax Day discussing the favorable treatment to married couples with children who own a home.  One of the debaters in the NYTimes Room-for-Debate made a point to say that taxes should not warp our decisions.  I agree with that assessment, but it's hard not to take financial matters into account when making major life decisions.  The current tax code was well-massaged by the Bush era, and we now live in a country where the wealthiest individuals generally pay less than 20% in taxes -- while the rest of us pay upwards of 25%.  The current tax breaks come in the form of credits and deductions that nudge Americans to make the 'right' decisions, such as getting married to someone of the opposite sex, having children, and buying a home.   One of the commenters in another article made...