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Judge Janice Rogers Brown in a Purple Haze

Janice Rogers Brown.jpgDiva-licious D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown may be upping the musical reference ante placed by SCOTUS Chief John Roberts. Roberts cited Bob Dylan in a recent SCOTUS dissent.

We’ve had an eye on Brown for a while (see previous coverage here), and she often surfaces as a Supreme Court contender. Perhaps following Roberts’ musical legal reference lead will improve her chances. As reported on Slate’s legal blog Convictions:

D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown has taken this trend to a whole new level: Today she opened the court’s opinion in K&R Limited Partnership v. Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency [PDF] with a line from … Jimi Hendrix:
“Forty years ago Jimi Hendrix trilled his plaintive query: “Is this love, baby, or is it … [just] confusion?” JIMI HENDRIX, Love or Confusion, on ARE YOU EXPERIENCED (Reprise Records 1967). In this False Claims Act case, we face a similar question involving a mortgage subsidy program initiated in that era: Is this fraud, or is it … just confusion?”

Though Hendrix is arguably “cooler” than Dylan, we are declaring Roberts the winner of the musical reference contest since he actually cites Dylan’s original meaning, while Brown uses the Hendrix quote for a turn of phrase. If she is able to somehow reference Hendrix’s wicked on-stage distortion in a future opinion, we may reconsider.

Janice Rogers Brown Is Experienced [Convictions]
Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge Brown [PDF]
Love or Confusion [YouTube]

Earlier: SCOTUS Is All Tangled Up in Dylan
Judge Janice Rogers Brown

Comments

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1 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, July 8, 2008 10:10 PM

Kash, we missed you!!

I hope HK's treating you well.


ATL fan

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2 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, July 8, 2008 10:12 PM


Can't one of those idealistic O'Bama supporters give us some inspirational words so that we can experience healing between the Hendrix and Dylan proponents?


(Unless you're too sad to talk/write because the Messiah just changed all his positions - telecom immunity, immigration, international trade/NAFTA, Iraq withdrawal, Gen Petraeus, Jerry Wright, Heller/gun rights, federal funding for faith-based programs, the Iraq surge.)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121495450490321133.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121547299393533965.html

and, lest I forget, FIRST.

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3 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, July 8, 2008 10:35 PM

In what universe could Janice Rogers Brown get confirmed to the Supreme Court? She may be the most extreme appellate judge in the country.

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4 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, July 8, 2008 11:12 PM

There is no way that Hendrix is cooler than Dylan. That's not arguable; that's laughable. Even John Roberts knows that.

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5 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, July 8, 2008 11:13 PM

10:35 - No, that would be Stephen Reinhardt.

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6 Posted by guest | Permalink Tuesday, July 8, 2008 11:42 PM

"Though Hendrix is arguably "cooler" than Dylan, we are declaring Roberts the winner of the musical reference contest . . . "

Kash, did you clear that position with Lat? Although Roberts' dimples used to make A3G go all weak in the knees, Lat has made clear in prior posts that he is a MAJOR fan of JRB, in all her divaliciousness.

@10:35, how is "the most extreme appellate judge in the country"? I know she barely got confirmed because the idea of conservative (or perhaps more accurately, libertarian) black woman who doesn't worship at the shrine of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton drives the Democrats absolutely nuts, but what has she actually done as a judge that could be considered "extreme"?

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7 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 2:21 AM

10:35: One can debate whether Janice Rogers Brown is the most *conservative* appellate judge in the country. She is most certainly not the most *extreme*, however. Even the most conservative appellate judge in the country is less far to the right than Justice Kennedy is to the left.

The Constitution is silent on abortion and sodomy. Justice Kennedy (and all judges to the Left of Justice Kennedy) is so far Left that he believes that abortion and sodomy are protected by the Constitution. The equivalent of Justice Kennedy on the right (i.e., a right-wing activist judge) would argue that the Constitution *requires* states to ban abortion and criminalize sodomy (a position that would appear laughable, but that should not be more ridiculous than the current law of the land).

Fed Soc

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8 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 2:30 AM

This is professional?

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9 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 3:31 AM

i hate this profession. a person writes a line on a piece of paper, quoting a piece of music- something that probably happens 1000 times a day- and within 4 hours of the notification of the legal community you get:

The Constitution is silent on abortion and sodomy. Justice Kennedy (and all judges to the Left of Justice Kennedy) is so far Left that he believes that abortion and sodomy are protected by the Constitution. The equivalent of Justice Kennedy on the right (i.e., a right-wing activist judge) would argue that the Constitution *requires* states to ban abortion and criminalize sodomy (a position that would appear laughable, but that should not be more ridiculous than the current law of the land).

Fed Soc

Fed soc, you need an HJ dude. just chillax. its hendrix.

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10 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 8:44 AM

I don't like it when judges use forced references. This seems forced. It's not clever at all. No points awarded.

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11 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 9:20 AM

Fed Soc - you must have a tortured personal history. Avoiding your parents is probably the best reason to stay out of biker bars. Get stuck in the birth canal for a long time and come out angry, did you?

And Kash - "quote" is a verb; "quotation" is the noun you were looking for. I thought you were supposed to be a better writer than SEN. I know quote is colloquial, but you're a writer not a speaker. Or at least that's what this blog claims.

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12 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 9:22 AM

@3:31- Amen.

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13 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 9:28 AM

I'm just waiting to see misinterpretations of quotations off of statutes in and around D.C. in Janice Rogers Brown's opinions.

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14 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 9:30 AM

8:44: agreed...no points for this weak attempt

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15 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 9:30 AM

@3:31 - Lame. Youy must be new here. Clearly Fed Soc's comment didn't come out of left field. It came in response to someone's comment that Brown "may be the most extreme appellate judge in the country." See, the way these discussion boards often work is that a post goes up, generally some lefty posts an unsubstantiated comment about anyone who is right of center being an extremist, then someone responds to it. If you're going to call someone out, call out 10:55 for spazzing.

Also, nice use of "chillax." Tool.

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16 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 10:05 AM

No one is cooler than Bob Dylan

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17 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 10:16 AM

Forty years ago Jimi Hendrix "trilled his plaintive query".....uh, sang? Too verbose, too forced....

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18 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 10:22 AM

9:30 AM = fedsoc talking about himself in 3rd person

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19 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 10:29 AM

this woman is a poser

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20 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 11:05 AM

I know this is a legal blog, but are you people really going to stand by the idea that Bob Dylan is cooler than Jimi Hendrix? Ground-breaking guitarist and musical virtuoso v. folk singing hippie that would be left to perform in Starbucks today.

Next you'll argue that Mendoza was the greatest hitter ever.

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21 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 11:30 AM

Not only is Dylan way cooler than Hendrix, almost anyone is cooler than Hendrix, since Hendrix sucks. His "music" grates on my ears.

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22 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 11:31 AM

FedSoc might want to review the 9th and 14th Amendments.

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23 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 11:53 AM

Her husband is a musician. SHe gets a pass.

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24 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 11:53 AM

Her husband is a musician. SHe gets a pass.

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25 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 11:53 AM

Her husband is a musician. SHe gets a pass.

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26 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 11:53 AM

Her husband is a musician. SHe gets a pass.

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27 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 12:12 PM

Does anyone know if her husband is a musician and should therefore get a pass?

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28 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 12:17 PM

People need to realize satire when they see it.

-Fed Soc

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29 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 12:18 PM

@12:12, yes, ironically, I was just reading on something on this very recently. Apparently, he is a musician, and therefore SHe gets a pass.

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30 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 12:39 PM

11:05 - Mendoza was actually a much better hitter than people give him credit for. Not the greatest by any means, but much better than a .200 avg.

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31 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 12:43 PM

11:53 - Isn't this woman dating Krazee-Eyez Killa?

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32 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 12:51 PM

Agree - forced. But I think it's kind of tacky to cite song lyrics at all.

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33 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 1:18 PM

This is a blatant misuse of the word "trill."

To "trill" is to rapidly switch between two notes played as fast as possibly, usually by hammering on and pulling off. Hendrix notably employs this technique in Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), and Red House.

It is possible to "trill" while singing, but it requires a highly trained and talented singer. Hendrix is neither, and his vocals in "Love or Confusion" do not even come close to trilling.

In conclusion, Judge Brown should be impeached.

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34 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 1:56 PM

"11:53 - Isn't this woman dating Krazee-Eyez Killa?"

LOL! Watch out . . .he'll bust a nut in your eye!

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35 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 2:03 PM

There is nothing "diva-licious" about this freakshow. She's basically Clarence Thomas with a vagina.

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36 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 3:13 PM

People need to realize that signing their posts "Fed Soc" will get them an ATL beatdown.

"As we all know, facts have a well-known liberal bias."
-Colbert

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37 Posted by guest | Permalink Wednesday, July 9, 2008 5:18 PM

These justices are just trying to be Kozinski, but never will be.

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