WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts told an Alabama audience Tuesday that he found the atmosphere "very troubling" at January's State of the Union Address, during which President Obama criticized the high court.
He questioned why justices attend the annual event. "To the extent it has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we're there."
Roberts' remarks constituted the latest salvo in criticism between the branches tracing to the court's January decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which struck down a federal limit on corporate spending in elections.
Roberts was responding Tuesday to a question from a law student during an appearance at the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, which posted a podcast of the event on its website.
The student asked about Obama's remarks during the Jan. 27 address as six of the nine justices sat before him. Obama said the Citizens United decision "reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests -- including foreign corporations -- to spend without limit in our elections."
Roberts first responded, "I think anybody can criticize the Supreme Court."
Yet he continued, "On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum.
"The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court -- according to the requirements of protocol -- has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling."
Justice Samuel Alito was unable to stay expressionless. During Obama's criticism, he shook his head and apparently mouthed "not true."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that Obama is "committed to reducing the undue influence of special interests. ... That is why he spoke out to condemn the decision and is working with Congress on a legislative response." (c) Copyright 2010 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
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Roberts: State of the Union 'pep rally'
Mar 10, 12:04 AM
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said the State of the Union has "degenerated into a political pep rally" and suggested justices should not attend the address.
Speaking to a group of law students Tuesday, Roberts said he found it "very troubling" during President Barack Obama's address this year for members of the Supreme Court to be surrounded by members of Congress who cheered when Obama found fault with a court ruling that abolished limits on political campaign spending by corporations and labor unions.
"The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court -- according to the requirements of protocol -- has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling," he said.
"To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we are there," Roberts told an audience of University of Alabama School of Law students.
Roberts said he was not bothered by the criticism, the Los Angeles Times reported, but by having to sit silently in observance of protocol.
Justices John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas were not at the State of the Union address. Scalia and Thomas have said in the past they think the event has become a partisan pep rally that justices should not attend, the Times said.
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Four charged with assisting suicide
Mar 09, 06:25 PM
Four members of the Final Exit Network have been indicted by a North Carolina grand jury on charges of helping a man commit suicide, authorities say.
Claire Blehr, 77, of Atlanta, Dr. Lawrence Egbert, 82, and Nicholas Alec Sheridan, 61, of Baltimore and Thomas "Ted" Goodwin, 64, of Kennesaw and Punta Gorda, Fla., have been named in the indictment, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday.
They are all charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which was passed by Congress in 1970. This carries a 20-year sentence if convicted. The four are also charged with evidence tampering, which carries a 10-year sentence, and assisting a suicide, which can bring a five-year sentence, the newspaper said.
The Final Exit Network's Web site offers information on "our right to die a peaceful and painless death at the time and place of our choosing."
The investigation leading to the Feb. 25, 2009, arrest began after the wife of John Celmer, 58, allegedly discovered he had committed suicide rather than die of the cancer from which he suffered, the Journal-Constitution said.
Celmer's wife allegedly found notes of conversations her husband had with one "exit guide" that discussed "coordinating my demise."
Arraignment for all four is set for April 1.
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2 dead, 1 injured in OSU shooting
Mar 09, 03:40 PM
An Ohio State University custodian with a poor work record allegedly shot two co-workers, killing one of them before killing himself, Tuesday, police said.
The Columbus Dispatch reported Nathaniel Brown, 51, arrived at the university maintenance building at 3:30 a.m., clad in dark clothing and armed with two guns. He allegedly shot building services manager Larry Wallington, 48, who died at the scene. Henry Butler, 60, an operations shift leader, was reported stable at OSU Medical Center where Brown also was pronounced dead on arrival.
OSU Police Chief Paul Denton said Brown fired multiple shots.
The Dispatch said Brown was a probationary employee with a poor work record. He had been working at OSU since October.
"All of us at Ohio State are shocked and deeply saddened by the shooting that occurred on campus early this morning. Today, we have lost a valued member of our University community. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family, as well as with the recovery of the second victim and others involved in this terrible event," university President Gordon Gee said in a statement on the university Web site.
No students were involved in the shootings at the McCracken Power Plant building at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Denton said.
Denton did not offer a motive behind the shootings, CNN said.
The shooting coincided with legislative debate on whether to lift the ban on guns on college campuses, The New York Times said.
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SeaWorld Orlando reconsiders using Tilikum killer whale in shows: Tilikum is the killer whale that d
Mar 09, 03:37 PM
By Jason Garcia, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
Mar. 9--SeaWorld said Tuesday that it is reconsidering whether to keep using the 6-ton killer whale that drowned its trainer last month in performances for audiences.
In the immediate aftermath of the Feb. 24 tragedy, in which 40-year-old trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed, SeaWorld said it intended to return Tilikum to shows. Jim Atchison, president and chief executive officer of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, said the orca's training for and participation in such performances was an important component of his "overall health and husbandry."
But SeaWorld has subsequently decided not to make any decisions about its interactions with killer whales until it has completed an internal review of training and safety policies. The company says it hopes to complete the review, which will also include input from representatives from outside marine parks and aquariums, sometime this month.
Tilikum hasn't appeared in any shows since the accident. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating.
"It is likely that Tilikum will return to shows, but it's premature to acknowledge that at this point," SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs said Tuesday.
Nicknamed "Tilly," Tilikum is SeaWorld's most dangerous orca.
At 12,000 pounds, he is the largest of the 26 killer whales in the company's collection and roughly twice as large as the next biggest at SeaWorld Orlando. Tilikum has also been linked to two deaths in the past: the drowning of a trainer at a British Columbia aquarium in 1991 and the drowning of a man who had climbed into SeaWorld's orca tanks after hours in 1999.
As such, SeaWorld has developed a series of safety protocols specifically for Tilikum. For example, only the company's most experienced trainers -- about a dozen of the 28 at SeaWorld Orlando -- are permitted to work with Tilikum and none is allowed to swim with him, as they routinely do with other killer whales.
SeaWorld has, however, permitted trainers to work with Tilikum from ledges of shallow water built into the sides of its tanks. That is where Brancheau was working when authorities say Tilikum grabbed her by her long ponytail and pulled her below water.
Though SeaWorld has resumed killer whale performances, the company says it will not allow trainers into the water with any of its orcas until the safety review is complete.
Jason Garcia can be reached at jrgarcia@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5414.
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