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US Supreme Court Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 26, 2018 75 Comments
We previously reported that the Trump administration took the unusual step of trying to get the Supreme Court to hear the case of the San Francisco federal district court order preventing Trump from ending DACA without getting a ruling first from the 9th Circuit. What made the procedure confounding, is that the administration did not seek a stay from the 9th Circuit and then the Supreme Court, only expedited direct Supreme Court review on the merits. That direct review procedure is rarely granted.  At the same time, the administration filed an appeal in the 9th Circuit.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 21, 2018 19 Comments
On February 19, 2018, the majority Democrat members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court imposed a new congressional district map that was very Democrat friendly, likely swinging 4-5 seats to Democrats. It could be the difference between Democrats taking control of the U.S. House or not in the 2018 midterms. The map became so Democrat-friendly after a series of decisions as to placement of boundaries that helped Democrats. Nate Cohn at The NY Times described it this way:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 20, 2018 59 Comments
Opponents of the 2nd Amendment are gearing up to exploit the Parkland School shooting by making it part of the Resistance movement against Trump, the NRA and Republicans. That was obvious from the start, and it's more so now that the March For Our Lives on March 24 picks up celebrity donations and endorsements. Rather than proposing solutions that might actually reduce school gun violence while also respecting the constitutional rights of law abiding citizens protected under the 2nd Amendment, it is turning into the equivalent of the Women's March that greeted Trump's Inauguration. Meanwhile, a week before that, the Women's March organization itself is organizing a national school walkout.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 13, 2018 40 Comments
Earlier today I was reading Prof. Josh Blackman's post responding to criticism he has received for using the term Judicial Resistance, On the Judicial Resistance:
Over the past year, I have discussed at some length the self-professed “legal resistance,” which has coordinated legal strategies to resist President Trump in the courts. This front is part of the broader #Resistance movement against President Trump in the political sphere. These actions are completely rational, and unsurprising from the party that (unexpectedly) lost the election....

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 13, 2018 103 Comments
During a discussion at Columbia University, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg blamed a "macho atmosphere" and rampant sexism for Hillary Clinton's 2016 electoral loss. "I think it was difficult for Hillary Clinton to get by even the macho atmosphere prevailing during that campaign, and she was criticized in a way I think no man would have been criticized," she said. "I think anyone who watched that campaign unfold would answer it the same way I did -- Yes, sexism played a prominent part."

Posted by Jared Samilow on February 05, 2018 26 Comments
On January 22, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, on a 5—2 party-line vote, struck down the state's congressional map and ordered the legislature to draw a new one by February 9. See my prior post, Bad news for GOP: Pennsylvania Supreme Court tosses state’s congressional maps. Two members of PA's state legislature—its Speaker of the House and president pro tempore of the Senate—quickly asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and stay the ruling.

Posted by Jared Samilow on January 25, 2018 13 Comments
Three days ago, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania struck down the state's congressional map, holding that it "clearly, plainly and palpably violates the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." Offering no rationale for this decision, which upends districts that have been in place for six years, the State Supreme Court further instructed the legislature to propose a new map by February 9, and get Democratic Governor Tom Wolf's approval before February 15. Otherwise, the court itself will decide the new maps that will be used for the 2018 primaries and midterms.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 23, 2018 21 Comments
After a bizarre and completely unfounded San Francisco federal District Court injunction against the Trump administration wind-down of DACA, the Trump administration both filed for leave to appeal in the 9th Circuit and filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari Before Judgment in the Supreme Court. That latter Petition would circumvent the 9th Circuit. The Trump administration, however, did not ask the Supreme Court to stay the District Court order, arguing that a stay would create more problems in the administrative wind-down of DACA:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 18, 2018 20 Comments
The government just filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari Before Judgment (full embed at bottom of post)(pdf.) in the Supreme Court seeking pre-judgement review of the federal District Court order preventing the Trump administration from terminating DACA. That District Court decision was absurd, as pointed out when we covered the decision, Judge prevents Trump from reversing Obama DACA policy.

Posted by Jared Samilow on January 13, 2018 17 Comments
We’re now on day 36 without a 4th Circuit decision on Trump's third travel order. Unveiled as a presidential proclamation on September 24, 2017, the third travel order (we'll call it EO-3) restricts entry by most nationals of Chad, Iran, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, as well as some nationals of North Korea and Venezuela.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 15, 2017 10 Comments
I have to admit, I fell asleep at the baker's wheel. Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission was argued to the Supreme Court earlier this month and I, didn't cover it. Not out of lack of interest, but more feeling like we're chasing a swarm of daily dust ups created by (1) Trump Derangement Syndrome in all its many and varied forms, (2) Trump on Twitter, (3) media reacting to Trump on Twitter, (4) Alabama, (5) War on Women and #MeTwo, (6) Men at Work, (7) the End of the World. Plus, it was end of the semester, and things were busy. Excuses, I've had a few.

Posted by Jared Samilow on December 09, 2017 35 Comments

Friday night, the Supreme Court issued an Order (pdf.) staying a lower court ruling requiring the government to turn over thousands of documents related to the termination of DACA. The vote was 5 to 4, with Justice Breyer writing a 10-page dissent joined by Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan.

The full Order and Dissent are embedded at the bottom of this post.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 17, 2017 21 Comments
I noted yesterday that Chuck Grassley finally appears ready to clear the backlog in Judiciary Committee hearings on Appeals and District court judicial nominees, by preventing withholding of "blue slips" from becoming de facto filibusters, Chuck Grassley rips up “blue slip” stall, Al Franken left groping for alternative delay tactic. It then will be up to Mitch McConnell to get nominees floor votes, and to overcome Democrat stalling tactics to draw out each nominee, even the ones they don't oppose. The goal has to be:
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