Richard Shugrue

Qualified Immunity Should Meet Unqualified End

Published by Scott Stewart on Fri, 06/05/2020 - 12:00am

One judge-made rule which is cruel and cold-hearted and should have a stake driven through it is “qualified immunity.”

It stands in the way of justice and a remedy for the poor and oppressed who are victims of police arrogance by slamming the gates of the courts of redress.

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Book Explores Shortlisted Women Too Often Overlooked to Serve on Supreme Court

Published by Scott Stewart on Mon, 06/01/2020 - 6:25am

If you’re still sticking close to home and looking for a good book to read while lounging on the patio and sipping a lemonade, try Renee Jefferson and Hannah Johnson ‘s “Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court” from NYU Press.

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Supreme Court Begins Hard Work of Deciding Cases

Published by Scott Stewart on Tue, 05/26/2020 - 12:00am

The easy part of the U.S. Supreme Court’s work is finished for the term – the oral arguments – and the hard part – deciding 26 cases – will probably be done sometime in June.

The court was able to dodge the technology of the second half of the 20th century, regular television, and the tool of the 21st century that everyone else who wears shoes has been accustomed to in the last two months, life by Zoom.

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For Every Act of Cruelty in These Times, Thousands of Acts Of Kindness Go Unnoticed

Published by Scott Stewart on Mon, 05/18/2020 - 5:49am

Were you astounded to read of the man in Holly, Michigan, who wiped his nose on the shirt of a dollar store security guard who told him to wear a mask?

Or of murder of the guard in another town over the attempt to get the perp to put a covering on his face?

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Arizona Races Reflect Difference Between Republicans, Democrats

Published by Scott Stewart on Mon, 05/11/2020 - 9:03pm

If you want to see a really exciting ballot race this year, come on down to Maricopa County, Arizona, the fastest growing place in America, and watch the Democrats and Republicans bounce each other around.

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Remembering Maylow Phillips

Published by Scott Stewart on Fri, 05/01/2020 - 7:44am

Mike Fenner sent along the obituary for Maylow Phillips, and I smiled for all the hundreds of the Creighton family she listened to and helped over the many years she served as part of the unsung heroes who hold the law school together.

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I Don’t Want House Arrest, But I’ll Stick to Playing it Safe

Published by Scott Stewart on Mon, 04/27/2020 - 7:23am

Which is worse:

• An angry crowd shouting for an instant return to cocktails at their favorite bar, followed by dinner in a nice restaurant and an evening ballgame in a bustling stadium, or

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Without Election by Mail, We Risk a Repeat of Bush v. Gore

Published by Scott Stewart on Mon, 04/20/2020 - 12:00am

My friend Fred agreed with the majority in Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee, the Wisconsin election case decided recently, that the question was a narrow, technical one.

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Graduation Celebrates End of Youth, Beginning of Rest of Life

Published by Scott Stewart on Mon, 04/13/2020 - 7:31am

Of course, everyone is called on to sacrifice in these awful times, but it is funny what you can really miss.

For an unrepentant old academic like me, I’ll miss the annual celebration of students which most universities don’t even have any more: the all-school spring graduation.