Comments on: Roberts on Disgorgement en banc Petition: “I Recuse” http://www.tobacco-on-trial.com/2005/07/20/roberts-on-cadc-appeal-i-recuse/ Blogging U.S. vs. Philip Morris, Inc. Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:47:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: krueger http://www.tobacco-on-trial.com/2005/07/20/roberts-on-cadc-appeal-i-recuse/#comment-577 krueger Thu, 21 Jul 2005 17:37:20 +0000 http://www.tobacco-on-trial.com/2005/07/20/roberts-on-cadc-appeal-i-recuse/#comment-577 "disgorgement in civil RICO cases? That’s a pretty obscure and dry subject." You might think so. But it seems to have gotten Big Tobacco's attention. Perhaps it's not without interest at times. Big Tobacco's consigliori managed to stay awake for it. Whether it will become an issue for Roberts's confirmation seems unlikely. Not that it's irrelevant or invalid or off the table; just that other issues will likely get the time and attention. “disgorgement in civil RICO cases? That’s a pretty obscure and dry subject.”

You might think so. But it seems to have gotten Big Tobacco’s attention. Perhaps it’s not without interest at times. Big Tobacco’s consigliori managed to stay awake for it.

Whether it will become an issue for Roberts’s confirmation seems unlikely. Not that it’s irrelevant or invalid or off the table; just that other issues will likely get the time and attention.

]]> By: tobacco observer http://www.tobacco-on-trial.com/2005/07/20/roberts-on-cadc-appeal-i-recuse/#comment-576 tobacco observer Thu, 21 Jul 2005 05:03:27 +0000 http://www.tobacco-on-trial.com/2005/07/20/roberts-on-cadc-appeal-i-recuse/#comment-576 Since, for example, the largest defendant in this case, Altria Group, is a member of the Dow Jones 20, and the S&P 500, pretty much anyone who owns any index fund or large mutual fund is likely to own some interest in this company (or other tobacco companies) and need to recuse themself. I think its a bit silly to surmise that Roberts didn't vote here, just because maybe there would be an opening on the SCOTUS, and just maybe he would be nominated, and just maybe voting on this largely technical disgorgement issue might be seen as pro-tobacco. Remember, the decision itself really had nothing to do with tobacco, or even with business, it had to do with applicability of an obscure corner of the civil RICO act. Apart from an anti-tobacco activist like the one making that accusation, who would even care? The Supreme Court candidates can expect to be grilled on his/her views on abortion, social policy, religious issues, and all sorts of the other hot-topic issues, but on his opinions regarding disgorgement in civil RICO cases? That's a pretty obscure and dry subject. I doubt the public, or the Senate is really going to care. More to the point, Roberts is an openly conservative Republican Federal appellate judge in the Washington DC district. As such he necessarily gets involved in numerous highly controversial, highly politicized cases. . .that's his job. My read is that Roberts was legitimately suprised by being nominated to the Supreme Court, but even if he wasn't, thinking he deliberately ducked THIS issue (several months before there was any opening) just because he thought it could hurt him later in confirmation hearings really doesn't really add up. Since, for example, the largest defendant in this case, Altria Group, is a member of the Dow Jones 20, and the S&P 500, pretty much anyone who owns any index fund or large mutual fund is likely to own some interest in this company (or other tobacco companies) and need to recuse themself.

I think its a bit silly to surmise that Roberts didn’t vote here, just because maybe there would be an opening on the SCOTUS, and just maybe he would be nominated, and just maybe voting on this largely technical disgorgement issue might be seen as pro-tobacco. Remember, the decision itself really had nothing to do with tobacco, or even with business, it had to do with applicability of an obscure corner of the civil RICO act.

Apart from an anti-tobacco activist like the one making that accusation, who would even care? The Supreme Court candidates can expect to be grilled on his/her views on abortion, social policy, religious issues, and all sorts of the other hot-topic issues, but on his opinions regarding disgorgement in civil RICO cases? That’s a pretty obscure and dry subject. I doubt the public, or the Senate is really going to care.

More to the point, Roberts is an openly conservative Republican Federal appellate judge in the Washington DC district. As such he necessarily gets involved in numerous highly controversial, highly politicized cases. . .that’s his job. My read is that Roberts was legitimately suprised by being nominated to the Supreme Court, but even if he wasn’t, thinking he deliberately ducked THIS issue (several months before there was any opening) just because he thought it could hurt him later in confirmation hearings really doesn’t really add up.

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