JUSTICES DODGE A DECISION ON PARTISAN GERRYMANDERING | Fane Lozman Gets SCOTUS Sign-Off | Apple Apps To Get Supreme Court Review
June 18, 2018
IF YOU CAN DODGE A WRENCH, YOU CAN DODGE A BALL
|Today the Supreme Court dodged the chance to once and for all decide whether partisan gerrymandering is kosher in American politics. The justices found procedural issues with two separate challenges from Wisconsin and Maryland, allowing controversial maps in each state to be used in this fall’s midterm elections. In two unanimous decisions, the justices ruled that Wisconsin challengers failed to show that they were directly harmed by a new map for state legislative districts, and the court rejected a challenge to the boundaries for a congressional district in Maryland, finding that opponents waited too long to sue. But the core issue of partisan gerrymandering is far from settled, and it could return to SCOTUS as soon as next term with a case from North Carolina.
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LET THE MAN SPEAK
|Also this morning, the justices sided with FANE LOZMAN who sued his Florida city after being arrested for his speech during a public comment portion of a city council meeting. A lower court had barred Lozman from bringing his suit because a jury found that the police officer had probable cause to arrest him for disturbing a lawful assembly. However, justices ruled 8-1 that the existence of probable cause for an arrest shouldn’t bar Lozman from bringing his case.
PLAYING TELEPHONE
|SCOTUS today agreed to hear an appeal that could limit the scope of those who can be held liable under laws protecting investors from securities fraud. At issue is whether a person who did not personally make fraudulent statements, but merely passed them along, can be found liable for engaging in a fraudulent scheme.
TAKING A BITE OF THE APPLE
|The justices this morning took up an appeal challenging the propriety of a lawsuit brought by consumers who allege that Apple Inc. illegally monopolized the sale of iPhone apps. In a brief written order, they said they would review a lower-court ruling that said consumers had legal standing to proceed with their claims.
WATCH THE BREAKDOWN
|Adam Liptak and Alicia Parlapiano with The New York Times have a round-up of the Supreme Court’s biggest decisions in 2018 which notes which way the justices sided in each case and, importantly, which cases are still waiting for their weigh-in.
OTHER NEWS
If More States Start Using Ohio's System, How Many Voters Will Be Purged?
The Washington Post“If other states adopt Ohio’s Supplemental Process, our analysis suggests, millions of registered U.S. voters who are like Harmon will be exposed to a purge. They vote, skip several elections and vote again. Like Harmon, who for years lived and paid property taxes at the same address, many inactive registrants will never respond to a postcard asking them to confirm their residence.”
If The Supreme Court Won't Protect Voting Rights, Democrats Will
The Hill“The Supreme Court’s recent decision is a setback, but this battle is far from over. It’s never been more important for us to organize and fight back. Make no mistake: Voting is the most important civil rights issue of our era — because the right to vote preserves all other rights. Democrats will do everything we can to protect that right for all Americans, even if Republicans and the conservative Supreme Court justices won’t.”
Supreme Court Won't Hear Case Of Death Row Inmate Who Claimed Jurors Were Homophobic
NBC News“The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the appeal of a South Dakota man who claimed that anti-gay juror bias put him on death row. ‘Charles Rhines is a gay man, and the jurors at his capital trial knew it,’ his lawyers said in urging the court to take up the case. But prosecutors said it was the brutal nature of the crime that led the jury to impose a death sentence, not his sexual orientation.”