I took yesterday afternoon and evening away from computers and news and sure enough, something big happened. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the feds cannot prosecute medical marijuana users in states where use is legal.
You've probably heard about this by now, but I'd like to point out a couple of items of good news. First, the link above points to the Volokh conspiracy, a group legal blog, where the lawyer who actually argued the case writes about the ruling. The internet still has a sort of a 'wow that's cool' factor for me that way.
Secondly, the Ninth Circuit is the conservatives' favorite whipping boy, as a radio talk show host will confirm. The court made the ruling based on the federalist concept of states' rights, an idea much favored by conservatives, and in my opinion the court applied it correctly here. It will be fun to watch conservatives argue against states' rights as they appeal this ruling to the Supremes.
I don't like 9th Circuit--and it is pretty rare that I agree with them. This time, though, I do think they got it right both on constitutional grounds and, simply, what I think was the right response.
They most certainly are an activist court, though. Notably, it's not so much that I disagreed with their pledge ruling as much as I disliked it. I think that their interpretation in that issue isn't any real stretch given current thought.
I really don't like 9th Circuit. I do like this decision, though.