The Center for Social Gerontology
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July 2, 2009, 2009; 1 note posted today

 

Term Saw High Court Move to The Right; Roberts-Led March Likely to Continue, with Kennedy the Swing Vote

7/2:  The following is from a July 1st NY Times analysis:  Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. emerged as a canny strategist at the Supreme Court this term, laying the groundwork for bold changes that could take the court to the right even as the recent elections moved the nation to the left.  The court took mainly incremental steps in major cases concerning voting rights, employment discrimination, criminal procedure and campaign finance. But the chief justiceŐs fingerprints were on all of them, and he left clues that the court is only one decision away from fundamental change in many areas of the law. Whether he will succeed depends on Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the courtŐs swing vote. And there is reason to think that the chief justice has found a reliable ally when it counts. "In the important cases, Kennedy ends up on the right," said Thomas C. Goldstein, a student of the court and the founder of Scotusblog, which has compiled comprehensive statistics on the current term. The two justices agreed 86 percent of the time. ... Chief Justice Roberts has certainly been planting seeds in this term's decisions. If his reasoning takes root in future cases, the law will move in a conservative direction on questions as varied as what kinds of evidence may be used against criminal defendants and the role the government may play in combating race discrimination. The two newest justices, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., both appointed by President George W. Bush, agreed 92 percent of time, the highest rate for any pair of justices. But Justice Alito often wrote concurring opinions to underscore or try to extend conservative rulings, especially in criminal cases. He may well now be the courtŐs most conservative member.  "Alito is staking out some room to the right of the chief justice," said Pamela Harris, the executive director of the Supreme Court Institute at Georgetown University Law Center, "and you would have thought there is no such room." ... The court was remarkably polarized in the 74 signed decisions it issued this term, dividing 5-to-4 or 6-to-3 in almost half of them, up from roughly a third in the three previous years. The court reversed lower courts about three-quarters of the time, up from two-thirds in the last term.  Justice Kennedy was in the majority 92 percent of the time and in all but 5 of the 23 decisions in which the justices split 5-to-4. Those decisions were, moreover, often divided in the expected way: in 16, all four members of the court's liberal wing were on one side and all four of its conservatives were on the other.  And in between them was Justice Kennedy, the most powerful jurist in America. He joined the liberals 5 times and the conservatives 11. That was a significant shift to the right: in the previous term, Justice Kennedy voted four times each with the liberals and the conservatives in cases divided along the traditional ideological fault line.  Justice Kennedy swung right in the cases that really mattered.  To access the NY Times article, click above.  To access a Washington Post analysis, click here.

 

An old familiar lifestyle is gone in a puff; Low-income tenants face smoking ban in Vancouver county apartments

7/1:  The following is from a June 27th Columbian article: In 1988, they banned it in airplanes. In 1994, in offices. In 2006, the bars.  And this month, they finally banned smoking in Teri Richard's apartment building.  "When I grew up, there was a big ashtray on everybody's table," said Richard, 53, sitting under a small corner of awning that stretches 25 feet from the nearest door.  Though Richard and a handful of her neighbors are only the latest of millions of tenants across the country to choose such indignities for the sake of an addiction, these tenants have an unusual landlord: the Vancouver Housing Authority.  The new decision by Clark County's subsidized housing agency to ban smoking in some of its properties reflects Washington's successful crusade to drive down cigarette use. ... After years of debate, the VHA banned smoking indoors and on the balconies of Richard's building at the start of June. The company that manages the property has left notes on apartments but is still working out how the new rules would be enforced. On Wednesday, Columbia House in the Hough neighborhood will become the VHA's second smoke-free property. The agency might roll the ban out to others of its dozens of buildings across the county , VHA deputy director LaVon Holden said in May.  Most public housing agencies are doing the same, she said.  "It is just a standard of the business," said Holden, a former smoker. "We are becoming a culture that is less tolerant of secondhand smoke, because we now know the downside."  The decision will save the agency about $1,900 for every two-bedroom apartment that doesn't have to be scrubbed and repainted every time a smoker moves out, Holden said.  Smokers' habits had been making life less nice for some of the Esther Short building's nonsmokers, who are a majority of the tenants. Click above for full article.

 

House Appropriations Committee Would Raise Federal LSC Funding to $440 Million, but Lift Only the "Attorneys' Fees Restriction," Despite Obama Recommendation to Also Lift Private Money Restriction and Class Action Restriction; Issue Now Moves to Senate

6/12:  According to a June 12th note from the Brennan Center for Justice: On June 4, 2009, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS), which has jurisdiction over funding for LSC, considered its annual appropriations bill.  The bill, which was passed out of the Subcommittee the same day, raised LSC's total funding level to $440 million, up from $390 million in FY 2009, a 12.8% increase. Authored by the Chair of the CJS Subcommittee, Representative Alan Mollohan (WV), the bill also removes the restriction that currently prohibits LSC grantees from using LSC funds to seek attorneys' fee awards -- a limitation that had been included as a rider to the LSC appropriation every year since 1996.   The bill does not lift any of the other LSC funding restrictions. The full bill passed the full House Appropriations Committee on June 9, 2009, with no changes to the LSC provisions, and now awaits passage b y the full House.  The bill's call for increased funding is a greatly welcomed boost, especially because the economic downturn has substantially increased legal need while reducing the availability of other legal services funding. However, the bill does not lift other LSC restrictions, specifically, it does not lift the restriction on non-LSC funds, and it does not lift the restriction on class actions.  Pres. Obama's detailed budget had called for removal of these two additional restrictions.  In the Senate, the CJS Appropriations Subcommittee has yet to produce an FY 2010 appropriation bill, but is expected to turn to this now.  The CJS Subcommittee is free to draft its own bill, and could do so along the lines of the President's budget.  Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD) chairs the Senate's CJS Subcommittee.  Once both the House and Senate have passed their respective CJS bills, differences between the two versions will likely be addressed and reconciled by a conference committee.  For further info from the Brennan Center, click above.

 

At least 112 public housing authorities now have smoke-free policies for some or all their apartment buildings; About a 660% increase in past 53 months

6/2:  TCSG's Smoke-Free Environments Law Project maintains this up-dated listing of all the public housing authorities/commissions in the U.S. that we know of which have adopted smoke-free policies for one or more of their apartment buildings.  The listing is done largely in the order in which the policies have been adopted.  As of May, 2009, at least 112 local housing authorities had adopted smoke-free policies for some or all of their apartment buildings, with about 94 being adopted since the beginning of January, 2005; an average of about 1.8 per month. That constitutes an increase in the number of housing authorities with smoke-free policies of about 660% in 53 months.  The 17 states with such policies include Michigan (28), Minnesota (19), Maine (18), Colorado (11), California (7), Nebraska (6), Washington (4), New Hampshire (3), Oregon (3), Alaska (3) New Jersey (2), Wisconsin (2), Idaho (2), Florida, Montana, Indiana, and Kentucky.  To access the listing, in pdf format, click above.

 

Bipartisan Group of Senators Support $45 Million Increase for LSC

6/1:  According to a May 22nd Legal Services Corporation press release:  Fifty-three Senators have signed on to a letter asking key appropriators to provide at least $435 million for the Legal Services Corporation in fiscal year 2010-a $45 million increase over current funding levels and the amount requested by President Obama. Forty-five Democrats, six Republicans and two Independents signed the letter.  Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) was the lead sponsor of the letter and has sent similar letters requesting increases for LSC for at least the last eight years. Senator Kennedy is Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is responsible for conducting oversight of the Corporation.  The letter notes that the increase for LSC is necessary to meet "the greater need that exists today because of the economic crisis, which has increased the number of foreclosures, the numbers of the unemployed, and the number of individuals and families who now qualify for federally funded legal aid." The letter also points out that current funding levels are still far less, in real dollars, than what LSC received nearly 15 years and 30 years ago.  "Without continued increases in federal funding," concludes the letter, "many more of our most vulnerable citizens will be denied assistance in the future. We urge you, therefore, to fund the Legal Services Corporation at no less than $435 million for the coming fiscal year to help meet this critical need." Click above to access the full press release.

 

President announces intent to nominate Kathy Greenlee as Assistant Secretary for Aging

5/5: According to a May 4th Administration on Aging press release: President Obama announces intention to nominate Kathy Greenlee as U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging. The Administration on Aging is pleased to report that on Friday, May 1, 2009, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Kathy Greenlee, Kansas Secretary of Aging, for Assistant Secretary for Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kathy Greenlee has served as Secretary of Aging for the state of Kansas since January 2006. In that capacity, she has led a cabinet-level agency with 192 full-time staff members and a total budget of $495 million. Her department oversees the state's Older Americans Act programs, the distribution of Medicaid long-term care payments and regulation of nursing home licensure and survey processes. Ms. Greenlee has served on the board of the National Association of State Units on Aging since 2008. From 2004-2006, Greenlee served as State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in Kansas, and prior to that, was the state's Assistant Secretary of Aging. From 1999-2002, Greenlee served as general counsel at the Kansas Insurance Department. During her tenure there, she led the team of regulators who evaluated the proposed sale of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas, and oversaw the Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas program. Greenlee also served as Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations for then Governor Kathleen Sebelius. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas with degrees in business administration and law. Once nominated, Ms. Greenlee must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To access the press release, click above.