NEW YEAR, NEW SCOTUS | Republicans To Put-Up or Shut-Up | Top Cases to Watch in 2017
January 3, 2017
GOT THAT OLD THING BACK
|SCOTUSDaily is back in action and here to wish you a Happy New Year! As you settle into 2017, and SCOTUS dives into its regular programming, we’re here to keep you updated on the top stories from 1 First Street.
NEW YEAR, NEW SCOTUS
|This year, DONALD TRUMP is resolving to remake the Supreme Court starting with filling ANTONIN SCALIA’S vacant seat. POLITICO’s Shane Goldmacher and Josh Gerstein give us the inside look at Trump’s strategy to pick a justice now, and maybe identify someone he’ll want to call up later on down the line.
LAST CHANCE, LAST DANCE
|Chad Pergram and Kara Rowland with Fox News report that a last-ditch effort from PRESIDENT OBAMA to sneak MERRICK GARLAND onto the Supreme Court is unlikely at this point. Especially given that as of noon today the 115th Congress officially took power.
SO WHO'S IT GONNA BE
|Josh Gerstein in POLITICO profiles the eight folks who have been identified by people on TRUMP’S transition team as the frontrunners to replace the late JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA.
PUT-UP OR SHUT-UP
|“After a tumultuous decade that has seen profound changes in the makeup and character of their party, Republicans are poised to complete their slow but steady climb back to power as they seize control of the House, Senate and the White House for the first time since 2006. The political triad will leave them with a splendid opportunity for success. But there is little room for failure if they hope to satisfy their impatient constituents and deliver on bold promises to reshape the nation’s health care delivery system, restructure the tax code, drive job creation, muscle up American foreign policy, rebuild a crumbling infrastructure and set America on a new course.” In other words, Carl Hulse in The New York Times says it’s time for Republicans to “put-up or shut-up.”
2017 WATCH LIST
|The staff over at Constitution Daily put together a list of ten Supreme Court cases to watch in the new year. Topping the list is Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District — the case addressing the level of educational benefit that school districts must confer on children with disabilities. Arguments in that case are scheduled for January 11.
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|The Editorial Board of the Los Angeles Times calls Senate Republicans’ refusal to fill vacancies in the federal judiciary one of 2016’s “most spectacular examples of government dysfunction.” LAT: “Less well known is the fact that the Senate also failed to hold floor votes on 24 Obama nominees for lifetime federal judgeships who had been cleared by the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
OTHER NEWS
Energy Cases to Watch in 2017
Law360“After a year filled with blockbuster rulings, energy litigation will again grab the spotlight in 2017, with an early awaited decision on the legality of the U.S. Environmental Agency’s Clean Power Plan – the Obama administration’s signature climate change regulation – taking center stage.”
Court-imposed election map paved way for new Virginia congressmen
The Washington Post“When two new members of the Virginia congressional delegation are sworn in Tuesday, they can partially thank a panel of federal judges for their seats in Congress.”
Is Trump's Tariff Plan Constitutional?
The New York Times“Among the first steps being floated by the incoming Trump administration is a 5 to 10 percent tariff on imports, implemented through an executive order. It’s the sort of shoot-first, ask-questions-later action that President-elect Donald J. Trump promised during the campaign. It’s also unconstitutional.”
S.E.C.'s In-House Judges Face Supreme Court Scrutiny
The New York Times“Sometimes an obscure provision of the Constitution becomes the focal point of a significant controversy that requires the Supreme Court to straighten things out. The Appointments Clause is one of those, and it has created a division among the federal appeals courts about whether the in-house judges used by the Securities and Exchange Commission to hear cases were appointed properly.”