SENATOR MENENDEZ PETITIONS SCOTUS | Trump Voters Show Strong Support for 18-Year Term Limits

December 14, 2016

On this day in 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States that Congress was within its authority to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against racial discrimination of private businesses.

Attorneys for SENATOR ROBERT MENENDEZ petitioned the Supreme Court earlier this week urging the justices to throw out the federal corruption case pending against him. The senator from New Jersey was accused last year of using his Senate office to help a friend and big-time political donor who was under federal investigation over Medicare billing. His lawyers contend meetings conducted by Menendez with various government officials were legislative in nature and were protected by a section of the Constitution called the “speech or debate” clause.

Governor of Ohio JOHN KASICH yesterday signed into law a ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. He also vetoed a measure that would have barred abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected, something that occurs as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Kasich said the “heartbeat bill” was “clearly contrary to the Supreme Court’s current rulings on abortion.”

“Two 20-week bans have been struck down in federal courts as unconstitutional. But abortion opponents in Ohio believe the new law will withstand legal challenges, perhaps even at the Supreme Court. ROBERT CUPP, a Republican state representative, says he thinks the court will be swayed by medical advances allowing more very premature babies to survive. A victory at the Supreme Court could open the door for a federal 20-week ban, which was introduced last year but blocked by Senate Democrats.” That’s the Editorial Board of The New York Times responding to GOVERNOR KASICH signing a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of fertilization and his refusal to sign the “heartbeat bill.”

After election day, Fix the Court – the organization advocating for a more open and honest Supreme Court – commissioned a poll to measure how the country was feeling about ending life tenure at SCOTUS. Similar to what’s been previously seen, the poll found that two-thirds of Americans are in favor of term limits, with Trump voters being especially supportive of this idea. 72 percent of Trump voters supported term limits, and 67 percent supported 18-year terms specifically.

Earlier this week, Heather Gerken argued in Vox that progressives should do more in the way of embracing federalism, breaking with their tradition of being skeptical about the power of the states. She outlined, “Here are three important ways progressives can take a chapter from the conservatives’ playbook and use their control over state and local governments to influence the national agenda, shape policy results, and encourage political compromise. If JERRY BROWN or ANDREW CUOMO or ERIC GARCETTI is looking for a ‘to do’ list for the next four years, it’s here.”

In The Washington Post, Ilya Somin responds to Gerken’s piece, noting the biggest difference between her position and his is that she “puts little if any emphasis on judicially enforceable limits on federal power.” He adds, “This is part of a longstanding disagreement between Gerken and other modern progressive champions of federalism on the one hand, and conservative and libertarian federalists on the other.”

A federal judge in Vermont ruled Tuesday that only the U.S. Supreme Court can declare the death penalty to be unconstitutional, while also sharply criticizing the system that he thinks imposes punishment in such a way that “chance and bias play leading roles.” Chris Geidner with Buzzfeed reports.