LIBERAL JUSTICES…AND GORSUCH SIDE WITH IMMIGRANTS | Internet Sales Tax Debated Today | Sotomayor’s Broken Shoulder
April 17, 2018
A SCOTUS SHOCKER
|Who doesn’t love a good surprise? Especially from our venerable Supreme Court justices. Today the high court ruled that a law subjecting immigrants to deportation for crimes of violence is unconstitutionally vague. The ruling comes as a defeat for the president, making it harder for his administration to deport immigrants with criminal records. The justices ruled 5 to 4, with JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH joining his liberal colleagues in the majority for the first time. Yep, you heard that right. The freshman justice continues to prove himself to be something of a maverick. This case was originally argued in January of 2017 but presumably because the justices were deadlocked 4-4 they heard the case reargued once Justice Gorsuch joined the court.
DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT
|The justices today dropped from its docket a major data case that would have pitted Microsoft against the Department of Justice. In question was whether emails and other data stored overseas are subject to U.S. search warrants, following new legislation from Congress saying they are. The new law, enacted as part of a massive government spending bill, lays out rules for international data requests by law enforcement. It gives tech companies an easier way to navigate conflicts between government demands and customer privacy expectations. In an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court said the issue at the center of the case has “become moot.”
A CHANGE IS GONNA COME
|The Supreme Court today heard arguments in a major case that could re-shape ecommerce by putting a tax on all online purchases. South Dakota is asking the nine justices to overturn a 1992 Supreme Court precedent that states cannot require retailers to collect state sales taxes unless the businesses have a “physical presence” in the state. But that was before the Internet came along and changed the ways in which most of us shop.
GET WELL SOON
|The Supreme Court announced today that JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR broke her right shoulder in a fall at her home but will continue her duties as usual. This injury marks the second medical issue the justice has publicly faced this year, including an incident in which paramedics had to treat her for low blood sugar in her Washington home.
OTHER NEWS
The Supreme Court Must Strike Down Trump Immigration Ban
The Hill“In other words, the executive order is not just ill-advised, unnecessary and uncaring. It is dangerous and America is already less safe because of it. Presidents traditionally deserve great deference when they invoke questions of national security. But a claim of national security does not automatically make a matter so and, like the Supreme Court’s ill-fated review of the Japanese American internment in World War II, there has been scant evidence offered as to why our security demands such a drastic measure.”
The Supreme Court Is Terrible At Hiring Law Clerks, But Neil Gorsuch Is Surprisingly Good At It
Slate“Supreme Court justices would almost certainly diversify their clerk pools if they looked past feeder judges and extremely exclusive law schools to make their selections. Mauro’s numbers are distressing, but they are moving (slowly) in the right direction, and Gorsuch is already helping to increase the pace of progress. Straight white dudes with choice connections and elite degrees should not retain their stranglehold on SCOTUS clerkships. As Gorsuch appears to recognize, both the court and the country deserve better.”