NEW RBG TRAILER | SOTOMAYOR WANTS MORE OPENNESS, MORE LISTENING | California and Federal Government On A Collision Course
March 8, 2018
RBG THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER
|“I ask no favor for my sex; all I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” Those are the opening words of the new trailer for the documentary film, RBG, which chronicles JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG’S early quest for gender equality in the workplace. In it, the justice refers to her time having to get her colleagues up to speed on the pressing issue of women’s rights: “I did think of myself as a kindergarten teacher in those days because those judges didn’t think sex discrimination existed.” Watch the full trailer and get a little (or a lot) inspired on this Thursday.
THE ART OF LISTENING
|Earlier this week, JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR addressed a crowd of 7,000 “overworked educators who are attempting to solve student addiction, gun violence, hate speech, and unemployment.” She spoke of her favorite Sesame Street character, her time at Princeton where she met her first grasshopper, and the justice she thinks is most similar to herself. (Bet you can’t guess.) Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick covers the appearance and writes, “Sotomayor’s fundamental message of decency, inclusion, openness, and listening may come off as naïve during these times of heightened political fury and mistrust. It’s easy to say the justices are either kidding themselves about civility, or lying to the rest of us. But this incredible capacity to focus on, well the 7,000 other people in the room is the way Sotomayor plans to continue to live her life. And given the choice between the sustained performance art of angry guys, and her way, it’s heartening to know that America’s educators were on their feet for her.”
COLLISION COURSE
|Buzzfeed’s Adolfo Flores reports that we’re about to see what happens when a liberal state asserts its right not to follow a federal law. He writes, “The Trump administration’s lawsuit challenging California’s so-called sanctuary laws will ultimately come down to how much power the federal government has over states.”
TOP-ED
|Spring break isn’t always beaches and suntans. Read how University of Chicago law school student, Andrew Hosea, spent his spring break last year working on a Supreme Court case that was heard by justices in January. Hosea writes, “The case, McCoy v. Louisiana, entailed whether it was constitutional for a defense counsel to concede a defendant’s guilt against the express objection of the defendant. Just months before we arrived, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld a death penalty sentence against Mr. McCoy—even though his attorney told the jury he was guilty against his will. Our job as Spring Break of Service volunteers was to discern what the ‘assistance of counsel’ guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment actually meant, a fascinating legal question with sizeable practical implications.” After all that work, Hosea is convinced that all defendants have the constitutional right to maintain their own innocence — he hopes the Supreme Court will agree.
OTHER NEWS
Supreme Court Set To Tackle Internet Sales Tax Question
Constitution Daily“One of the most closely watched Supreme Court cases in April could affect the shopping habits of millions of Americans, as the Justices consider taxes paid on Internet product sales in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.”
Some Of The California "Sanctuary" Laws Targeted By Feds Could Be Vulnerable, Legal Experts Say
Los Angeles Times“California’s three new “sanctuary” laws, challenged in court this week by the Trump administration, face different hurdles and have varying vulnerabilities, legal experts said Wednesday. Law professors who read the lawsuit filed by Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions generally described it as a credible challenge that presents complex legal questions that might wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.”