Adventures In Conservative Jurisprudence

• The United States Supreme Court has ruled, 5-4, that when a suspect refuses to speak, the police are entitled to infer from that silence that the suspect wishes to disclaim the Constitutional right to remain silent. (No, a law degree would not make that sentence sensible.)

Justices Sotomayor, Stevens, Ginsburg and Breyer dissented, arguing that forcing a detainee to speak in order to invoke his Constitutional right not to speak . . . well, you already get it, with or without a legal education.

• Federal judge Jay Bybee, who arranged a spot on the federal bench by signing discredited torture memos, has issued another precedent-shattering conclusion, holding that the Constitution that tolerates torture can not countenance rent control.