Judge Sam Alito has been confirmed to the Supreme Court. The vote was 58 to 42. The only confirmed justice to receive fewer favorable votes was Clarence Thomas.

In an e-mail, People for the American Way states that SavetheCourt generated 600,000 faxes and e-mails to Senators in just the past several days.

In my Scoring Scotus column today at Altercation, I talk about the impact that efforts by bloggers and activists had on the Democratic leadership, and what it portends for 2006 and 2008.

In his floor comments opposing Alito today, Senator Harry Reid lamented the rejection of Harriet Miers and blamed the radical right. I agree with him. Miers would have been far preferable to Alito. And she never even got to have a hearing, much less an up or down vote. (no link yet, received by e-mail.)

Tom Coughlin, a protege of Sam Walton, pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion today in federal court and faces up to 28 years in prison.

Coughlin admitted stealing money, gift cards and store merchandise for his personal use. His acts were discovered by Wal-Mart lawyers who turned him in to the feds.

by TChris

From time to time, laws are proposed (and sometimes enacted) that prohibit drivers from talking on cell phones while they drive. Never mind that talking on a cell phone is no more distracting than fiddling with the radio or typing addresses into a GPS navigation system, or pushing the dog away or arguing with a passenger. Laws against unsafe driving (reckless or inattentive driving) already address cell phone usage (as well as any other distraction) that actually prevents an individual driver from driving safely.

Calls for cell phone bans are fueled by stories like this one, where a 19 year old was arrested for reckless homicide because he struck a child while -- according to initial reports -- he was text messaging a friend. When the truth finally replaced hysteria, it turned out that the driver finished text messaging about a minute before the accident. And it appears that the child fell or moved back into the path of the car, after successfully crossing the street, in response to the shouting of his uncle's girlfriend. Despite the outrage of the understandably upset relatives of the child, there's no basis for their criticism of a grand jury that refused to charge the driver with a crime. And there's no need for laws that categorically prohibit drivers from using their cell phones.

Coretta Scott King has died. May she rest in peace. Firedoglake has a nice tribute.

Sen. Russ Feingold Monday charged that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales misled the Judiciary Committee at his Senate confirmation hearing on January 6, 2005, when repsonding to questions about the President's authority to order warrantless surveillance. [link fixed]

In a letter to the attorney general yesterday, Feingold demanded to know why Gonzales dismissed the senator's question about warrantless eavesdropping as a "hypothetical situation" during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January 2005. At the hearing, Feingold asked Gonzales where the president's authority ends and whether Gonzales believed the president could, for example, act in contravention of existing criminal laws and spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant.

Let's go to the transcript: (Panel I, afternoon transcript of January 6, 2005, available on Lexis.com)

by TChris

Strangest statement by an Idaho bureaucrat so far this week:

"The result in Idaho is that you could theoretically be a convicted cannibal and still have a hunting license," said Ed Mitchell, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Boise. "But if you are a convicted cannibal, you cannot legally own a bent BB gun in the state of Idaho."

Do a large number of convicted cannibals apply for hunting licenses in Idaho?

by TChris

There are so many flaws in Georgia's administration of the death penalty that it took the ABA 323 pages to recount them all. The ABA wants Georgia to impose a moratorium on the death penalty until it resolves those problems. It's predictable that Georgia's Republican governor meets that suggestion with a yawn; it's distressing that the Democratic candidate for that office is equally unconcerned.

An ABA panel said it found seven weaknesses in the state's application of capital punishment. They included no guarantee of counsel at a habeas corpus appeal based on constitutional or procedural grounds; confusing jury instructions; and what the panel considered an unfair standard of proof for defendants to show mental retardation.

The jury has been selected in the Enron trial of Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling. Eight women, four men, and alternates. For those who want the play-by-play, down to the kinds of muffins served to jurors, check the Houston Chronicle trial blog, written by lawyers in attendance.

Lay and Skilling have their own defense tables in the courtroom. The Judge told the jurors,

"We have some of the finest lawyers in the United States trying this case."

Dominatrix Mistress Lauren M was acquitted of manslaughter and dismemberment of a body today in Massachussetts.

Prosecutors said that 53-year-old Michael Lord suffered a heart attack in 2000 during a bondage session in a "dungeon" in Asher's condominium and that Asher did nothing to help him for five minutes for fear authorities would find out about her business.

Asher had her boyfriend chop up the body of the 275-pound retired telephone company worker, and they dumped it behind a restaurant in Maine, prosecutors said. His remains have never been found. Prosecutors said Asher confessed to police, but the alleged confession was not taped, and investigators testified they did not save their notes.

Defense attorney Stephanie Page argued there was no proof Lord was dead -- "no body, no blood, no DNA."

The good news is Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll is alive. Another video of her has been released, in which she is veiled and crying and asks for the release of the remaining Iraqi prisoners.

25 Senators stood proud today and voted to extend debate on Judge Sam Alito. They deserve your thanks and your praise. Here's the list:

Bayh, Evan (D-IN)
Biden, Joseph R., Jr. (D-DE)
Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)
Clinton, Hillary Rodham (D-NY)
Dayton, Mark (D-MN)
Dodd, Christopher J. (D-CT)
Durbin, Richard (D-IL)
Feingold, Russell D. (D-WI)
Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA)
Jeffords, James M. (I-VT)

By a vote of 75 to 25, the Senate today ended debate on the nomination of Judge Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. The final vote is tomorrow, and over 40 Senators are expected to vote against his nomination.This means Alito will receive more "no" votes than any other confirmed Supreme Court nominee in the last 100 years, other than Justice Clarence Thomas. (via Save the Court)

TalkLeft offers many thanks to the courageous band of 25 who stood firm, did not yield, and voted their consciences which told them that Judge Alito was outside the mainstream and not an appropriate choice for a lifetime appointment to our nation's highest court.

From People for the American Way (received by e-mail, no link yet):