Musings on India, the law, and policy
Posted in Constitution, Court, Human Rights on Feb 5th, 2011
I had the honour and privilege of speaking with Justice Albie Sachs, former judge of the Constitutional Court in South Africa – transcript in today’s op-ed is here. Those who were in NALSAR for Justice Yacoob’s visit in 2006 will remember his erudition and humility. Albie Sachs, his colleague at the Court is no exception [...]
Posted in Constitution, Court, Democracy, Human Rights, india, Rights, Rule of Law on Jun 5th, 2010
So much for the notion that all of constitutional law lies there in the Constitution waiting for a judge to read it fairly […] That is why the simplistic view of the Constitution devalues our aspirations, and attacks that our confidence, and diminishes us. A week back, Justice David H. Souter, who stepped down from [...]
Posted in Court on Jun 4th, 2010
Turns out that two thirds of Americans cannot name even one Supreme Court justice. Their knowledge of the law, too, leaves much to be desired. For example, a 2006 survey found that only 28% of Americans can name two or more First Amendment rights; on the plus side, the same study found that 52% can [...]
Posted in Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Rights on Jun 2nd, 2010
In 2001, a chap by the name of Van Chester Thompkins was arrested in Ohio, for first-degree murder that occurred during a drive-by shooting at a mall in Michigan. Before he was interrogated by the police for 3 hours, he was read and given a printed copy of the now-famous set of rights that were [...]
Posted in Constitution, Court on May 21st, 2010
If Elena Kagan’s nomination to the US Supreme Court is confirmed by the Senate, the Court will comprise Justices who are all either from Harvard or Yale. Naturally, there has been intense debate on whether the Supreme Court is being fortified in an exclusionary philosophy that favours products of elite, expensive Ivy League education – [...]
Posted in Constitution, Court, Human Rights, Politics, Rights on May 31st, 2009
When Sonia Sotomayor ascends those marble steps to assume her seat on the highest court of the land, America will have taken another important step towards realizing the ideal that is etched above its entrance: Equal justice under the law. Judge Sotomayor’s nomination was bound to (re)generate debate on the plausible influence of race/gender on [...]