Supreme Court takes Zivotovsky case
On Monday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari (review) in the case of Menachem Zivotovsky, a case I discussed on Sunday here. This is from the first link (Hat Tip: Stuart W). Although the Justice Department had urged the Court not to hear the case, it granted review nevertheless. In addition to agreeing to answer whether the dispute can be decided in the courts, or is a “political question” controversy, the Court told lawyers to argue an added question: whether the 2002 law unconstitutionally “infringes the President’s power to recognize foreign sovereigns.” When President George W. Bush signed that bill into law in 2002, he made exactly that protest. The case, thus, puts before the Court a case in which it may consider the effect that a presidential “signing statement” has on judicial interpretation of an act of Congress. Mr. Bush, more than any other president, had used statements that he issued when he signed bills into law, to take exception to provisions that he and his aides thought intruded on White House powers.Good luck to Menachem, his parents and his lawyers.
The government has argued that the 2002 law will interfere with the Executive Branch’s attempts to negotiate for peace in the Middle East, because the status is a very hot topic in the area, leading the U.S. to refuse to recognize Jerusalem as formally a part of Israel.
UPDATE WEDNESDAY 2:33 AM
For those who are interested, the petition for Menachem and his parents may be found here (121-page pdf) and the petition for the government may be found here (21-page pdf) (Hat Tip: Lance K).
Labels: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Zivotovsky
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:30 PM
1 Comments:
Just sent ZOA a message asking of they'll be writing an amicus brief.
It's an interesting case. On the one hand, I want the passport to say Israel (my grandchildren were born in J'lem); On the other hand, I do want the prez to have a lot of power when it comes to foreign policy. I understand there's also the other issue - the embassy - that is a similar issue (but not quite the same if the statute gives the prez an out).
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