the buzz log

Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's pick to fill David Souter's seat, could be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court. That is, unless legal scholars get picky about defining one Benjamin Cardozo as Hispanic.

Legal-minded searchers haven't forgotten Justice Cardozo, who sat on the bench from 1932 to 1938. But his Portuguese heritage gives him the ethnicity asterisk: The Washington Post calls him the "disputed Justice Benjamin Cardozo" on the subject, although outlets like National Journal and The Wall Street Journal ask if Herbert Hoover beat Obama to the historic punch.

Hispanic civil rights organizations like The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and National Council of La Raza are calling Sotomayor "The One." Columnist Ruben Navarrette hedged his bets earlier this month by paying his respects to the "New Yorker of Portuguese heritage" and then calling for a fresh Latino face.

So does Cardozo deserve his place in identity-politics history? Let's look at his lineage, courtesy of his biographer: The Portuguese part of his Portuguese and Jewish ancestry is the stuff of "family legend," but without firm documentation. His forebears do boast names like Mendes, Gomez, Riveiro, and Navarro. Plus, they went a roundabout route via the Netherlands and merry ol' England before heading to the 13 colonies.

Of course, the whole "Hispanic" question itself can be a little messy: The Census outlines the term's definition, then gets a little vague on the matter by leaving people to self-identify. National Journal took a shot at defining the demographic when George W. Bush had to find someone to fit the black robes (No. 43 appointed John Roberts and Samuel Alito during his term).

Whatever Cardozo's heritage, at least his fascinating history gets a second look. According to Wikipedia, he was apparently so well-regarded that Justice Harlan Fiske Stone offered to resign to make room for him. And not only was he a Democratic appointed by a Republican president, but he was a twin. That ought to be a first.

As for Puerto Rican Sotomayor, the woman who grew up in a Bronx housing project gets to be the first Latina considered for the highest court in the land. That's almost better than her earlier title as the "Baseball Savior." Almost.

Filed under: Politics, Supreme Court, Legal Cases, Barack Obama

How many times have you seen a kid coming out of Hot Topic dressed in full “emo wear” and thought to yourself, “There outta be a law.” Well, Russia’s way ahead of you.

The country is considering “banning” emo clothes and music because it is dangerous to teens. According to Current, “everything from websites to dressing in emo attire will be prosecuted.”

NME.com goes into more detail. Due to fears that emo may contribute to teen depression and suicide, lawmakers are formulating legislation that would “heavily regulate” emo websites and “ban emo and goth dress style in schools and government buildings.” Believe it or not, the bill is expected to pass.

We were under the impression that emo was passé. However, the Search data says otherwise. Lookups on the guyliner-wearing, crusty hair-sporting, black t-shirt-wearing music genre are twice as high as they were two years ago. Additionally, emo-light posterboys Fall Out Boy continue to score in Search.

Whether banning emo is a logical way to help troubled teens, we don’t know. But we do know this. If this law stops just one kid from wearing guyliner, it will have all been worth it.

Filed under: Music, Legal Cases, Emo

Proving that folks don't need much of an excuse to search on a celeb, queries on Teri Hatcher surged 991% after she was exonerated of two-timing a cosmetics company. The "Desperate Housewives" star and Hydrodream endorser had been accused of pushing a competitor’s products. A judge thought otherwise and moved the lawsuit out of court and into arbitration. Not exactly the trial of the century, but in the post-O.J. landscape we'll take what we can get.

Filed under: Desperate Housewives, Legal Cases