Bybee tortures the Takings Clause

That human Deepwater Horizon of jurisprudence — Las Vegas Sun

[Jay Bybee's] conservative colleague Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld ... explained in dissent that no matter how much he or anyone else might want to declare this rent control ordinance a taking, no faithful application of the Constitution and court precedent allows it.

Conservative judicial activism in the 9th Circuit*

* Bybee was joined in the opinion (.pdf; 75 pgs.) by Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, who raised a National Holy Ruckus in June, 2002 when he ruled the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional (.pdf; 33 pgs.).

The latter case ultimately reached the Supreme Court, where a plurality found that the plaintiff lacked standing,** thus precluding the Court from deciding the controversy's merits. But this didn't stop Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Thomas from deciding them anyway, in a conservatively activist maneuver.

Justice Scalia was unable to participate, as he had conservatively and actively announced his decision to a Knights of Columbus conclave in Virginia while the Ninth Circuit's ruling was still on appeal.

** a.k.a., "they punted."

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