. >> has my name is steven roberts. i am familiar with the vehicle registration fee. there is a very clear answer, like many legal questions. it is perfectly legal to pull out this. that was the case in 2008, out of santa barbara, which held polling was actually the responsibility of an agency looking at new measures because there would be a greater expense of putting it on the ballot. it falls squarely within not only in the right, but perhaps the duty of the agency looking at it. there was a case a year and a half ago in the supreme court looking at government agencies. in that case, the santa barbara case was mentioned and approved. it is clear from a legal standpoint that pulling in advance of a measure like that is perfectly proper and within the powers of the authority. supervisor mirkarimi: since commissioner campos opened the door on this, there is some even this -- uneasiness of polling the vrf against the other measures. i agree that the question was not well-advised. how does this conform with what you said about pulling -- polling on the vlf? this percepti

start off by making a few observations about the roberts court and talk about a few major pending cases then finish up with a few remarks on justice steven's departure. generally looking at the year of the court, a few things stand out. this is a big year for the roberts court and for chief justice roberts on that court. justice roberts was in the majority more frequently than any other, and he dissented in [ only . the last most frequent dissenter was joseph kennedy. this eclipse justice stevens dissented 22 times this term. looking forward, justice stevens, the most frequent justice to disagree with chief justice roberts is leaving the court which one might think would lead to even greater unanimity or at least greater agreement on the roberts court. second, i think it is fair to say that the court this year was a conservative but minimalist court. it showed that it would walk tall but perhaps take baby steps. it did so in a number of cases in the free enterprise case, the court embraced a constitution theory that held unconstitutional the four clause provision of the sarbanes oxley accounting board. it left the board in tact so it was a

the supreme court reversed judge roberts saying they violated the law. incidentally, justice stevens was the author of that opinion. the hamdi case, while pending, there was an extraordinary effort in congress to force the supreme court to dismiss the case by retro actively stripping the right to habs habeas corpus detainees. you wrote a letter opposing that legislation. you could tell me about that position and why you took it at that point? >> i did write that letter and it was a letter that urged congress to really the principle point that we were making in that letter was that the adjudications made by military commissions ought to be reviewed in article three courts. congress did, indeed, do exactly that. the initial amendment was recrafted into the graham-ky graham-kyle-levin amendment. it was an extraordinary act of bipartisanship that occurred. i think it was the vote was 8 a-14. one of the things that legislation did is -- i'm not remotely suggesting cause and effect, but the letter urge there be article three review and they provide a military review of military commission

out, robert rubin, secretary of the treasury during clinton's both sterps. stevenberg, tom hanks and barbra streisand of the she sang at bill's inauguration and rumors are swarming that she'll sheer nad them tomorrow. steven bing may be in too. the movie producer and financier is a big supporter of the clinton, one of the largest donors to the clinton foundation, he loaned bill his 737 to rescue those in prisoned american journalists from north korea. it could be the perfect way for the newlyweds to make a quick escape. for "nightline," i'm sharyn alfonsi in rhinebeck. >> indeed, of course, we extend our warmest good wishes to the bride and the groom and our thanks to sharyn alfonsi. we'll be right back. first here's jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next on abc. >> tonight, adam carolla is here, music from raheem antigua. [ kid 1 ] waa ow so of our favorite things? we love summertime fun! ...wearing our farite colors... ...and jamming to our favorite bands! ♪ but we love eating totino's the most. we live for fun... ...friends... [ both ] ...and best of all.. [ al

roberts court and the term this year. i will talk about a few of the major courses pendingg-- cases before the supreme court. i will also comment on justice stevens' departure. generally looking at the year at the court -- a fewwthings stand out. this is a big year for the roberts court and for chief justice roberts on that court. chief justice roberts was in the majorrty more frequently than any other justice on the court. he was in the majority 92% of3 he dissented it almost -- in almost only a few cases. the last most frequent dissenter was joseph kennedy. this eclipse or went past joseph kennedy as the person in the middle in the majority of the most. to give you a point of comparison, justice stevens dissented 22 times this term. looking forward, justice stevens, the most frequent justice to disagree with chief justice roberts is leaving the court which one might think would lead to even greater unanimity or at least greater agreement on the roberts court. second, i think it is fair to say that the court this year was a conservative but minimalist court. it showed that it would walk tall but perhaps take baby steps. it did so in a number of

roberts court and the term this year. i will talk about a few of the major courses pendingg-- cases bere the supreme court. i will also comment on justice stevenseparture. generally looking at the year at the court -- a fewwthings stand out. this is a big year for the roberts court and for chief justice roberts on that court. chief justice roberts was in the majorrty more frequently than any other justice on the court. he was in the majority 92% of3 he dissented it almost -- almost only a few cases. the last most frequent dissenter was joseph kennedy. this eclipse justice stevens dissented 22 times this term. looking forward, justice stevens, the most frequent justice to disagreeith chief justice roberts is leaving the court which one might think would lead to even greater unanimity or at least greater agreement on the roberts court. second, i think it is fair to say that the court this yearas a conservative but minimalist court. it showed that it would walk tall but perhaps take baby steps. it did so in number of cases in the free enterprise case, the court embraced a constitutional theory that held unconstitutional the four clause provision o

stevens and we had to rush here to participate. at the outset, she is not able to be here today. she extended her regrets and i am sure she is watching on c- span. robertbarnes has been a reporter for the washington post for more than 20 years. he has covered politics and government since november of 2006. he served as the deputy national editor and metropolitan editor and return to reporting in 2005 as a political reporter and columnist. he is also a political scientist at the university of california washington center. he received his jurist doctorate from the university of california at berkeley. with that, robert barnes. [applause] >> why don't you go ahead and it speaks for a about a five-eight minutes each and then we will open it up to questions? >> i will even be a little less than that so we can go -- answer questions. i thought this was an interesting year at the court for a couple of reasons. citizens united was a big decision for the court that came early and seemed to affect everything that happened afterward. both the public view of the court a little bit and also the court itself. the state of the union. i thought that this was the year