FRESHMAN GORSUCH HAS GUSTO A’PLENTY | Breyer At Tufts Last Night | McConnell’s Biggest Career Accomplishment
April 5, 2018
MAKIN' WAVES
|Lydia Wheeler with The Hill reports that only one year into his tenure on the high court and JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH has wasted no time making waves. She writes, “The Supreme Court’s newest justice is reveling in his role, diving into arguments with gusto and so far fulfilling the expectation that he would be a rock-ribbed conservative in the mold of his predecessor, the late ANTONIN SCALIA.”
LET'S GO BO'S
|Last night, JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER spoke at Tufts University about the role of the Supreme Court and its job interpreting a “breathing Constitution.” Read more about his appearance before the Jumbos from Sophie Lehrenbaum reporting for Tufts Daily.
IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE
|“The Trump administration and California are fighting a furious multifront legal war, and every week seems to bring a new courtroom battle.” Adam Liptak with The New York Times reports on the growing feud between the White House and the Golden State, which Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson refers to as “a scorching hot war.” Liptak reports, “The state has filed 29 lawsuits against the federal government since PRESIDENT TRUMP took office, on issues including immigration, the environment and voting rights.”
NOT-SO-HUMBLE BRAG
|Ed Kilgore with New York Magazine notes that when asked what his biggest accomplishment has been as a senator, MITCH MCCONNELL said, “The decision I made not to fill the Supreme Court vacancy when JUSTICE SCALIA died was the most consequential decision I’ve made in my entire public career.” And he’s not wrong. As Kilgore points out, “Without a Supreme Court opening at stake, it’s unlikely the overwhelming support Trump received from conservative Evangelical leaders would have been quite so overwhelming.”
SADDEST SCOTUS SELF-COMMENTARY
|“Yesterday, JUSTICES KENNEDY and THOMAS penned a short, awkward statement that may well enter the annals as the saddest self-commentary on the Supreme Court ever.” Joe Patrice with Above the Law addresses the justices’ refusal to confront the ethical dilemma it has created for itself and notes, “It’s long past time to put a stop to this. We don’t need more recusals, we need more prophylactic measures to avoid conflicts before they arise.”
OTHER NEWS
What Free Speech Has To Do With Skim Milk, Condoms And Corporate Political Spending
NPR“Many of the modern cases have less to do with citizens speaking to federal power than with the boundaries of businesses and organizations reaching into Americans’ lives. Below are a few of the cases from the 21st century that highlight both the versatility and the limitations of what the right to free speech has come to embody, at least in the U.S. justice system.”