It's appalling how little attention Ginsburg's napping episode has garnered. Just because we take for granted that federal judges serve for life doesn't mean the Constitution provides them an absolute blanket of impunity. Federal judges "shall hold their offices during good behavior," and I'm quite sure sleeping on the job finds no protection. Kudos to the bloggers and publications that didn't let this story go. Here are a few:
- Newsmax opines: "Political redistricting is a tedious legal issue. So tedious, in fact, that Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg apparently fell asleep during oral argument in the Court's review of a controversial Texas redistricting plan directed by Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, in 2003."
- Michael Bates of Renew America detects an agenda: "Perhaps her dozing off last week didn't merit the attention of the three broadcast networks. There's only so much available time and it would have been reprehensible for them to interrupt their wall to wall coverage of Vice President Cheney's crucial hunting accident."
- The National Ledger sees the hypocrisy: "I'm guessing this would lead the news if it had been a conservative Supreme Court Justice and there would already be calls for the conservative to step down."
- Truthdig covered it, as well as Doug Powers of MensNewsDaily who thought it was best to let her sleep: "Judge Alito was faced with one of his first big decisions since putting on the Supreme Court Justice robe, and he didn't disappoint conservatives-- he didn't wake up Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Kudos to Souter as well for not nudging Ginsberg."