The Hot Bench Returns | SCOTUS WATCHES POTUS | Constitution Keepin’ Up With The Times
March 1, 2017
SCOTUS WATCHES POTUS
|Yesterday, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP delivered his first speech to a joint session of Congress. With members of the Supreme Court looking on, the president honored MAUREEN SCALIA, the widow of the late ANTONIN SCALIA. He called Scalia a “symbol of American justice” and then nodded to the impending confirmation of JUDGE NEIL GORSUCH. Catch photos of POTUS and SCOTUS from last night’s address: HuffPo, NBC.
THAT I WOULD EVEN SHOW UP TO THIS
|“U.S. Supreme Court JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG always hugged PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA before his speeches to Congress. She doesn’t even plan to attend DONALD TRUMP’S first one.” Bloomberg’s Greg Stohr reports on the Notorious justice’s supreme snub and how she skipped out on Trump’s speech last night.
ROLL CALL
|Notorious RBG wasn’t the only justice who stayed home for the president’s address. JUSTICES CLARENCE THOMAS and SAMUEL ALITO were also absent from the event. Thomas stopped attending these joint session speeches during the Obama years arguing they’re too “partisan,” and Alito hasn’t been since President Obama used his 2010 State of the Union address to criticize the court for its decision in the Citizens United case. And while we’re taking roll, it’s worth noting that gold stars should go to JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER and CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS. Breyer has been the most consistent attendee since joining the court in 1994 and Roberts has perfect attendance since joining the court in 2005.
BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
|“The Supreme Court dealt another blow Wednesday against the use of race in drawing election districts, demanding further review of 11 state legislative districts that Virginia Republicans designed to ensure that 55% of eligible voters were black.” Richard Wolf with USA Today reports on today’s 7-1 ruling giving a temporary victory to Democrats and sending the case back to a three-judge trial court with instructions and criteria for determining whether the state legislature violated the Constitution by setting racial targets.
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|The Editorial Board at the Los Angeles Times weighed in on this week’s Supreme Court case addressing the social media access and use of a convicted sex offender. LAT: “Society is rightly concerned about the possibility that convicted sex offenders—even those who have served their sentences—might prey on children in the future. But does that concern justify banishing them from vast stretches of the Internet that have become the contemporary equivalent of the public square? We don’t think so, and judging from their comments at an oral argument in a North Carolina case this week, neither do most members of the Supreme Court.”
TOP-ED
|Noah Feldman for Bloomberg thinks that the modern world, and its infinite web of social media connections, friends and followers, is in the process of forcing a revision of First Amendment doctrine, which he says is a very good thing and “a sign that the living Constitution can keep up with the times.” Feldman: “If you think about it, no other fundamental constitutional right is defined by the technology of a medium. The First Amendment protects freedom ‘of the press’—a term that has at least two meanings. It refers literally to the physical product of the printing press—written words as opposed to freedom of speech. And it refers to the ecosystem of newspapers and pamphlets that by the end of the 18th century was commonly referred to as ‘the press.’ Consequently, First Amendment law comes under great pressure to evolve when new media technologies change the way public conversation is conducted.”
BROUGHT THAT OLD THING BACK
|It’s high time we brought back our favorite series, The Hot Bench. At long last, we will return to our weekly interviews with our most beloved Supreme Court reporters as we inch our way towards the hearing and perhaps confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch. Tomorrow, we’re kicking things off with SHANNON BREAM of Fox News. She spoke with SCOTUSDaily about her love of the Supreme Court, justices on social media, and why she’ll never wrestle an alligator. Catch the interview tomorrow—it’s not to be missed.
OTHER NEWS
Some SCOTUS Scheduling Speculation: Enough is Enough
Bloomberg BNA“Supreme Court mindreading is a game that court watchers love to play—just not always on the record. This became apparent recently when we asked several close court watchers to look into their crystal balls and opine about why the court—still down a pivotal ninth justice—decided to go ahead and schedule oral argument in three long-delayed cases.”
What's next for the transgender bathroom case before the Supreme Court
Geneva Sands“Next month, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case of Gavin Grimm, a transgender student, who has been seeking access to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school. Attorneys on both sides are required to update the court on Wednesday.”