The International New York Times covers Professor Michael McConnell's arguments before the Supreme Court on discontinuing a program meant to protect domestic raisin farmers.

With scorn bordering on anger, some of the Supreme Court’s more conservative members on Wednesday gave a hostile reception to a government program dating to the Great Depression meant to increase raisin prices by keeping some raisins off the market.

“Central planning was thought to work very well in 1937,” Justice Antonin Scalia said, “and Russia tried it for a long time.”

…

The Hornes’ lawyer, Michael W. McConnell, said the program was distinctive because it required “an actual transfer of the raisins themselves.” Government regulations limiting how much farmers may produce present different questions, he said.

…

Mr. McConnell responded that oysters are wild animals that at least initially belonged to the state, which could therefore regulate them as it wished. “Raisins are not wild animals,” he said, “even if they’re dancing.”

…

There was much discussion of how broad the impact of a ruling striking down the program would be. Mr. McConnell said “hundreds of small California raisin farmers will be profoundly affected.” Mr. Kneedler said there were “eight or 10” similar agricultural programs, though most of them were inactive.

As the argument was ending, Chief Justice Roberts asked Mr. McConnell an unusual question, one unrelated to the issues before the court. “This is probably neither here nor there, but what has the impact of the drought been on the raisin producers?” the chief justice asked. “Do you know?”

Mr. McConnell paused before answering. “It is,” he said, “not good.”