4 ms·

This will be really interesting if it makes it to SCOTUS. They really don’t like pitting two principles against each other. In this case it would be national se

This will be really interesting if it makes it to SCOTUS. They really don’t like pitting two principles against each other. In this case it would be national security and First Amendment protections. They will try to find any reason why this doesn’t really fit on procedural grounds or some limited circumstances. As a layperson I find the oral arguments surprisingly accessible. Oyez even has them in podcast format. All of the justices ask sharp questions despite media loving to portray them as clowns or partisan hacks.

threatofrain 3y ago
Tensions between fundamental values is exactly what top courts are for!
avmich 3y ago
> All of the justices ask sharp questions despite media loving to portray them as clowns or partisan hacks. The intent of laws is to be understandable at specifying and clear in application. If it takes efforts of highly professional people to determine the application and explain the rationale - the latter part often not really done - then those sharp questions aren't worth much, and loving to portray as clowns gets quite old and turns into hopeless illustrations of the lost of reason in the important activity. > They really don’t like pitting two principles against each other. They shouldn't have any animosity here. If two principles do conflict, it's not the judges' job to invent a solution - they have to uncover the conflict, make it visible - a sort of a bug report - and apply some decision, with all caveats clearly stated.
- janalsncm 3y ago
  It’s not that you have to be professional to understand, it’s that professionals reliably do. The vast majority of Americans can’t even name what the Bill of Rights does, or what the enumerated powers of Congress are, for example. It’s not that these are inaccessible pieces of knowledge, but people aren’t aware of them. With a basic grounding in civics and after brushing up on the laws in question, I think most people could follow along.
  - threatofrain 3y ago
    No, they can't. There is no legal codebase in the world that is grokkable to ordinary people anymore. 8th grade story-telling level of understanding is not the performance level you need in the legal game. That's enough understanding to make you sound smart while getting into trouble.

threatofrain 3y ago

Tensions between fundamental values is exactly what top courts are for!

avmich 3y ago

> All of the justices ask sharp questions despite media loving to portray them as clowns or partisan hacks. The intent of laws is to be understandable at specifying and clear in application. If it takes efforts of highly professional people to determine the application and explain the rationale - the latter part often not really done - then those sharp questions aren't worth much, and loving to portray as clowns gets quite old and turns into hopeless illustrations of the lost of reason in the important activity. > They really don’t like pitting two principles against each other. They shouldn't have any animosity here. If two principles do conflict, it's not the judges' job to invent a solution - they have to uncover the conflict, make it visible - a sort of a bug report - and apply some decision, with all caveats clearly stated.

janalsncm 3y ago
It’s not that you have to be professional to understand, it’s that professionals reliably do. The vast majority of Americans can’t even name what the Bill of Rights does, or what the enumerated powers of Congress are, for example. It’s not that these are inaccessible pieces of knowledge, but people aren’t aware of them. With a basic grounding in civics and after brushing up on the laws in question, I think most people could follow along.
- threatofrain 3y ago
  No, they can't. There is no legal codebase in the world that is grokkable to ordinary people anymore. 8th grade story-telling level of understanding is not the performance level you need in the legal game. That's enough understanding to make you sound smart while getting into trouble.