“Sotomayor Guides Court’s Liberal Wing - New York Times” plus 1 more |
| Sotomayor Guides Court’s Liberal Wing - New York Times Posted: 27 Dec 2010 03:44 PM PST At her confirmation hearings last year, Sonia Sotomayor spent a lot of time assuring senators that empathy would play no part in her work on the Supreme Court. That was a sort of rebuke to President Obama, who had said that empathy was precisely the quality that separated legal technicians like Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. from great justices. Justice Sotomayor would have none of it. "We apply law to facts," she told the Senate Judiciary Committee last year. "We don't apply feelings to facts." We are now three months into Justice Sotomayor's second term on the court. That is awfully early in a justice's career to draw any general conclusions. But some things are becoming tolerably clear. Justice Sotomayor has completely dispelled the fear on the left that her background as a prosecutor would align her with the court's more conservative members on criminal justice issues. And she has displayed a quality — call it what you will — that is alert to the humanity of the people whose cases make their way to the Supreme Court. So far this term, the court has issued two signed decisions in argued cases. Both were unanimous, and both were insignificant. But for anyone looking for insight into the justices, there was much more information to be gleaned from another genre of judicial writing. In the last three months, the court has turned down thousands of appeals, almost always without comment. On seven occasions, though, at least one justice had something to say about the court's decision not to hear a case. Such writings are completely discretionary, and they open a window onto the author's passions. They are also a good way to keep track of the divisions on the court. An ideological fault line ran through those seven opinions. Not a single member of the court's four-member liberal wing joined any of the three opinions written by a conservative justice. And not a single member of the court's four-member conservative wing joined any of the four opinions written by a liberal justice. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the court's swing vote, was the only justice to join none of the seven opinions, which simplified the analysis. Justice Sotomayor wrote three of the opinions, more than any other justice, and all concerned the rights of criminal defendants or prisoners. The most telling one involved a Louisiana prisoner infected with H.I.V. No other justice chose to join it. The prisoner, Anthony C. Pitre, had stopped taking his H.I.V. medicine to protest his transfer from one facility to another. Prison officials responded by forcing him to perform hard labor in 100-degree heat. That punishment twice sent Mr. Pitre to the emergency room. The lower courts had no sympathy for Mr. Pitre's complaints, saying he had brought his troubles on himself. Justice Sotomayor saw things differently. "Pitre's decision to refuse medication may have been foolish and likely caused a significant part of his pain," she wrote. "But that decision does not give prison officials license to exacerbate Pitre's condition further as a means of punishing or coercing him — just as a prisoner's disruptive conduct does not permit prison officials to punish the prisoner by handcuffing him to a hitching post." In the courtroom, she was no less outraged at the argument in a case concerning prison conditions in California, peppering a lawyer for the state with heated questions. "When are you going to avoid the needless deaths that were reported in this record?" she asked. "When are you going to avoid or get around people sitting in their feces for days in a dazed state?" At that same argument, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who is in some ways Justice Sotomayor's ideological and temperamental counterpart, reserved his sympathy for people who might be harmed after prisoners were released to ease overcrowding. He recalled what happened when prisoners were released under a court order in Philadelphia. The upshot, according to a supporting brief filed by 18 states, was "an extraordinary crime wave" that included 79 murders, 90 rapes and 1,113 assaults over a year and a half in 1993 and 1994. "That's not going to happen in California?" Justice Alito asked, incredulous. In an amusing and astute post on his legal blog, Mike Sacks said the two justices had become "their sides' enforcers." The seven opinions about decisions not to hear cases support this theory. Justice Sotomayor wrote or joined all four from the liberal justices, and Justice Alito did the same for the ones from the conservative side. "Appearing rough around the edges, they send clear, aggressive messages, often on behalf of their comrades, but sometimes alone on principle," Mr. Sacks wrote. By contrast, he added, Chief Justice Roberts and the court's newest member, Justice Elena Kagan, are all polish and charm. They wrote none of the seven decisions and joined one each. At arguments, their questions are wry and sly. They are, Mr. Sacks wrote, "suave assassins, devastating advocates without compromising their gentility." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 27 Dec 2010 09:17 AM PST On Monday December 27, 2010, 12:00 pm EST 67 WALL STREET, New York - December 27, 2010 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its 2010 Health Care Review From The Wall Street Transcript offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This 400 page feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online. Topics covered: 2010 Health Care Review Companies include: Abbott (ABT); Agilent (A);Allscripts (MDRX);AstraZeneca (AZN); athenahealth (ATHN); Beckman Coulter (BEC); and many more. In the following brief excerpt from the 400 page Health Care Report, interviewees discuss the outlook for the sector and for investors. Joanne K. Wuensch is a Research Analyst in the equity research group of BMO Capital Markets Corp., where she covers medical technology companies in the cardiology, ophthalmology, orthopedic and respiratory sectors. Before joining BMO Capital Markets, Ms. Wuensch was a Research Analyst with ABN Amro, where she covered medical products, and was a Research Associate in the medical technology group at UBS Securities. Her career in financial services began at JPMorgan, where, among other positions, she was an Associate in municipal finance investment banking in the health care and higher education group. Ms. Wuensch joined BMO Capital Markets in 2002. She holds an MPA from New York University and a B.A. from the University of Delaware. TWST: Which of these will have the most impact? Do you think it will be health care reform, consolidation or something else? Ms. Wuensch: For the stocks, it is probably consolidation. For the industry, I could argue that both health care reform and consolidation over the next several years will be impactful. The good news is that we know that it is a 2.3% excise tax that will begin impacting the medical technology companies in 2013. With this knowledge, I think it is easier for organizations to value potential acquisitions and plan for the future. In 2009 there were 23 M And A transactions above $68 million, with only two above $1 billion. This compares to 2007, when there were 40 transactions, with 12 above $1 billion. Looking over the next 12 months to 18 months, we believe that the industry is prime for consolidation. TWST: What stocks will benefit the most over the next several years? Which are in good shape to take advantage of the sway of the tide at the moment? Ms. Wuensch: There are several ways to answer this. On a fundamental basis, we anticipate that hospital supply companies Covidien (COV), C.R. Bard (BCR) will benefit from the increased patient flow starting in 2014. From a consolidator point of view, companies such as Medtronic (MDT), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Covidien, Stryker (SYK), Zimmer (ZMH) and St. Jude Medical (STJ) have a fair amount of cash on their balance sheet and could benefit from purchasing faster-growing technologies. Finally, the smaller companies and their stocks could benefit. From my list, I've got a long list of possible acquirees. Some of this has already begun. In the last 12 months to 18 months, Covidien purchased VNUS Medical; Medtronic purchased Invatec and CoreValve; and Abbott purchased Advanced Medical Optics. But we believe that with health care reform well understood, large-cap multiples recovering and cash on the balance sheet, there will be more sooner rather than later. TWST: The best stock picks. Ms. Wuensch: I think that Covidien is in a great position. The company, which has been publicly traded since June 2007, has been executing its strategic plan. Management has sold off noncore, lower-margin businesses, purchased adjacent, higher-margin businesses, and invested in research and development to drive higher operating margins. In addition, management has managed the company's debt burden, tax rate and cash flow. For the stock to work, continued leverage of the P And L, which should drive top-line growth and bottom-line returns, should do the trick. Stryker is another one. The stock should benefit from a recovering orthopaedic market, a recovering hospital purchasing environment - the MedSurg business is roughly 40% of sales - and an easing regulatory environment. Two of the company's four FDA warning letters have been lifted. Further, the company has almost $4 billion in cash on the balance sheet.Finally, I would point to NuVasive (NUVA). With reimbursement questions behind it, the company management has guided to 30% to 35% revenue growth in 2010, as it continues its momentum in the U.S. with the introduction of lateral access spine surgery. And management is just beginning to push outside of the United States. Further, the technology is well positioned in the current health care economic environment, as the procedure lowers operating room time, the number of hospital days and returns patients to their normal activities faster. TWST: What are you advising investors to do now? Ms. Wuensch: We have an "outperform" rating on the group. We upgraded the med tech sector last fall, on September 18, to "outperform" from "market perform." And we have maintained the rating. Every investor is different. Some are looking for turnaround names, others for acquisition candidates, and some are looking at fundamental industry and market share shifts. Our conversations with investors have covered these three themes, while understanding their appetite for risk and market cap preferences. The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This 400 page special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online . The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations. For Information on subscribing to The Wall Street Transcript, please call 800/246-7673 Follow Yahoo! Finance on ; become a fan on Facebook. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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