SCOTUS Leaves In Place Kentucky Ultrasound Law | Trump’s Impact On The Courts | The Myth About Justice Clarence Thomas
December 9, 2019
WAIT FOR IT, WAIT FOR IT
|On Friday, JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG issued a temporary block to subpoenas that would force Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp. to turn over years of PRESIDENT TRUMP’S financial records to two committees in the House. The hold will expire this Friday, December 13, when justices are already scheduled to discuss whether the take up the other challenge for Trump’s financial records.
A RARE REBUKE
|Also on Friday the Supreme Court gave a rare rebuke to the Trump administration when it handed down a brief order saying that the Justice Department may not bypass the ordinary legal process governing appeals if it wants to execute four men. The administration has said it wants to revive the federal death penalty, and after a federal district judge blocked four executions just before Thanksgiving, the Trump administration hoped it could skip over the ordinary appeals process to make those executions happen faster.
IS THIS THE LINE
|“Thanks to Friday’s order, we now know the Supreme Court will draw the line on the Trump administration’s never-ending crusade for quick wins somewhere.” Mark Joseph Stern with Slate responds to the high court’s rebuff of Trump over hastening executions noting, “When literal human lives are directly on the line, the Supreme Court isn’t willing to let the DOJ cut corners.”
EYES WIDE SHUT
|The Supreme Court today decided not to take up a challenge to a Kentucky law that requires doctors to describe ultrasound images and play fetal heartbeat sound to abortion seekers. Those challenging the law said it forced patients to see the images even if she didn’t want to, and that it violated doctors’ First Amendment rights. SCOTUS rejected the case without comment or dissent.
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|The Editorial Board of The Wall Street Journal previews a case SCOTUS will hear tomorrow regarding health insurers that sued the government for not making payments they say they are entitled to under the Affordable Care Act’s “risk corridors.” The Ed Board argues, “A ruling for insurers would require the executive to spend money Congress hasn’t appropriated. It would also prevent Congress from reining in spending discretion granted to the executive and invite a stampede to the courts whenever Congress reduces a government subsidy. Justices should leave the power of the purse to Congress.”
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
|Ian Millhiser with Vox explains PRESIDENT TRUMP’S impact on the courts, doing more in three years than PRESIDENT OBAMA did in his eight as president. Millhiser writes, “Trump hasn’t simply given lots of lifetime appointments to lots of lawyers. He’s filled the bench with some of the smartest, and some of the most ideologically reliable, men and women to be found in the conservative movement. Long after Trump leaves office, these judges will shape American law — pushing it further and further to the right even if the voters soundly reject Trumpism in 2020.”
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT
|Garrett Epps in The Atlantic describes how the Right is pushing to maximize its advantage in the courts. On hot-button issues like gun rights, abortion and the funding of religious schools, legal conservatives may have a limited window for getting some big wins on the board. He notes, “I understand why legal conservatives are in a hurry to get the results they want. Right now, the right owns the Court; it owns the legislatures; it owns the White House. But the nation is in turmoil and the wind may shift tomorrow.”
THE LONG CON
|“It’s the horror movie villain that won’t die, the pop song you can’t get out of your head, the out-of-town guest that just won’t leave. It’s a belief that’s stuck like a tick in the collective memory of some white conservatives. It’s the notion that black people despise CLARENCE THOMAS because he’s a conservative. It’s not only a myth but a con. Here’s why it matters now.” That’s John Blake with CNN weighing in on what he sees as a myth about the Supreme Court justice that just don’t die. With a new documentary and biography coming out about Thomas, Blake argues that any reevaluation of the justice should be grounded in facts, not myths.
OTHER NEWS
Kirkland Attorneys Arguing Back-to-Back Cases At Supreme Court
Bloomberg Law“Two Kirkland & Ellis attorneys will take the Supreme Court lectern on Dec. 10, arguing separately in back-to-back cases. For one, it will be his 99th appearance. For the other, his first.”
Supreme Court Won’t Review States’ Rights For Water Permitting
Bloomberg“The Supreme Court won’t review a long-running legal debate over the extent of states’ water permitting authority for major pipelines, hydroelectric dams, and other projects. The justices on Dec. 9 declined to take up California Trout v. Hoopa Valley Tribe, a case focused on Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which calls on states to ensure that proposals that require federal permits meet water quality standards within their borders.”
Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Unusual Case Brought By Arizona Against Purdue Pharma’s Sacklers Over The Opioid Epidemic
Tucker Higgins“The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an unusual case brought by the state of Arizona against the embattled Sackler family and their pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma. Arizona alleged in its petition with the top court that the Sacklers, who have become embroiled in the nation’s opioid epidemic over their signature drug OxyContin, unlawfully transferred billions of dollars out of their company in order to avoid liabilities stemming from thousands of lawsuits filed against them.”