An Ad-Libbing Kagan Admits Caffeine Will Help Lawyers Reading Her Baycol Opinion
Justice Elena Kagan tried ad-libbing as she announced her opinion yesterday holding that a federal court had no authority to bar a class action in state court.
The underlying suit alleges injuries from the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol, but Kagan’s opinion didn’t deal with those claims. Instead it dealt with procedure and an interpretation of the “relitigation exception” to the Anti-Injunction Act.
CNN says Kagan sounded as if she was trying to be conversational as she explained her opinion, but she wasn’t really succeeding. So she did a bit of ad-libbing.
“This decision involves a very complex procedural issue,” Kagan said. “And if you understand anything I say here, you will likely be a lawyer, and you will have had your morning cup of coffee.”
Many tourists weren’t sure what to make of Kagan’s statement, but other justices “smiled appreciatively,” CNN says.
Hat tip to How Appealing.
