For those of you who aren’t members of the Federalist Society, and therefore do not receive a complimentary subscription of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, you can view many of the issues online; including the most recent one, which includes a brilliant article penned by SA’s patron saint, Judge William H. Pryor Jr.

Judge William H. Pryor Jr. has a must-read article that was recently published by the University of Virgina Law Review, addressing “not-so-serious threats to judicial independence.” Here’s a taste:

Although recently several prominent leaders of the federal judiciary and the American Bar have decried contemporary threats to judicial independence as both serious and unprecedented, this Lecture offers an alternative perspective. I contend that the independence of the federal judiciary is secure. I argue that contemporary criticisms and challenges of the judiciary are relatively mild and, on balance, beneficial.

. . . .Some contend that contemporary threats to judicial independence include public criticism of judicial decisions, legislative attempts to curb the judiciary, and political battles to appoint federal judges, but these challenges are modest and even promote judicial independence. Public criticism, which is essential to democratic government and even judicial decision-making, is not a serious threat to judicial independence. Legislative curbs on the judiciary are an exceptional part of the political process against which the judiciary has ably defended its decisional independence. Finally, the confirmation process, however difficult or unpleasant, is a necessary check for those nominated for life-tenured judgeships. Ultimately, federal judges have the foremost responsibility for safeguarding their independence by exercising restraint.

I don’t recall having clerked for Judge Pryor.

I do think that I am supposed to be awarded an honorary clerkship from Judge Pryor, but I am still waiting on the certificate. :) 

Anyway, thanks for the kind words, Max, and I hope your Dad likes his SDIFS! t-shirt (which will soon be all the rage in law schools across the country. I am sure of it! ). 

here.  Good call, editors!

O.k., it’s official: Judge Bill Pryor is the coolest man on the planet.

If only I could get a “shout out” from Neuhaus or have him consider me a “friend,” then I could die happy.

David Lat on Judge Pryor’s WSJ op-ed.

Well, that was a quick ruling.

Here’s a pass-through link to Judge Pryor’s piece, courtesy of the Blawgfather.

Here’s the link for those of you who are subscribers. I am working on getting the text of the piece. If any of y’all are WSJ subscribers, I would greatly appreciate you emailing me the op-ed.

Update: O.k., here are some excerpts from Judge Pryor’s brilliant commentary, “‘Neither Force Nor Will, But Merely Judgment’: (more…)

Courtesy of K-Lo:

William H. Pryor Jr.
One of my fondest memories of college life was watching MTV. Our college installed cable in the dorms my sophomore year (1981-82). Many of my friends back then were musicians, but not rockers. Most of us played in the university band and orchestra. I still remember one friend, a chemistry major, who regularly watched MTV with the television sound off (no mute button then) while he listened to orchestral music. You have not experienced MTV like he did until you watch it while listening to the music of Arnold Schoenberg. A conservative favorite of College Republicans back then was “Rock the Casbah” by The Clash, but that was long before 9/11. The guys wanted to invite our favorite VJ, Martha Quinn, on a date, and the gals all liked Alan Hunter from Birmingham, Alabama.

— Judge William H. Pryor Jr. serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Last year, Judge Pryor cited the B-52s’ “Love Shack” in a decision.

You can read it here.

Here’s a nice article in the University of Alabama’s student-run newspaper, “The Crimson White,” on SA’s patron saint.

As noted below, Judge Pryor appeared on C-SPAN’s “America and the Courts” series this past Saturday. You can watch the interview by following this link rtsp://video.c-span.org/60days/ac021106.rm (Realplayer required). If the link doesn’t launch Realplayer, then open Realplayer and use the File-open function and copy and paste the link. The interview begins at 43:10.

Friday’s edition of the ABA Journal’s e-Report contained this write-up of Judge William Pryor’s address at Notre Dame last month.  Father Drinan makes an appearance!

This week’s “America and the Courts” contains a lengthy interview with Judge Bill Pryor, discussing numerous issues. It’s well worth the time to sit and watch. You should be able to find the clip by following this link and when playing the video, skip-ahead to after the half-way mark.

I’ve been meaning to post this Mobile Register editorial about SA patron saint Bill Pryor’s wonderful speech at Notre Dame a week ago. I’ll also cross-post it at Confirm them.

This is what Justice Stevens is rumored to have said off the record.

I’ve heard this rumor as well, along with the one that has Stevens stepping down after this term is over. But blogging has taught me that these rumors (even those attested to by “extremely reliable” sources ) often don’t pan out; so take this post for what it is worth: sheer speculation.

I will say this though: If Stevens does retire from the Court this summer, get ready for the political battle to end all political battles. Seriously, I do not envy the unmitigated hell that the next Supreme Court nominee will be forced to go through. It will make the process leading up to Alito’s confirmation look like a cakewalk.

But the answer, Mr. President (just in case you slept through the Miers debacle) is NOT to nominate an unknown “moderate” of questionable ability to the high Court (again). No sir, it is time to give the dems and penumbra lovers the bayonet and reverse the course of jurisprudential history by nominating the patron saint of SA. The fight is predetermined, Mr. President, so let’s nominate someone worth fighting over, shall we?  

CNA has this report.

Judge William H. Pryor, Jr. of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to give two speeches at the University of Notre Dame on January 24, 2006. It is my understanding that judge will first speak to the law school’s chapter of the Federalist Society around 4:00 p.m., and then later that evening, at 7:30 p.m., he will give the first talk in the school’s “Catholic Think Tank” lecture series.

So, if you are an undergrad, law student, or faculty member at ND, or just live in the “Bend,” and can get into either one of these events, please do so.