Legal News

In Final Debate, Candidates (Finally!) Turn to the Law

By Dan Slater

John McCain is a federalist. Barack Obama thinks Lilly Ledbetter got a raw deal. McCain doesn’t like litmus tests for Supreme Court nominations. Neither does Obama.

Joe the Plumber was the undeniable star of last night’s third and final presidential debate, but the Supreme Court played a strong supporting role. As far as we know, the debate offered the most wide-ranging discussion yet on the presidential nominees’ thoughts about the Supreme Court, judicial nominations and abortion policy. Here’s the transcript, and here’s a roundup.

On Roe and litmus tests:

MCCAIN: I would never and have never in all the years I’ve been there imposed a litmus test on any nominee to the court. . . I thought [Roe] was a bad decision. . . I think that decision should rest in the hands of the states. I’m a federalist.

OBAMA: Well, I think it’s true that we shouldn’t apply a strict litmus test . . . [W]hat ultimately I believe is that women in consultation with their families, their doctors, their religious advisers, are in the best position to make this decision. And I think that the Constitution has a right to privacy in it that shouldn’t be subject to state referendum . . .

On Breyer, Ginsburg, Roberts (and Alito?):

MCCAIN: I voted for Justice Breyer and Justice Ginsburg. Not because I agreed with their ideology, but because I thought they were qualified and that elections have consequences when presidents are nominated. . . .Senator Obama voted against Justice Breyer [LB note: we assume he meant Alito] and Justice Roberts on the grounds that they didn’t meet his ideological standards.

On Lilly Ledbetter:

OBAMA: Senator McCain and I disagreed recently when the Supreme Court made it more difficult for a woman named Lilly Ledbetter to press her claim for pay discrimination. . . when she brought a suit, saying equal pay for equal work, the judges said, well, you know, it’s taken you too long to bring this lawsuit, even though she didn’t know about it until fairly recently.

We tried to overturn it in the Senate. I supported that effort to provide better guidance to the courts; John McCain opposed it.

MCCAIN: Obviously, that law waved the statute of limitations, which you could have gone back 20 or 30 years. It was a trial lawyer’s dream.

On health of the mother exceptions for late-term abortion:

OBAMA: With respect to partial-birth abortion, I am completely supportive of a ban on late-term abortions, partial-birth or otherwise, as long as there’s an exception for the mother’s health and life . . .

MCCAIN: Just again, the example of the eloquence of Senator Obama. He’s health for the mother. You know, that’s been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything. . . But, look, Cindy and I are adoptive parents. We know what a treasure and joy it is to have an adopted child in our lives. We’ll do everything we can to improve adoption in this country.

But that does not mean that we will cease to protect the rights of the unborn.

LB Readers, any favorite moments for you, law-related or otherwise?

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on October 16, 2008 (boomark / email).