Washington Posts Supreme Court Year in Review 2009 or Promises to Keep

Washington Post's Supreme Court Year in Review 2009: The Major Cases and Decisions of 2008

Author: The Washington Post

Complete coverage of the important Supreme Court cases and findings of 2008 with commentary from the legal desk of The Washington Post. Organized by subject area, this review will cover the cases of the Supreme Court that have the biggest impact on our country. Whether your interest is in personal freedom, Constitutional law, or legal decisions that directly affect business or politics, this book provides the details of the cases that confirm or change the direction of law in the United States.

Select commentary from the staff of The Washington Post’s legal desk will clarify and pull together how the decisions affect each of us and affect the legal system of our country.

Table of Contents:

Ch. 1 Habeas Corpus 1 Medellin v. Texas, 06-984 2 Boumediene v. Bush, 06-1195 31 Ch. 2 The First Amendment 83 New York State Board of Elections v. Lopez Torres, 06-766 84 United States v. Williams, 06-694 95 Davis v. Federal Election Commission, 07-320 115 Ch. 3 The Second Amendment 139 District of Columbia v. Heller, 07-290 140 Ch. 4 The Eighth Amendment 197 Baze v. Rees, 07-5439 198 Kennedy v. Louisiana, 07-343 221 Ch. 5 The Fourteenth Amendment 243 Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 07-21 244 Ch. 6 Federal Sentencing Guidelines 273 Kimbrough v. United States, 06-6330 274 Ch. 7 Criminal Law 293 Snyder v. Louisiana, 06-10119 294 Ch. 8 Employee Benefits 307 LaRue v. DeWolff Boberg, Associates, Inc., 06-856 308 Ch. 9 Torts 321 Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., 06-43 322 Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 06-179 345 Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 07-219 363 Timeline 389 Index 393

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Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics

Author: Joe Biden

“Nearly forty years after I first got involved, I remain captivated by the possibilities of politics and public service. In fact, I believe that my chosen profession is a noble calling. That’s why I wanted to be a part of it.”
–Joe Biden

As a United States senator from Delaware since 1973, Joe Biden has been an intimate witness to the major events of the past four decades and a relentless actor in trying to shape recent American history. He has seen up close the tragic mistake of the Vietnam War, the Watergate and Iran-contra scandals, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a presidential impeachment, a presidential resignation, and a presidential election decided by the Supreme Court. He’s observed Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and two Bushes wrestling with the presidency; he’s traveled to war zones in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and seen firsthand the devastation of genocide. He played a vital role by standing up to Ronald Reagan’s effort to seat Judge Robert Bork on the Supreme Court, fighting for legislation that protects women against domestic violence, and galvanizing America’s response (and the world’s) to Slobodan Milosevic’s genocidal march in the Balkans. In Promises to Keep, Biden reveals what these experiences taught him about himself, his colleagues, and the institutions of government.

With his customary candor, Biden movingly recounts growing up in a staunchly Catholic multigenerational household in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware; overcoming a demoralizingstutter; marriage, fatherhood, and the tragic death of his wife Neilia and infant daughter Naomi; remarriage and re-forming a family with his second wife, Jill; success and failure in the Senate and on the campaign trail; two life-threatening aneurysms; his relations with fellow lawmakers on both sides of the aisle; and his leadership of powerful Senate committees.

Through these and other recollections, Biden shows us how the guiding principles he learned early in life–the obligation to work to make people’s lives better, to honor family and faith, to get up and do the right thing no matter how hard you’ve been knocked down, to be honest and straightforward, and, above all, to keep your promises–are the foundations on which he has based his life’s work as husband, father, and public servant.

Promises to Keep is the story of a man who faced down personal challenges and tragedy to become one of our most effective leaders. It is also an intimate series of reflections from a public servant who refuses to be cynical about political leadership, and a testament to the promise of the United States.