GIVE ME GERRYMANDERING OR GIVE ME DEATH | A California Cake Case | Sotomayor Calls For Civic Participation
February 7, 2018
THE YEAR OF THE GERRYMANDER
|Just when you thought we were done talking about gerrymandering for a hot sec, we get another SCOTUS ruling on the issue. Last night, a divided Supreme Court gave a partial victory to North Carolina lawmakers looking to put a hold on two legislative remedial maps. This means these maps, drawn by Republicans in 2017, will likely be used in the next election. However, the justices declined to put on hold maps in four other districts in the state.
AT ODDS
|Adam Liptak with The New York Times reports the justices were fairly split over what to do with the North Carolina request to block the redrawing of the maps. “The justices seemed to split into three camps: Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. said they would have granted the entire request; Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor said they would have granted none of it; and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Elena Kagan and Neil M. Gorsuch appeared to take the middle position.”
CAN A CAKE JUST BE A CAKE
|A California judge ruled late yesterday that a baker is allowed to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding by citing her religious objections and right to free speech. Superior Court Judge David R. Lampe wrote in his decision, “A wedding cake is not just a cake in a Free Speech analysis. It is an artistic expression by the person making it that is to be used traditionally as a centerpiece in the celebration of a marriage. There could not be a greater form of expressive conduct.” This reasoning is very similar to that of JACK C. PHILLIPS, the baker from Colorado whose own cake case is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
LET. IT. GO
|The U.S. Supreme Court this week gave their peace and blessings to the Pennsylvania supreme court when JUSTICE ALITO refused to weigh in on the decision requiring the state’s congressional map be redrawn because it was gerrymandered for political gain. But some are having difficulty accepting the outcome of these decisions. A Republican lawmaker is now calling for justices on the state supreme court — those responsible for this decision — to be impeached. In a memo to all members of the Pennsylvania House, Rep. Cris Dush (R) accused the five Democrats on the court of engaging in misbehavior for ordering the new maps and subverting the process, outlined in the constitution, by which a bill can become a law. Sam Levine for HuffPost reports.
GIVE ME GERRYMANDERING OR GIVE ME DEATH!
|“These antics should surprise no one.” Mark Joseph Stern with Slate responds to the Pennsylvania lawmaker’s tantrum over his state supreme court’s ruling on partisan gerrymandering. MJS writes, “In recent years, many Republicans—especially swing-state legislators—have countered judicial efforts to protect voting rights by assailing the legitimacy of the courts themselves. They’ve also manipulated the machinery of government to disenfranchise disfavored communities, then tried to insulate their machinations from judicial scrutiny. The Pennsylvania GOP’s crusade against the courts is not an outlier. It is a distressingly familiar example of the tactics vulnerable Republicans use to entrench their own power.”
BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THIS WORLD
|At Emory University School of Law yesterday, JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR expressed that she hopes more people will participate in the lawmaking process so that they can create the change they want in this world. “I believe with all my heart that unless we become engaged in our country and become active participants in making a difference in the world we’re in, that we will be nothing but bystanders otherwise, and nobody should live their life being a bystander.” An important reminder for us all. Happy Wednesday, SCOTUS friends, and keep fighting the good fight.
SCOTUS VIEWS
The Judicial 'Resistance' Is Futile
The Wall Street Journal“The justices voted 7-2 in December to stay any judicial order stopping implementation of the current immigration policy, even before the Ninth Circuit’s decision was issued. One hopes the justices will strongly affirm that the president has the power to exclude aliens from the U.S. for foreign-policy and national-security purposes, and that the judiciary has no role in reviewing his policy choices in this area. A unanimous ruling would send an especially strong message.”
What Does The PA Redistricting Case Mean For Maryland? More Hypocrisy.
The Baltimore Sun“Now Pennsylvania is being forced to draw maps that its Democratic governor and Republican legislature can agree to within the next week, or else the state supreme court will do the job. By most estimates, a fair map there would produce bigger gains for the Democrats than a fair map here would produce losses for the party. Consequently, Maryland Democrats can feel free to sign on to Governor Hogan’s proposal, or something substantially similar to it, and replicate Pennsylvania’s ‘victory for democracy’ here — without jeopardizing a victory for Democrats in the House elections for years to come.”
Republicans Have Rigged The System For Years. Democrats Are Finally Fighting Back.
The Washington Post“All over the country, Republicans are working to rig the electoral process in their favor. It’s not just about holding off a potential Democratic wave this year, as important as that is. It’s also about allowing them to continue to hold the majority of American political power despite having the support of a minority of the voters.”
OTHER NEWS
The Supreme Court Would Be Crazy To Jump Into The DACA Dispute
New York Magazine“The earliest, highest-profile critic of granting an executive reprieve to Dreamers was none other than Justice Antonin Scalia. The plight of young immigrants brought to the United States as children was not something the Supreme Court was concerned with in 2012, but the late justice somehow felt the need to protest, in open court, President Obama’s then weeks-old decision to not deport them for humanitarian reasons.”
Eric Holder's Group Targets All-GOP States To Attack Gerrymandering
The New York Times“A Democratic group backed by former President Barack Obama intends to pour millions of dollars into an eclectic array of elections in a dozen states, in an effort to block Republicans from single-handedly drawing congressional maps after 2020, officials leading the group said.”