The Quiet Man

He's the quietest Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court -- perhaps the quietest one ever. From CNN:

Two years and 142 cases have passed since Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas last spoke up at oral arguments. It is a period of unbroken silence that contrasts with the rest of the court's unceasing inquiries.

CNN even asked Justice Thomas for a comment on the silence. True to form, he declined to comment. (CNN)

Issue Ads Back on the Air

The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 in favor of groups challenging parts of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act.

The Justices ruled that groups can name specific candidates in ads leading up to elections.

"In drawing that line, the First Amendment requires us to err on the side of protecting political speech rather than suppressing it," -- Chief Justice John Roberts

The act restricted the kinds of ads unions, corporations, and special interest groups could run. (WaPo)

The FOXification of SCOTUS

The US Supreme Court has -- for the first time in history -- posted video on its website.

Want to guess what it is? A car chase.




That's the YouTube version above.

Click here to see it on the SCOTUS website.

It's from the case of Scott v. Harris. A guy running from the law wound up in a wreck and paralyzed. The court used dashboard cameras to decide he didn't have a leg to stand on in wanting to sue police.

So. The stuffy old Supreme Court -- which didn't have a website until well after Mongolia's Supreme Court got one -- has jumped right into the YouTube craze with not just car chase video -- but car chase that ends in a paralyzing crash video.

And remember the court took up Anna Nichol's case long before she was even dead.

You have to wonder if they have any shark attack cases on their docket. (SCOTUS)