On July 3, the Supreme Court granted the government’s “motion for clarification” in Department of Homeland Security v. D. V. D. I did a quick search, and I can’t seem to find any other instance where the Court granted a similar “motion for clarification.” Then again, I highly doubt any district court attempted to play fast and loose with a Supreme Court order. Kudos to Justice Kagan for calling out such inferior court resistance.
I did want to point out one aspect of Justice Sotomayor’s dissent. She wrote:
Today’s order clarifies only one thing: Other litigants must follow the rules, but the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial.
I thought that was an effective line. But do law students today even know what “speed dial” is? Most youths have never actually dialed a phone number on a touch tone phone, let alone a rotary phone. They all grew up with address books on their smartphones, assuming they even make phone calls. Students today have no idea why you would need a button to dial a particular phone number quickly. There is a risk to using references to technology, as those references pass. Indeed, I think the reference is speed dial is at least a decade past due.
Relatedly, I used the phrase “Rolodex” with students. I got blank stares. I was recently at a hotel with my young kids, who were playing with the phone in the room. I told them to “hang up” the phone. They had no idea what I was asking them to do. Like a clothes hanger? It has been a long time since a phone was hanging on a receiver.
Popular references seldom age well.
