THE HOT BENCH WITH SHANNON BREAM | Both Sides Want Transgender Case Decided
March 2, 2017
THE HOT BENCH
|What a time to be alive! The Hot Bench is back in action and we’re celebrating its return with SHANNON BREAM of Fox News. She spoke with SCOTUSDaily about her mission to get more folks to love the Supreme Court and why she never wants to wrestle an alligator. She told me the final day of the SCOTUS term is so exciting that she never needs to jump out of a plane, wrestle an alligator, or pursue any other thrill-seeking adventure. “It’s the biggest rush!” she exclaimed. Catch our full interview here.
YOU WILL NEVER BE ALONE AGAIN
|Last month, Fix the Court filed a lawsuit with the Department of Justice for not responding to its FOIA request for documents that would offer greater insight into JUDGE NEIL GORSUCH’S experience as deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department. Turns out, Fix the Court is not alone in its fight. SENATORS CHUCK GRASSLEY and DIANNE FEINSTEIN wrote a letter to ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS last week also requesting Gorsuch documents. Executive Director of Fix the Court, GABE ROTH: “I am pleased that the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee recognize the importance of putting a Supreme Court nominee’s agency records out in the open, as all non-classified documents from Judge Gorsuch’s time there—whether run-of-the-mill communications or potentially controversial memos—should be made public.”
BOTH SIDES NOW
|Both sides in the Supreme Court case that would decide how public schools must accommodate transgender students urged the justices yesterday to move forward with the case, saying students and schools need an answer. This could turn into a blockbuster challenge about the scope of transgender rights under existing civil rights law. However, lawyers for the school board of Gloucester County, Va. indicated that they may want to delay on the outcome of the case. SCOTUS is scheduled to hear the case of GAVIN GRIMM, the 17-year-old boy seeking to use his school’s bathroom that matches his gender identity, on March 28.
THAT'S JUST BUSINESS
|There are now 53 businesses in total that have joined a brief in support of GAVIN GRIMM. The Human Rights Campaign filed the brief Thursday and its president, CHAD GRIFFIN, noted, “These companies are sending a powerful message to transgender children and their families that America’s leading businesses have their backs.” Among the companies that signed on are Amazon, Apple, IBM and Microsoft. Niraj Chokshi with The New York Times reports.
ALL FOR ONE, AND ONE FOR ALL
|For Slate, Perry Grossman opines that SCOTUS must rule to defend the First Amendment rights of sex offenders in the case heard this week, Packingham v. North Carolina. “We must speak up for the rights of those on the fringes of society. The Supreme Court’s ruling on sex offenders’ First Amendment rights will signal how much protection we can all expect.”
ROOM FOR DEBATE
|“Debating the constitutionality of government discrimination against same-sex couples today has a charmingly retro feel.” Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern covers the Texas Supreme Court taking on the first major effort to roll back marriage equality in the age of Trump.
OTHER NEWS
Chemerinsky: Why the Supreme Court's ruling on race-based evidence matters
ABA Journal“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Feb 22. in Buck v. Davis is important for the criminal justice system on many levels. The court clarified the standard for federal courts of appeals when considering whether to allow appeals from the denial of habeas corpus petitions. Also, the court found ineffective assistance of counsel, something relatively rare for the Supreme Court.”
Texas Supreme Court Hears Challenge on Same-Sex Marriage Rights
Reuters“Two Houston taxpayers, backed by Texas Republican leaders, on Wednesday challenged Houston’s spousal benefits for same-sex couples, asking the state’s highest civil court to re-examine parts of a landmark 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.”
Supreme Court Will Examine Whether A Wisconsin Family Needs Government Permission to Sell Their Land
Reason“After a decade of legal wrangling over the fate of their half-century old cabin, the Murr family will take their property rights dispute from the backwoods of western Wisconsin to the marble halls of the U.S. Supreme Court.”