SCOTUS Asked For Further Briefing On Trump Financials Case, How Much Should We Be Reading Into It?
April 28, 2020
ICYMI
|The Supreme Court today dodged a bullet yesterday when it decided not to rule on its first Second Amendment case in nearly a decade. Justices voted 6-3 to dismiss as moot a case regarding a New York City gun regulation. After SCOTUS had agreed to review the dispute over whether the rule violated the Second Amendment, the regulation was rolled back. All four liberals were joined by CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS and JUSTICE KAVANAUGH in the majority.
ON THE CASE
|Even though JUSTICE BRETT KAVANAUGH joined the majority in its ruling on the New York gun case, he wrote a separate one-page opinion to note that he had “concern” with how lower courts are applying the law when it comes to gun rights. He suggested that the Supreme Court take up Second Amendment issues “soon.” He suggested SCOTUS could address this issue “perhaps in one of the several Second Amendment cases with petitions for certiorari now pending before the court.” Zoe Tillman with Buzzfeed writes, “Kavanaugh didn’t specify which cases he wanted the court to hear, but he noted that he agreed with the previous Supreme Court decisions that struck down state and local handgun bans; he highlighted a dissenting opinion he wrote in 2011 as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit when he disagreed with his colleagues who upheld an assault weapons ban in Washington, DC.”
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|The Editorial Board of The Wall Street Journal isn’t pleased that the Supreme Court passed up on its opportunity to weigh in on the Second Amendment case. “What an enormous abdication.” The Ed Board wonders whether JUSTICE KAVANAUGH joined CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS in the majority so Roberts wasn’t “the sole conservative providing a liberal victory.” The Ed Board goes on to say, “Justice Kavanaugh may agree with the chief that the court needs to avoid political controversies, especially with Democrats threatening to pack the court if they win the White House and Senate in November. But the court’s timidity on gun rights amid Senate threats means that liberal and media intimidation will escalate. The court hasn’t taken a Second Amendment case in a decade, even as cities and states erode its landmark Heller decision bit by bit. The court is sending a signal that the Second Amendment is the exception in the Bill of Rights, a second-class freedom.”
OH THE DRAMA...OR NOT
|Robert Barnes with The Washington Post reports on justices’ requesting yesterday to receive additional briefings on whether SCOTUS has the authority to settle a dispute about congressional subpoenas for PRESIDENT TRUMP’S financial records. Barnes writes, “The case is set to be argued May 12, and briefing was completed weeks ago. So the order from the court caught lawyers by surprise and raised at least the possibility that the justices were looking for a way to avoid deciding the case’s merits. It may also be less dramatic than that. The request could reflect the interest of just one or a small group of the nine justices.”
THE HIGHEST FORM OF FLATTERY
|On Monday the Supreme Court also ruled 5-4 that the state of Georgia may not copyright its entire official code, including its state laws and annotations interpreting them. CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS wrote for the majority, “If everything short of statutes and opinions were copyrightable, then states would be free to offer a whole range of premium legal works for those who can afford the extra benefit. A state could monetize its entire suite of legislative history. With today’s digital tools, states might even launch a subscription or pay-per-law service.” Roberts was joined by an unusual cast of characters in the majority, including JUSTICES SOTOMAYOR, KAGAN, GORSUCH and KAVANAUGH.
CURTAIN CALL
|Ian Millhiser with Vox reviews the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to “reject a Republican effort to sabotage parts of the Affordable Care Act.” Millhiser notes that after years of litigation attempting to kill the ACA, along with all the partisan rancor that came with it, only JUSTICE ALITO was willing to endorse this particular attack on PRESIDENT OBAMA’S health care policy. It could be, Millhiser says, that after all this time the Obamacare wars are finally coming to a close.