U.S. Supreme Court: Post-Ginsburg Edition

and how Poppy lied when he said race wasn't a factor

still wondering whether some well-times exercises of second amendment rights aren’t our only way out of this

https://www.vox.com/2022/6/27/23184848/supreme-court-kennedy-bremerton-school-football-coach-prayer-neil-gorsuch

So Gorsuch called the public school football coach's actions a "private" "quiet" prayer at the 50 yard line, even though the dissent included a photo showing a crowd of players around the coach and the school principal testified that he later became aware of a parent's complaint that his son "felt compelled to participate" in Kennedy's religious activity, even though he was an atheist, because "he felt he wouldn't get to play as much if he didn't participate."

"he felt he wouldn't get to play as much if he didn't participate."

Learning that life is unfair is so fucking cruel in high school sports. The prayer thing is wildly obnoxious but merely a good leaping point for The Shit That High School Coaches Use To Avoid Merit-Based Playing Time.

High school coaches and Justices with no self-awareness of how others will feel. The coach kept articulating his prayers in team meetings and at the 50 yard line and since some chose to join him, just assumed this was ok and effective

I'm sure he thinks he's a big fucking hero and a soldier for god

Never knew a football coach who didn't believe that.

I'm reminded of this still stunning incident from my childhood: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-11-25-9311250178-story.html

Youth football coaching legend Three Year Letterman is on the case.

As a youth football coaching legend, I am disturbed and infuriated by this coach’s actions.

I get the Declaration of Independence gives us free speech, but the post-game is for belittling and intimidating your defeated opponent. This coach embraced mediocrity.

— Three Year Letterman (@3YearLetterman) June 27, 2022

A year of work proving Louisiana's congressional map discriminates against Black voters. A 152-page district court opinion finding discrimination, upheld in a 33-page opinion by the most conservative federal court in the nation. Taken away by 6 justices in an act of raw power. https://t.co/PhJ9iROha1

— Sam Spital (@SamSpital) June 28, 2022

The US Supreme Court yesterday chose to overrule the Louisiana redistricting congressional map . Above tweets give some details.

Was talking to another parent at the baseball game last night and he said it feels just like one gut punch from the Supreme Court every single day right now. It's really hard to not get dispirited and start to feel hopeless.

Voting in our primary yesterday helped a little, but even though I voted as *hard* as I could, I'm doubtful it will lead to meaningful change like the notable Twitter dems told me it would.

what are the realistic chances of expanding the court to 13? who gets to decide who those extra judges are, if they succeed?

Congress. Court size varied widely during the 19th century.

Diets being what they were.

Today Wednesday was a 5-4 decision that overturned law regarding Native American reservations.

The Supreme Court rules that states CAN prosecute crimes against Native American victims committed on Native American reservations if the defendant is non-Native. The decision limits the scope of the 2020 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma (which involved a Native American defendant).

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 29, 2022

Don't tell me: Gorsuch joined the libs.

Is that good or bad?

Gorsuch's only virtue is consistent support for indigenous sovereignty.

Not only did he join the dissent, he wrote it. He wrote the original decision that's being overturned, so he's pissed.

Oh, and Breyer is officially out effective noon tomorrow.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/midterms-pressure-senate-biden-on-circuit-court-appointments

Democrats risk running out of time before filling all current or expected federal appeals court vacancies with their grip on the Senate in doubt, legal scholars who follow judicial nominations say.

Progressives want the White House and Senate Democrats to move faster. The usual summer congressional slowdown and November midterm campaigning leaves limited time for committee and floor action before a lame-duck session to end the year.

Senate Democrats, who have confirmed 16 circuit nominees in the first year and a half of Joe Biden’s presidency, are aiming to nearly double the tally in the next six months.

But filling all available vacancies is unlikely without changes to how the majority manages vetting, said John Collins, a George Washington University professor who tracks judicial nominations. “I just don’t think there’s enough time,” Collins said.

Can't he just do recess appointments?

My quick google tells me a recess appointment lasts for 2 years

"Vetting"? Just put a bunch of progressives in there. GOP under Trump approved judges willy-nilly with terrible ratings from the ABA. (One of them scrapped masks on airplanes.)

Judge William Nilly was one of the better Trumps appointees, sadly

Schumer needs to get the Senate moving. For Circuit Court vacancies it should be easier (as Republicans got rid of the blue slip custom at that level that allowed Senators from either party to object to a nominee). Blue slip process apparently still exists at District court level. I think Republicans must not have followed it under Trump at District Court level, or lame Dems didn't object enough to all of the terrible people who became District Court judges under Trump

Schumer is a terribly ineffective majority leader. He's not a wartime consigliere. McConnell still eats his lunch daily.

what are the realistic chances of expanding the court to 13? who gets to decide who those extra judges are, if they succeed?

― politics is about vibes and the vibes are off (stevie), Wednesday, June 29, 2022 10:05 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Congress. Court size varied widely during the 19th century.

― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, June 29, 2022 10:13 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

My take on this: (1) the Court is currently cemented at extremely horrific for the next two decades or so, therefore even things seesawing back and forth between parties would be an improvement and worth the gamble (2) nine justices is just too few for a country this large - it leads to grossly distorted outcomes, like a one-term president who lost the popular vote selecting 1/3 of the court and deciding its bent for the next two decades, and (3) stop calling it "court packing" because that sounds bad and come up with some better branding that actually makes it sound like the obviously necessary and sensible idea that it is and not some angry radical revenge scheme.

I guess we can start sarcastically saying “thanks, Supreme Court” in reference to various bullshit

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/06/28/police-brutality-display-protesters-rail-against-post-roe-world?fbclid=IwAR3sjS_tp3yVNDaSnYkd_zw7zissaVlo703L84OX3X3L28M3oisxKj930eQ

the Court is currently cemented at extremely horrific for the next two decades or so

One motivated sniper could solve this problem. And the justices are heading home at the end of the week...

Not sarcastically

Sorry, all of this is doing me in a little

xxxpost Plus you've got a guy placed on the court by a President elected before anyone under 33 was even born taking away the rights of current and future generations of women

yea whoever said this feels worse than the Trump era was right, at least then you had the hope that things would turn around in 2020. Dems got all 3 houses and welp here we are. obviously I have a lot of frustration towards this current administration but I'm not sure what they even could do if Manchin and Sinema remain uncooperative, sure as hell feels like America is set up to reward bad actors

the other part is just seeing up front that the GOP really is that bad. I was holding onto hope that people on here and on Twitter were mostly overreacting, that surely the Trump administration wouldn't ACTUALLY try to overturn an election through a violent coup, that surely these SC justices wouldn't ACTUALLY try to overturn something as widely popular as Roe, especially after giving sworn testimony they wouldn't

it sucks because I had this sense of dread when RBG died, it felt nearly as bad as when Trump won somehow. but I realized I had been despairing too much, I just didn't have any more room to feel bad about it, and that for once you just gotta hope things will be alright. instead everything bad we thought was gonna happen wound up happening. I'm too exhausted to care anymore.

I had that same dread. I hoped somehow we'd avoid an overturn but it felt inevitable. Esp when Loony Barrett was nominated

Why, I'd even go so far to say that she's more "notorious" than her predecessor!

And the capper we all knew was coming...

The Supreme Court's first decision of the day is West Virginia v. EPA. In a 6–3 decision by Roberts, the court strictly curbs the EPA's power to mandate carbon emissions from existing power plants. https://t.co/EaPGix54LE

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 30, 2022

Biden should’ve said it an hour after the Court ruled.

— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) June 30, 2022

at least to my reading they decided it somewhat narrowly (the EPA can't use the Clean Ar Act to curb carbon emissions because carbon dioxide is not classified as a pollutant) rather than completely gutting delegation.

The Supreme Court's second and final opinion of the day—and the term—is Biden v. Texas, the Remain in Mexico case. The Biden administration wins, 5–4, with Roberts and Kavanaugh joining the liberals. Biden can rescind the policy. https://t.co/QIo8hJybz1

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 30, 2022

Not so fast tho...

I think this right. Today's decision is a victory for the Biden administration, but it gives Trump judges in the lower courts space to retake control of border policy on remand. Very troubling. https://t.co/wuKSlgRtLk

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 30, 2022

all of this is obviously very bad, but in a way is this a challenge to congress? to be more creative? to be more "activist" and prescriptive?

oh wait

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

if the Dem party was functional at all they'd be working on clear legislation to solidify these laws but I am guessing they see saving the planet we all live on as a divisive issue

It costs too much.

I recently read a Stanford study which tried to estimate the cost of converting every nation on the planet to 100% renewables, landing on a number around $60 trillion

that's a lot, but they also estimated the planet would save $11 trillion or so every year, meaning it would pay for itself within 5 1/2 years. not to mention the massive impacts on the environment and public health

so of course our dumb species won't do it, we won't even try

In his dissent, Thomas claims that COVID vaccines were developed with the use of "aborted children." https://t.co/43cSrepGNn

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 30, 2022

jesus christ

clarence thomas i wish you a very die

I still own isclarencethomasdeadyet.com. anybody wanna help me develop it?

I had a static page up on there that just said "unfortunately no" but idk maybe we can do better.

Just in: In an election case out of North Carolina, SCOTUS agrees to review the "independent state legislature" theory next term. Under that theory, state legislatures have broad power to set rules for federal elections, even if state courts say those rules are unconstitutional.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 30, 2022

^^ very bad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o593zZyfFfc