Image 01 Image 03

Constitution Tag

In a long-awaited and predictable decision, Judge Jesse M. Furman in the Southern District of New York ruled Tuesday that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated federal administrative law when he decided to reinstate a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. Judge Furman, who was appointed by President Obama, barred the Census Bureau from inquiring about citizenship on census questionnaires anywhere in the country. There's a pretty good chance that this decision stands. 

The Supreme Court announced Friday that it would, once again, consider whether partisan gerrymandering can be so extreme that it violates the Constitution. The move comes after a term in which the justices had looked poised to impose some limits on partisan influence in redistricting, but ultimately seemed unable to agree on a workable standard for evaluating when state lawmakers cross a constitutional line.

Last night, the Fourth Circuit stayed Maryland and Washington, D.C.'s Emoluments Clause lawsuit against President Trump in its entirety, while scheduling oral argument in the case to begin on March 19, 2019. This means that the litigation will be completely paused until the court reaches a decision on the President's petition, which won't be for at least three months.

Vox's Matthew Yglesias believes that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should run for president. Hey, why not? What could possibly go wrong? Oh, and if she's not old enough—and, at 29, she's not—then it's time to "fix" the Constitution.

Reed O'Connor, a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas, just killed Obamacare. If the ruling holds up on appeal, Obamacare is dead. As a doorknob. Not just the mandate or some other particular provisions. He killed the WHOLE THING.

Axios reports this morning that Trump is considering signing an Executive Order ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants:
President Trump plans to sign an executive order that would remove the right to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants born on U.S. soil, he said yesterday in an exclusive interview for "Axios on HBO," a new four-part documentary news series debuting on HBO this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT.
Here's the video clip teasing the interview:

Michael Anton, a lecturer and research fellow at Hillsdale College and a former national security official in the Trump administration. Anton also was the pseudonymous author of The Flight 93 Election article that cause a stir prior to the 2016 election. Earlier this month, Anton penned an op-ed in the Washington Post in which he argued that birthright citizenship was not a constitutional requirement.  The op-ed generated a great deal of discussion, prompting Anton to explain and defend his argument to critics on both the left and the right.

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling that did not split on traditional ideological lines, upheld South Dakota's ability to require that out-of-state internet sellers collect state sales tax on goods sold into South Dakota. The case involved the internet retailer Wayfair and South Dakota. The case is being misrepresented in many media reports as involving whether states can tax internet sales. They can, and that was not in issue. The issue was whether states can force internet retailers to collect the sales tax and turn those proceeds over to the state.

U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker in Tallahassee has ruled that Florida's process for restoring voting rights to convicted felons violates both the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The implications of the ruling, however, may not be so far-reaching since the judge hasn't yet decided on a specific remedy. The Order (pdf.) is embedded at the bottom of this post.