Thursday, January 12, 2006

BROWNBACK STEPS ON THE PUNCH LINE: I don't intend to take up the political or doctrinal questions here, but I did have to make one comment on yesterday's Alito hearings. I believe that Brownback became the first person in over fifty years to discuss Buck v. Bell without using the phrase "three generations of imbeciles." For the non-lawyers, that's like reviewing Brokeback Mountain without saying "gay" or "cowboy," or, if you prefer, like trying to have a discussion about Chuck Norris without using the words "ass" or "kicking." It's (shrewdly?) ironic that Brownback broke this precedent in an attack on the doctrine of stare decisis.

In fact, I challenge anybody on this list to identify a case that is more associated with a single phrase -- as opposed to the principle underlying the phrase -- than Buck v. Bell and "three generations of imbeciles."

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