OUR BLOG
HARPER LEE’S INFLUENCES
We mark the passing of author Harper Lee. Southern historian, J. Wayne Flynt, a long-time friend of Harper Lee, refers to her masterpiece “To Kill a Mockingbird” as “Harper Lee’s gospel”.1 I have often wondered about Harper Lee’s inspiration for writing “To Kill a...
SCALIA THE MAN
Justice Antonin Scalia died suddenly on February 13, 2016. His death opens the possibility that the Supreme Court could rule 4-4 in a case before a replacement is confirmed. If that were to happen, the decision of the lower court would stand. The decision would be...
THE SPHINX
According to Adam Liptak, later this month Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court will have gone 10 years without asking a question from the bench. It has been 45 years since any other member of the Court went even a single term without asking a...
PLEASURE WITHOUT CONSCIENCE
Mahatma Gandhi was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. He was also a trained barrister having studied at the Inner...
REALIGNMENT
Explorer Henry Worsley, 55, died after developing a serious infection as he tried to cross Antarctica unaided.1 Mr. Worsley was trying to complete the unfinished journey of his hero, Sir Ernest Shackelford., 100 years later. Worsley died in pursuit of his greatest...
PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS AND THE SUPREME COURT
A president’s ability to build a legacy by shaping the makeup of the Supreme Court is an important consideration in this election year. On inauguration day 2017, Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy will soon join Ruth Bader Ginsburg in their 80s, and Stephen...
THE MAGNIFICENT YANKEE
“Every now and then a man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.” -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. The Magnificent Yankee is a 1950 American film that examines the life of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Louis...
APPELLATE JUDGES HIRE LOBBYIST
There is currently pending in both houses of the legislature a bill that would impose term limits on Florida’s appellate judges. In response, Florida’s appellate judges have hired a lobbyist. The lobbyist who they hired is a controversial figure, former appellate...
THE IMPORTANCE OF AVOCATION
. . .But yield who will to their separation, My object in living is to unite My avocation and my vocation As my two eyes make one in sight. . .1 Sir Winston Churchill was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940-1945 and...