Progressive Groups Call For SCOTUS Expansion | Supreme Court Lawyers & Former Clerks Say Barr Crossed A Line Last Week
June 11, 2020
BYE BYE BABY
|Solicitor General NOEL FRANCISCO is expected to step down and resign from his role as the government’s top lawyer before the Supreme Court. Francisco has been a powerful advocate for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, and his top deputy, JEFF WALL, will step in while the White House searches for a replacement. Francisco has argued before justices for Trump’s Muslim travel ban, for the inclusion of a citizenship question on the Census, and for an end to the DACA program.
TRY TO BE REASONABLE
|Richard Wolf with USA Today reports on a 2001 high-speed police chase in which a police officer bumped the rear of a speeding car which caused it to tumble down an embankment and overturn. The speeding suspect was rendered a quadriplegic from the incident. He was able to sue for excessive force until SCOTUS put a stop to it. JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA wrote for an 8-1 majority, “In the end, we must still slosh our way through the factbound morass of ‘reasonableness.’ Whether or not Scott’s actions constituted application of ‘deadly force,’ all that matters is whether Scott’s actions were reasonable.” Wolf explains that although the justices may soon agree to reconsider qualified immunity, this “murky standard” of “reasonableness” would still remain a powerful hurdle for those claiming police misconduct.
THEY DID IT FIRST
|“The movement on the left to pack the Supreme Court is gaining momentum,” reports Holly Otterbein with POLITICO. A group of progressive organizations is pushing for more seats to be added to SCOTUS. In an open letter, organizations including Friends of the Earth, 350, Demand Justice and Take Back the Court accuse Republicans of “manipulating the size of the court by refusing to consider PRESIDENT OBAMA’S nominee for an open seat (and indicating that they would leave the seat open if HILLARY CLINTON won the 2016 election), then promptly changing Senate rules to fill the seat with a bare majority, rather than the previously-required 60 votes, when Trump took office.”
A LINE WAS CROSSED
|Marcia Coyle with The National Law Journal reports a cross-ideological group of U.S. Supreme Court practitioners and former clerks are calling on Attorney General WILLIAM BARR to be held accountable for what they’re calling an “immoral” and “undemocratic” use of force against protesters last week in Lafayette Square. The group wrote, “A line was crossed last week. And we, as lawyers, must speak out to defend it.”
MAY WE HAVE SOME MORE PLEASE
|The American Bar Association’s president, JUDY PERRY MARTINEZ, is urging SCOTUS to continue its new practice of providing the public with live access to its oral arguments via audio streaming. In a letter to CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS, Martinez urges, “We hope the Supreme Court and the Judicial Conference will continue to demonstrate a willingness to reevaluate and expand its policies on audio and video coverage of court proceedings in light of recent experiences during this COVID-19 pandemic.” Amanda Robert with the ABA Journal reports.