Biden Asks SCOTUS To Cancel Border Wall & Asylum Arguments | When Will Biden Reverse Gov’s Position On ACA?
February 2, 2021
SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER
|Coming as no surprise to anyone currently living under several inches of snow in New England, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow this morning and predicted six more weeks of winter. If only ole Phil could predict the future when it comes to Supreme Court cases…
WAIT RIGHT THERE
|Yesterday, the Biden administration asked SCOTUS to cancel its upcoming arguments for two cases regarding policies that were signature to former PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S agenda: funding for the border wall and forcing asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are considered. Acting solicitor general ELIZABETH PRELOGAR told the high court that PRESIDENT BIDEN already stopped construction of the wall and announced a review of the asylum program. In light of these actions, Prelogar asked justices to postpone further legal filings in the cases and remove them from their oral argument calendar.
HOW SOON IS TOO SOON
|Ariane de Vogue with CNN reports PRESIDENT BIDEN has been in office all of two weeks and already court watchers are wondering when he’ll reverse the federal government’s position before the SCOTUS on the Affordable Care Act. She writes, “The challenge for Biden’s Justice Department is not only telling the justices it manifestly opposes the position taken by the Trump administration in the case, but how to pull off the task. Changing its position on the Affordable Care Act wouldn’t end the lawsuit, which was brought by Texas and other Republican-led states, but could inform how the justices look at the case.”
TOP-ED
|Nicholas Goldberg with the Los Angeles Times explains how a high school student’s social media post ended up before the Supreme Court. After she didn’t make the varsity cheerleading squad, the young woman referred to as “B.L.” in court papers took to social media to post a few expletives and a photo of her and her friend with their tongues out and middle fingers up. She was suspended from the junior varsity team for the entire following year for that post. SCOTUS will hear arguments in the spring about whether the school had the right to punish B.L. for what she posted. Goldberg argues, “Who wants to live in a society in which school administrators have the authority to punish students for harmless (if profane) comments that are not disrupting school activities or even made on school campuses? Do we really want schools to extend their authority into students’ homes and their out-of-school lives so that teachers and principals — rather than parents — can decide if what students are saying is acceptable or not?”
OTHER NEWS
As Sports Gambling Grows, So Do Appetite-Whetting Sure Bets
The New York Times“Less than three years after the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that prohibited sports gambling in most states, betting on games is legal and underway in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The more than $1 billion in 2020 revenue is projected to grow sixfold by 2023, according to a study by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a research and consulting firm. If all 50 states permit sports betting, revenues will surpass $19 billion annually, the study projects.”