Interruptions in Search of a Purpose: Oral Argument in the Supreme Court, October Terms 1958–60 and 2010–12

We tend to think of the Supreme Court as an institution that is unchanging. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. The Court has changed in important ways throughout its history. During the last few decades, the Court has experienced many significant changes: Congress has virtually eliminated the Court’s mandatory jurisdiction; the Court has reduced by almost half the number of cases in which it grants review; the number of law clerks has increased; the numbers of lower court cases and judges have increased substantially; the Court has shortened by half the amount of time normally allowed for oral argument; the length of the post-argument conference has reportedly shrunk; the exchanges in the Justices’ opinions have become more strident; and the Justices appear to relish a kind of celebrity that even their recent predecessors had shunned. Notwithstanding these changes, Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., suggested shortly before his appointment as Chief Justice that “one thing that has remained fairly constant [since 1980] has been the level of questioning” at oral argument. That conclusion was based on a comparison of two sets of cases that were argued in 1980 and 2003, respectively. Because the Justices have seemed to other observers to have become more assertive at oral argument in recent years, we decided to inquire further by comparing a set of cases from the recent past (October Terms 2010-12) with a set from a period (October Terms 1958-60) about twenty years before the start date of the Chief Justice’s study. Our empirical study, which provides two snapshots in time, combines quantitative and qualitative methods in an attempt to understand interactions among the Justices and between the Justices and counsel; how those interactions may now be different from those of a half-century ago; and the possible significance of those differences for our understanding of the Court’s role in our constitutional system. We found significant differences. In the older cases, the nature and shape of oral argument reflected what might be taken to be the traditional purposes of oral argument, but the more recent cases suggest a different dynamic. The Justices rarely allowed counsel to develop a coherent narrative, and they often used an advocate’s limited time to state their own views and to joke or argue with each other. The Justices seemed more personally invested in individual cases at the oral argument stage, perhaps because of larger staffs and smaller caseloads, among other factors, and they often acted as if oral argument were simply an opportunity for them to say what they would like to say about a case. It may be that they do so with a view toward convincing their colleagues, and that what was once a relatively less important aspect of oral argument has become its dominant purpose. It may also be the case, however, that the Justices recognize that their colleagues also may have thoroughly studied the case and made up their minds, so that oral argument seems to be a less important exercise. It may be that the Justices now hear oral argument only because they always have done so, and abandoning it would be difficult politically, but have no theorized, shared view of its current significance. In any event, the “new oral argument” is not about the lawyers, who may often seem to be props, bystanders, or straight-men in the well of the Court. Nor is it about the parties, whose interests are at stake, or about the public. Oral argument seems to be for the Justices, and only for the Justices – time to be used in whatever ways they may find appealing at the moment. Indeed, one might say that it seems to be “all about them.” But what the Court hopes to achieve through oral argument remains unclear. We suggest that oral argument still has a role to play in the process of Supreme Court adjudication and make some suggestions for how the value of oral argument might be enhanced

The challenges in the transition to adulthood for foster care youth: a literature review

The years of emerging adulthood are oftentimes filled with both happiness and anxiety while youth move toward adult roles and responsibilities. According to Courtney and Dworsky (2006), a subset of American emerging adults, those who are transitioning out of foster care face greater vulnerability than do their peers in the general population in a number of issues. As a result, this paper reviewed the literature on the challenges faced by these former foster youth, namely relationships, well-being, substance use, education, employment and finances. Limitations of this extant research are noted along with directions in future research on programs designed to facilitate these former foster youth\u27s transition. Lastly, real-world implications of the findings are discussed

Interannual variation in early marine survival patterns of Puget Sound steelhead smolts indicates shifting predation pressures

Marine survival of steelhead smolts during their two week migration from river mouths to the Strait of Juan de Fuca has been estimated at 20% or less for several populations originating in Puget Sound. Low survival rates likely reduce overall smolt-to-adult return rates and limit recovery of Puget Sound steelhead populations. Harbor seals are generalist predators known to eat juvenile salmon in the Salish Sea. Harbor seals were captured in 2014 (12 seals) and 2016 (16 seals) and outfitted with acoustic telemetry receivers and GPS tags to quantify likely predation events and estimate foraging area overlap with acoustically tagged steelhead smolts. In 2014, mark-recapture estimates indicated that survival of steelhead through Central Puget Sound (Tacoma Narrows to Admiralty Inlet) was low (19%) and stationary tags were detected at harbor seal haulouts. In 2016 survival of steelhead through Central Puget Sound was high (69%), and no steelhead tags were detected stationary at harbor seal haulouts in the same region. However, in 2016, evidence of predation by harbor seals increased in the Nisqually estuary. Further, in both years, detection patterns of some tags were consistent with harbor seal movements, suggesting that tagged smolts had been eaten and were being carried by harbor seals. Steelhead smolt migratory behavior patterns through the Puget Sound epi-pelagic environment were very similar in the two years and do not likely explain the differences in survival or predation risk. We are currently exploring whether the increased presence of transient killer whales in Puget Sound and increases in anchovy abundance (an alternative prey source) may play a role in altering predation pressures and marine survival of steelhead smolts

Strengthening the 4-H Essential Elements of Positive Youth Development at Camp

Summer camp programs provide distinct opportunities for positive youth development through caring relationships and opportunities to build skills. To examine the extent to which youths experience the 4-H Essential Elements through 4-H camp programs, we administered the National 4-H Camping Research Consortium\u27s Camp Context Questionnaire to youths (n = 776) across 20 camps. Results indicated some exposure to the Essential Elements. Although mean scores related to establishing relationships with caring adults were high, room for improvement existed in the areas of self-determination, belonging, and personal safety. The results enabled state and local staff to implement strategic decisions for future camp programs and may be of value to others managing 4-H camp programming

Pre-pregnancy allostatic load and subsequent adverse birth outcomes: A latent class analysis approach

In recent cohorts, cardiometabolic health is deteriorating earlier, resulting in poor health intersecting with childbearing. Drawing from the life course and Weathering Hypothesis literatures, we used the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to group women age 24-34 into latent classes by pre-pregnancy biomarkers of allostatic load. We then examined whether a variety of allostatic load challenges were predictive of class membership and whether class membership was predictive of subsequent birth outcomes, specifically infant birthweight, macrosomia, and whether or not an infant was born preterm. We identified four latent classes among non-Hispanic White women, characterized by: 1) high blood pressure, 2) high body mass index and waist circumference, 3) high total cholesterol and triglycerides, and low high-density lipoprotein, and 4) low-risk. We identified two latent classes among Black women, characterized by: 1) high body mass index and waist circumference, and moderate-risk blood pressure, hbA1c, and c-reactive protein, and 2) low-risk. There were relatively few associations between allostatic challenges and class membership that were in the hypothesized direction. In multivariate models, the allostatic load class characterized by women with high-risk body mass index and waist circumference was consistently associated with higher birthweight infants than infants from mothers in other classes. Women in the high-risk blood pressure class, as compared to the high-risk total cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein class, had lower odds of preterm birth. Overall, however, the allostatic load classes are not good predictors of birth outcomes, especially when higher risk classes are compared with the low-risk class. This might be because we prioritized temporality, to ensure that allostatic load measurement was taken prior to birth, which resulted in selection bias. Women who were in our sample were more socioeconomically advantaged than women who were not in our sample.The majority of young women in our study were relatively healthy. However, over 40% of young adult women were high-risk on two or more biomarkers. Medical providers and public health practitioners working with clients need to understand the health profiles of their clients and help to target prevention and health improvement strategies accordingly.Doctor of Public Healt

Democracy experts are divided on Lord Stevens’ proposals to reform police accountability

Last week the report of the Independent Police Commission, led by the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Stevens and commissioned by the Labour Party, was published. Its recommendations included the abolition of the post of Police and Crime Commissioner – introduced in 2012 to establish a new form of democratic oversight of the police – and the replacement of the Independent Police Complaints Commission. In this post we ask experts in democracy and police accountability to respond to the proposals and consider the implications of further reform