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US Supreme Court Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2018 36 Comments
As the July 9 date for Trump to announce his pick to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy nears, there is a vicious multi-front war evolving. Of course, Democrats are attacking every likely nominee, with the anti-Catholic bigotry against Amy Coney Barrett the most prominent. Barrett would be the most finger-in-the-liberals-eye pick, and not just because of her Catholicism. She has seven (7) children -- that is a provocation in the minds of liberal feminists and the people who love them that cannot be abided.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 02, 2018 88 Comments
Neil Gorsuch was an incredibly safe pick for Trump. Despite the plaintive wails of Democrats about a "stolen" seat, they didn't have much with which to go after Gorsuch on the merits. Nonetheless Democrats filibustered Gorsuch, forcing Republican's to play the nuclear option for a SCOTUS nominee (as Democrats did in 2013 for all lower courts and made clear they would do if Hillary won and they regained the Senate).

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 01, 2018 79 Comments
In Janus vs. AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees), the Supreme Court (in a 5-4 decision) ruled that government unions cannot require non-members to pay union dues. Earlier this week, Obama-appointed Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her minority dissent to the Janus ruling that the Court had "weaponized the First Amendment."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 28, 2018 61 Comments
It's a rough week to be a Democrat. In several decisions the Supreme Court upheld Constitutional protections again. Such a drag, those guys. It's like they don't even care about anyone's feelings! And the icing on the cake? Justice Kennedy announced his retirement. So TrumpHitler gets a second SCOTUS pick. May as well fold it up and put on a cape because WE ARE LIVING IN THE HANDMAID'S TALE.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 27, 2018 56 Comments
Wednesday afternoon, Justice Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court bench, effective July 31. Appointed to the Supreme Court by President Reagan in 1988, Kennedy has largely served as the court's swing vote, but has consistently sided with free speech. Kennedy's retirement ensures the upcoming midterms will be all kinds of extra.

Posted by New Neo on June 26, 2018 12 Comments
In another of today's SCOTUS decisions, the Court ruled in NIFLA v. Becerra that a California law requiring crisis pregnancy centers (pregnancy counseling clinics usually run by pro-life Christians) to post notices that "California has public programs that provide immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services (including all FDA-approved methods of contraception), prenatal care, and abortion for eligible women" was an unconstitutional violation of free speech. The vote was the familiar 5-4 and once again came down to the swing vote of Kennedy siding with the conservative wing, and all the liberal justices dissenting.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 26, 2018 51 Comments
Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld Trump's third travel order. After two failed attempts, the administration scrapped the first two in favor of a third, which they believed would stand up to SCOTUS scrutiny. Looks like they were right. The order which sought to temporarily curb immigration from states with long-standing records of sponsoring or engaging in terrorist activity was painted as anti-Muslim, based on statements Trump made during the presidential campaign.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 25, 2018 8 Comments
Civil asset forfeiture is one thing that can bring together the left and right. I've documented the few times states have addressed this issue and it's made me happy that the Supreme Court will address this issue next term. Reason explained the case:
The case is Timbs v. Indiana. It arose in 2013 when a man named Tyson Timbs was arrested on drug charges and sentenced to one year on home detention and five years on probation. A few months after his arrest, the state of Indiana also moved to seize Timbs' brand new Land Rover LR2, a vehicle worth around $40,000. A state trial court rejected that civil asset forfeiture effort, however, on the grounds that it would be "grossly disproportionate to the gravity of [Timbs'] offense" and therefore in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forbids the imposition of "excessive fines."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 21, 2018 41 Comments
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.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 18, 2018 8 Comments
I'm so old, I remember when two partisan gerrymandering cases in the Supreme Court -- one from Wisconsin and one from Maryland -- were on just about everyone's list of blockbuster cases this term, including Bloomberg, Politico, and CNN, among many others. The Wisconsin case involved a very pro-Republican legislative district map that would help Republicans retain control of the state legislature, and the Maryland case involved a single very pro-Democrat congressional district.
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