Hobby Lobby Ruling Prompts Federal Judge To Tell Supreme Court To ‘STFU’

FILE PHOTO -- Federal District Court Judge Richard Kopf appears in a photo taken Nov. 11, 2001, in Lincoln, Neb., for a story about his helping the federal judiciary in Nebraska switching from paper to electronic leg... FILE PHOTO -- Federal District Court Judge Richard Kopf appears in a photo taken Nov. 11, 2001, in Lincoln, Neb., for a story about his helping the federal judiciary in Nebraska switching from paper to electronic legal filings. Judge Kopf currently is presiding over a trial in Lincoln determining if a ban on an abortion technique referred to as Dilation and Extraction is constitutional. Judge Kopf offered on Friday to have a medical expert help him decide the case challenging the partial birth abortion. (PHOTO BY TED KIRK/LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR) MORE LESS
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Federal Judge Richard Kopf, who was appointed to a U.S. District Court in Nebraska by George H.W. Bush, slammed the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision in his personal blog, Hercules and the Umpire, and told the judges to “stfu.”

He said that the court’s ruling looked bad, as the majority opinion was signed on to by five male, Catholic judges appointed by a Republican president.

“To the average person, the result looks stupid and smells worse,” he wrote. “The decision looks misogynist because the majority were all men. It looks partisan because all were appointed by a Republican. The decision looks religiously motivated because each member of the majority belongs to the Catholic church, and that religious organization is opposed to contraception.”

Kopf argued that the Supreme Court should have left the case alone, and should stay far away from controversial issues.

“Next term is the time for the Supreme Court to go quiescent–this term and several past terms has proven that the Court is now causing more harm (division) to our democracy than good by deciding hot button cases that the Court has the power to avoid. As the kids says [sic], it is time for the Court to stfu,” he wrote.

He linked to the Urban Dictionary definition of “stfu,” which is an abbreviation for “shut the fuck up.”

Kopf has maintained his colorful blog since February 2013. In March, he penned a controversial post about “how young women lawyers dress.”

“You can’t win. Men are both pigs and prudes. Get over it,” he wrote about how women should approach dressing for court, adding that he has “been a dirty old man ever since I was a very young man.”

[H/t Think Progress]

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Notable Replies

  1. Right about some things and wrong on others. Very right about the supreme court legislating on hot button issues as a white male Glee club.

  2. Avatar for meta meta says:

    That ain’t gonna stop 'em. They are just getting rolling.

  3. Thanks for including the definition of stfu for folks reading your blog. I’m sure this crowd skews a little older, but I think we get these basic items, even in our advanced state of decrepitude. :slight_smile:

  4. I agree, they should have left this one alone…but then, I am not drooling over the chance to write to law from the bench and introduce new precedents like saying artificial legal and financial constructs have religious rights.

  5. The Supreme Court has become the Extreme Court. I could care less if they talk as long as they don’t listen to their own bullshit.
    They have proven to be just witty enough to reason with themselves but to be totally unreasonable from America’s standpoint. They need to rework their own constitutions and wise up because the partisan style of law and the intended/unintended consequences are the real nation wreckers.

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