Eansive Question News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Constraint that an apellate court is obliged to take the findings of fact as lower kourts have found them and can't indulge in its own fact finding or fact making. does that have a separation of powers element to it, in terms of constraining the free range wandersings of a court that can make up its own facts and then go in its own direction? >> i haven't thought about that, senator. >> how about the question presented. should the supreme court, in the question presented, try to keep the question narrow to the case presented so that it's not used an eansive question presented to enable itself ...

Not to review or overturn the facts of a trial court except in the presence of clear error. >> very rare, yeah. >> that's very -- it is a very important important standard. i hadn't thought about it in separation of powers but it is a very important principle. i was a trial level. >> and the constrapt, does that separation of power tones as well. >> i will give you a similar answer. i don't know about that, but i would say it is an important general practice. sometimes there are exceptions that a court can and should go beyond a question presented but it's pretty rare. usually we stick within ...

But i did raise this in a separate concurrence to raise these questions, and i don't know how i'd rule as far as supreme court justice on the question. i got to be honest with you, senator cornyn, because i'd want to do what a good judge does, keep an open mind, read the briefs and i could change my mind. i think you're my old boss steve sentel when he clerked for him he wrote a panel opinion by one way the beginning of the year and by the end of the year en banc for the full court reversing his own panel opinion. some people say that's a man who doesn't have a spine. something like that. i sa...

Case conceded that nonprofit corporations can exercise religion, conceded that. so that's the case we come to the strict scrutiny side. >> i don't want to cut you off. i'm going to get in big trouble with this. >> i think i would want you to continue your answering his question. >> i'm sorry, mr. chairman. i apologize. >> i want you to continue. >> and so then you've got the religion, the first half of the test met, right? so then you go to the second half, does the government have a compelling interest in the aca and providing contraceptive care? the supreme court of the united states said we...

The ball is in your court. >> do you really think that a supreme court that decided citizens united doesn't get involved in politics? >> senator, i think every justice on the supreme court of the united states is a remarkable person trying their level best to apply the law faithfully. and they -- >> and deeply involved in politics, did they not? they changed the entire political environment, the entire political ecosystem with one decision. you must recognize that. >> senator, it's a a precedent of the united states supreme court. they were thoughtful opinions by justices on both sides. didn...