JUSTICE THOMAS JOKES ABOUT STRESS ON THE JOB | DOJ Calls Allegations Over Citizenship Question “Smoke And Mirrors”
June 4, 2019
AND I HEARD 'EM SAY
|At a lecture yesterday in the SCOTUS courtroom, JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS joked about the stresses of being a justice and questioned the validity of ongoing rumors about his retirement. He said, “One of those things you have to get used to in this business — in here — is that people can say things about you and for you that have nothing to do with you.” He also joked, “I really don’t have a lot of stress. I cause stress. For 28 years, I’ve had colleagues who are like family. They’re good people. So I can’t say I have a lot of stress.”
LET THE MEN SPEAK
|During yesterday’s conversation, David Rubenstein also asked JUSTICE THOMAS about his famous practice of sitting silently during oral arguments. Thomas said he likes to give “more opportunity for the lawyers to talk” rather than engaging them in dialogue. “I don’t learn by the back and forth,” Thomas said.
SMOKE AND MIRRORS
|Monday, the Justice Department responded to allegations that it intentionally hid the government’s true motivations for adding the citizenship question to the 2020 Census. In a New York court filing, the DOJ said, “There is no smoking gun here; only smoke and mirrors.” In denying the accusations of concealing evidence, the Trump administration said its accusers were making up a conspiracy theory to “derail” the pending Supreme Court case.
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|The Editorial Board of The Washington Post isn’t buying the smoke and mirrors plea from the Trump administration. In a new piece, the Ed Board refers to new information surrounding the Trump administration’s motives for the citizenship question as “damning evidence” that can’t be ignored. It argues, “Anyone paying attention would have to be purposely obtuse to conclude that the Trump administration acted for legitimate purposes. The court must not let this pass.”
A RULING FOR WORKERS
|In a unanimous decision yesterday, the high court refused to limit workers’ ability to claim discrimination. Together, the justices ruled that employers can’t get discrimination suits thrown out by asserting employees should have first brought charges to state or federal regulators. Jess Bravin with The Wall Street Journal reports on the judgement, as well as the other from SCOTUS yesterday in which justices weighed in on an Obama-era issue over hospital compensation.
DEMOCRATS, MEET SCOTUS
|For The Atlantic, David A. Graham explains Democrats’ journey from barely thinking of the Supreme Court, to making it the centerpiece of campaign politics. He writes, “The appointments of two young, very conservative justices (KAVANAUGH and NEIL GORSUCH) in Trump’s first two years, and especially the messy fight over Kavanaugh’s confirmation, energized progressives. By September 2018, 81 percent of Democrats named the court as a very important voting issue, an amazing 19 percent rise from two years earlier.”
SCOTUS VIEWS
A White Man's Republic, If They Can Keep It
The Atlantic“That the Republican effort to increase white political power might be motivated by partisanship rather than racism is little solace. Segregationist Democrats might not have insisted on disenfranchising black voters after Reconstruction had those voters not been staunch Republicans. Whether motivated by partisanship or racism, though, the result is the same. If the Roberts Court does not draw a line here, this will not be the last step toward reestablishing a white man’s government it will be asked to take.”
A Partisan Grab, In Six Steps
The New York Times“The Supreme Court may be on the verge of issuing its most nakedly partisan ruling since Bush v. Gore. Based on their questions during oral arguments this spring, the court’s five Republican-appointed justices seem open to allowing the Trump administration to add a new question — about citizenship status — to the 2020 census. Experts say that the question would reduce the participation of Latinos in the census, and, in turn, increase the political power of heavily white regions, which lean Republican.”
OTHER NEWS
Man Who Threatened To Kill 2 Senators Who Supported Kavanaugh Gets 18 Months In Prison
The New York Times“A Long Island man who threatened to kill two United States senators in retaliation for their support for Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison. The man, Ronald DeRisi, 75, of Smithtown, N.Y., left multiple expletive-laden voice mail messages at the offices of the senators and threatened to assault and murder them. He was sentenced by Judge Joseph F. Bianco of Federal District Court in Central Islip.”