JUSTICE GORSUCH, A CONSERVATIVE CREATURE | Terminator Goes To SCOTUS | Liberal Lovefest for Thurgood
July 25, 2017
HOW RIGHT WAS HE
|“While the Supreme Court is off for its summer recess, scholars have been busy trying to decode the early votes of its newest member, JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH. Where does he sit on the court, ideologically? How has he affected its political dynamics? And what does that bode for future cases?” That’s Oliver Roeder with FiveThirtyEight considering just how conservative the SCOTUS newbie was in his first term on the high court’s bench.
NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES – TERMINATOR GOES TO WASHINGTON
|“ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER is used to blowing things up: Aliens, the T-1000, state budgets. Now, the former action hero and ex-California governor is taking on something vastly less cinematic, but no less daunting: redistricting reform.” POLITICO’s Edward-Isaac Dovere reports on the former California governor’s latest campaign to end partisan gerrymandering and help with the behind-the-scenes preparation for next term’s big Supreme Court case on the issue.
WHO WHAT WHERE
|In other breaking news, Hollywood movie star, JOSH GAD, was seen brunching on Sunday at Café Bonaparte. Emily Heil with The Washington Post reports the sighting and notes that although it’s unclear what brought the actor to Washington, it’s possible he’s seeking some inspiration for his upcoming role in the film “Marshall” about the late Supreme Court JUSTICE THURGOOD MARSHALL.
SPEAKING OF THURGOOD
|For The Washington Post, Nelson Pressley reviews George Stevens Jr.’s play “Thurgood” which is currently running at the Olney Theater Center. Pressley calls it a “liberal lovefest” and “pure hero worship” as it is an extended tribute to the country’s first African American Supreme Court justice. But it’s not all coming up roses for Pressley. He writes, “The history is complicated; the show is not. The Supreme Court career is not much explored, and the accomplished, intriguing man is reduced to his biggest hit. There’s a lot to feel good about while watching a solo show of Marshall, but little of it comes from this simplified, watery writing.”
OTHER NEWS
The Case Against Four Person Majorities on the Supreme Court
The Hill“In a law review article a few years ago, I argued that minority majority opinions should receive limited precedential effect. That should be the case here: Lower courts should read the Supreme Court’s opinion narrowly, and the Supreme Court itself should feel free to revisit the issue anew in the future.”
Appeals Court Blocks Enforcement of District's Strict Concealed-Carry Law
The Washington Post“A federal appeals court on Tuesday blocked the District from enforcing strict limits the city has in place on carrying concealed firearms on the streets of the nation’s capital. In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the District’s system that requires a ‘good reason’ to obtain a permit is so restrictive that it is essentially an outright ban in violation of the Second Amendment.”