U.S. Supreme Court: Post-Ginsburg Edition

used to be alito followed scalia's lead like they were grafted together in a scotus version of the human centipede. why can't he do it just one more time?

the GOP said that they were definitely not going to ask the Judge if she likes beer.

Fuck Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz going after the 1619 Project and CRT at the hearings right now

Made sure to name drop Marx as well

she did a good job slapping down his gotcha quote

"Do you agree that babies should confess to their racism? Answer the question!!"

y'all didn't watch Graham this morning evidently. A performance for the ages.

These hearings are basically like, "So how can you, as a black woman, empathize with the white man?"

soft on child pornographers, tough on white folks

oh great it's ben's ass

Jackson's response to Ben Sasse on how to thread "originalism" and modern sensibilities while interpreting Fourth Amendment case law was marvelous and intelligible to the average person.

Lots of unintentional comedy today but “rate your faith 1-10” is up there.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) March 22, 2022

Apparently it was Graham who came up with this howler.

Listening to it live ranks with my first viewing of Pulp Fiction as an epochal moment.

She gave it an 8.3 but not BNM for some reason

lol

so many candidates but I think Lindsey Graham is my least favorite Senator

more child porn!!

I only wish she cared as much about the rule of law as she does about perverts and GITMO inmates

It's like watching a class of kindergartners question their teacher about her job. She tries to explain the concepts of education and employment and it goes right over their heads so they get mad and say something like "it's not a hard question! Should my mom let me eat cake for breakfast on my birthday? Yes or no!"

I don't have the fortitude to watch these hearings, so can somebody please run down the state of play: we're basically waiting to see if Manchin/Sinema will embarrass themselves and find a reason not to approve Jackson, right? And in that event then Dems have to peel off votes from Romney/Murkowski/Collins?

Neither is on the Judiciary Committee.

I'd say there's a near zero chance of Manchin or Sinema not approving, unless one of them suprise announces switching parties or something.

not voting to confirm I mean

Whatever else, Manchinema have been good on judicial appointments.

Yeah, and I feel like that's one area where people virtually always stick with the party.

didn't Manchin already raise objections about Jackson?

Neither is on the Judiciary Committee.

I meant when they put it to a vote...

It'll be in all the papers.

Apparently Hawley's extended riffage on child porn yesterday was a loud dog whistle to his Qanon people, went right over my head

Graham was even more loathsome this morning!

He's really the fucking worst. I go back and forth between "complete idiot" and "hiding something dark and traitorous."

NYT coverage:

She filibustered every single answer,” says Graham, who has spoken over Judge Jackson’s responses, delivered uninterrupted commentary and interrupted her responses nearly every time she has tried to answer.

and

The thought that Senator Graham seemed to be suggesting Judge Jackson’s trailblazer role as the first Black woman nominee to the Supreme Court is only because Democrats rejected a Black conservative woman, Janice Rogers Brown, doesn’t really work. As noted, Democrats filibustered her (and a handful of other particularly conservative Bush nominees to appeals courts in 2003), leaving her on the California Supreme Court for two more years before the Gang of 14 deal ended the filibuster and she was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit in June 2005. President Bush got the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court justice in July 2005 when Justice Sandra Day O’Connor retired, and a second justice in September 2005 when Chief Justice William Rehnquist died. In short, Mr. Bush had two opportunities to elevate Judge Brown to be the trailblazing first Black woman justice; the fact that she was among those Senate Democrats had filibustered in his first term posed no obstacle to his making that choice if he had wanted to do so.

There is audible groaning and noises of protest from many of the spectators here as Senator Graham again interrupted Judge Jackson. Graham then immediately left the dais.

Graham was a drama major in junior college

Graham was major drama in junior college

i am against the death penalty but the one exception is for people who use any variation of the "i identify as an attack helicopter" non-joke. instant death for them.

JUST IN: A photo taken by @kentnish shows Ted Cruz searching Twitter for his own name after questioning Ketanji Brown Jackson with debunked narratives and going back and forth with Dick Durbin. pic.twitter.com/elFtyB4Rlg

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) March 23, 2022

Just IN: Ted Cruz is schmuck.

i'm glad this is over, it was an extended hatewatch that i should not have engaged in and my head hurts. she seems nice though, like a normal person for once. she is a knitter!

The only bit of these hearings I’ll ever watch.

People of color, especially those who have the audacity to be the first, often have to work twice as hard to get half the respect.

Judge Jackson, thank you for persevering. You are an inspiration. pic.twitter.com/HRXNG6pJZO

— Senator Alex Padilla (@SenAlexPadilla) March 24, 2022

i did tear up watching that. but not at whatever cory booker was doing.

She seems like a really nice, down to earth person, something you can say about maybe 1% of people who are the type of gunner it takes to be in the running for SCOTUS, and a vibe I'm not sure I get from anyone else on the court.

She is universally beloved by everyone I know who knows her

https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/03/23/little-is-known-about-justice-thomas-hospitalization-part-of-a-history-of-secrecy-from-the-court/

On Wednesday afternoon — the day after the court had previously said Thomas would be released from the hospital — the court’s public information office told Grid that it had “no update” on Thomas or his condition.

Evil shadow docket majority on Supreme Court keeps issuing decisions

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued an astonishing decision throwing out Wisconsin’s new legislative districts as a violation of the equal protection clause. The majority accused a Republican justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court of greenlighting a “racial gerrymander” by creating one more majority-Black district in the state Assembly. Wednesday’s unsigned decision, issued through the shadow docket, hands Wisconsin Republicans an unexpected victory in their quest to reduce Black representation in the legislature. It also alters the law of redistricting in fundamental yet cryptic ways that might, to a cynic, seem designed to disadvantage Democrats in every single case.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/03/supreme-court-voting-rights-shredder-wisconsin.html

predictit market is a strong yes on KBJ confirmation during the first week of april and they think collins and murkowski will vote to confirm. market has nothing to say about clarence thomas.

Where are they on CODA beating The Power of the Dog?

There are many important historical aspects to this nomination but this for me may be the most meaningful one: she will be the first Justice who is a former public defender. (That’s the job my dad did for all of his career.)

yes, and it's a not-surprising, but very sad fact that we've never had a PD on the bench