Joe Biden, Politics, Sarah Palin, SCOTUS

Joe Biden And Sarah Palin Discuss Roe v. Wade

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Earlier this week we reported on Sarah Palin’s apparent inability to name more than one important SCOTUS case.

Some commenters felt that we should reserve judgment on Palin’s judicial knowledge until we had “confirmation” about those opinions. Some people also questioned what her VP opponent, Joe Biden, might say under similar circumstances.

Well, now we have video:

Some key excerpts for those who cannot play the video after the jump.


When asked about Supreme Court cases he disagreed with, Biden answered:

You know, I’m the guy who wrote the Violence Against Women Act. And I said that every woman in America, if they are beaten and abused by a man, should be able to take that person to court – meaning you should be able to go to federal court and sue in federal court the man who abused you if you can prove that abuse. But they said, “No, that a woman, there’s no federal jurisdiction.” And I held, they acknowledged, I held about 1,000 hours of hearings proving that there’s an effect in interstate commerce.

Women who are abused and beaten and beaten are women who are not able to be in the work force. And the Supreme Court said, “Well, there is an impact on commerce, but this is federalizing a private crime and we’re not going to allow it.” I think the Supreme Court was wrong about that decision.

Biden disagrees when the Court tells him his laws are illegal. At least his answer came in under 9,000 words.

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Meanwhile, when asked the same question, Palin offered this response:

Well, let’s see. There’s, of course in the great history of America there have been rulings, that’s never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but …

Couric pressed her to cite a specific case, but Palin stuck to her guns:

Well, I could think of … any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with. But, you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a vice president, if I’m so privileged to serve, wouldn’t be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today.

Do either of these candidates pass your SCOTUS litmus test? We don’t expect tonight’s debate to focus too much on legal issues –but given that J.P. Stevens is in the “can you frost this pane of glass” stage– one of these people is going to be very close to naming a SCOTUS Justice.

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Palin, Biden Trade Views On Abortion [CBS]

Palin and Biden Weigh In On Roe and Federalism [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: How Many SCOTUS Cases Should a VP Know?

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