Ooops, Justice Department screws up. Bush administration blames New York Times

[telcoman]

Another Republician government screwup.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07...ml?hp

Blame the newspaper for watching our government. Fox news sure as hell is not!

Election day in November gets ever closer.

Telcoman

[Cold_Zero]

might as well post up the entire article, I dont have access to ready the NY times.

[rn79870]

Cliff notes: government lawyers should have known that Congress had recently made the rape of a child a capital offense in the military and should have informed the Supreme Court of that fact while the justices were considering whether death was a constitutional punishment for the crime.

To this I answer a very large - DUH. Seriously, don't the justices have access to and/or are familiar with new legislation, especially that of a capital nature? What the heck are law clerks for anyway?

[telcoman]

might as well post up the entire article, I dont have access to ready the NY times.

Happy to assist you

Justice Dept. Admits Error in Not Briefing Court E-MailPrint Reprints Save ShareDiggFacebookMixxYahoo! BuzzPermalink By LINDA GREENHOUSEPublished: July 3, 2008WASHINGTON — In a highly unusual admission of error, the Justice Department acknowledged on Wednesday that government lawyers should have known that Congress had recently made the rape of a child a capital offense in the military and should have informed the Supreme Court of that fact while the justices were considering whether death was a constitutional punishment for the crime.

Skip to next paragraph RelatedIn Court Ruling on Executions, a Factual Flaw (July 2, 2008) The Supremes Dis the Military Justice System (CAAFlog)Full Text of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (pdf)“It’s true that the parties to the case missed it, but it’s our responsibility,” the department’s public affairs office said in a statement.

“We regret,” the statement said, “that the department didn’t catch the 2006 law when the case of Kennedy v. Louisiana was briefed.”

In that case, decided June 25 by a vote of 5 to 4, the court ruled that the Constitution prohibits the death penalty for the rape of a child. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s majority opinion was based in part on the conclusion that because child rape was a capital offense in only six states, and not under federal law, the death penalty for the crime did not meet the “evolving standards of decency” by which the court judges capital punishment.

Justice Kennedy’s conclusion about the absence of federal law was mistaken. Not only did Congress add child rape to the military death penalty in 2006, but President Bush, in an executive order last September, added the new provision to the current version of the Manual for Courts-Martial.

The solicitor general’s office, which represents the federal government before the Supreme Court, did not file a brief in the case, and none of the 10 briefs that were filed informed the justices of the new federal law.

A civilian Air Force lawyer, Dwight Sullivan, mentioned the omission over the weekend on his military law blog. The New York Times reported the oversight in an account that first appeared Tuesday on its Web site.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, the White House press secretary, Dana Perino, said the administration “was disturbed by the New York Times report that the court’s decision might be based on a mistake.” The Justice Department is looking into what happened and what steps may now be taken, Ms. Perino said.

The Justice Department elaborated in its statement, which it issued in late afternoon. The department informed the court of the omission “shortly after learning of the law” on Tuesday, the statement said.

As the department’s statement noted, only parties to a case can ask the justices to reconsider their decision. The department might ask the court for permission to provide its views if Louisiana files a rehearing petition, the statement added.

Steve Wimberly, the first assistant in the Jefferson Parish, La., district attorney’s office, which handled the case for the state before the Supreme Court, said in an interview Wednesday that while no decision had yet been made, “we are strongly considering the option of asking the justices to reconsider the case.”

Mr. Wimberly added that Gov. Bobby Jindal, who denounced the court’s ruling, was involved in deciding how to proceed.

The Justice Department statement was carefully worded to avoid conceding that under the reasoning of the Supreme Court decision, the military death penalty provision for child rape is now unconstitutional.

The statement noted that in a 1996 decision, Loving v. United States, which upheld the military’s general death penalty provision, the justices simply assumed, without deciding, that the court’s death penalty jurisprudence was fully applicable to the military. Since no death penalty prosecution has been brought since the military provision took effect, it is not clear how or when its constitutionality may be tested.

Telcoman

[skylndrftr]

Ok Telco,

I agree with your general sentimen abotu this administration but seriously...you make your arguement look bad just in your general attitude and the way you pursue your POV.

where did they blame the NYT?

Don't lie, thats what the otherside does. ever heard the old saying "never argue with an idiot they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience".

[telcoman]

Ok Telco,

I agree with your general sentimen abotu this administration but seriously...you make your arguement look bad just in your general attitude and the way you pursue your POV.

where did they blame the NYT?

Don't lie, thats what the otherside does. ever heard the old saying "never argue with an idiot they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience".

Here is the quote

"Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, the White House press secretary, Dana Perino, said the administration “was disturbed by the New York Times report that the court’s decision might be based on a mistake.” The Justice Department is looking into what happened and what steps may now be taken, Ms. Perino said."

Of course the administration is disturbed by the New York Times report. This administration was disturbed when it was reported that Bush failed to read the daily briefing report just prior to 9/11. The administration was disturbed over the 9/11 commission findings, disturbed over reports that Bush failed to heed warnings that the invasion of Iraq had too few troops and on and on. Just one failure after another. There are still too many Americans on this 4th of July eve believing the bs of this republician administration."You cannot fool all of the people all of the time" (Abraham Lincoln) but Bush keeps trying.I served proudly in the US Army and my distrust of our government goes back to the BS of the Viet Nam war. I'll be playing my vinyl anti war record collection tomorrow. Country Joe and the Fish

Telcoman

[skylndrftr]

I agree with you on most things but if your going to sound reasonable and valid in this forum drop the tinfoil hat BS.

She referenced the people who reported it...she is closer to thanking them and giving them credit than to blaming them.

[OriginalWheelman]

You can not sit here and blame the troop shortage on Bush when the Dems have been fighting every little bit of military spending. And now they ***** that the military is under equipped and understaffed. Do they take your frontal lobe when you register dem or something?

[skylndrftr]

What the F are you talking about dude?

seriously...

[AZhitman]

Do they take your frontal lobe when you register dem or something?

The only way to get it back is to forego party-line thinking and decide issues based on their individual merits.

[skylndrftr]

I still wanna know which thread you intended to post that in wheelman

[OriginalWheelman]

disturbed over reports that Bush failed to heed warnings that the invasion of Iraq had too few troops and on and on.