OT16 IS LOW-KEY A BIG DEAL | Kennedy’s Vote “Shaky As Ever” On Voting Rights
May 24, 2017
THE LOW-KEY BLOCKBUSTER YEAR AT SCOTUS
|In The Atlantic, Garrett Epps considers that although OT16 has been pretty low-key, “with a court hobbled by a missing justice and political uncertainty,” it’s possible that the term may become “eerily relevant to America in 2017” in one crucial area — how much due process is owed to immigrants, undocumented aliens, aliens outside the United States and even naturalized citizens. Read his take here.
BACK TO YOU, IT ALWAYS COMES AROUND, BACK TO YOU
|The Supreme Court’s swing voter will determine the future of American elections…or so says Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern. He responds to Monday’s SCOTUS decision on gerrymandering — what court watchers are calling a short-term win for voting rights advocates looking for a long-term, sweeping solution to racial gerrymandering. Stern opines that the path forward for those advocates could only possibly be paved by the one and only JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY. MJS: “Monday’s decision was a triumph for democracy. But the bigger fight looms just ahead — and Kennedy’s vote appears to be shaky as ever.”
TODAY IN HISTORY
|On this day in 1937, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Social Security Act of 1935.
SCOTUS VIEWS
How Trump Plans to Remake the Lower Courts
The Hill“This slate of lower federal court nominees is a sizeable one. But it is only the first. And, according to the administration, we will see additional slates on an ongoing basis. There are certainly enough vacancies, currently some 150 positions, on the lower federal courts to keep the White House busy on this score. As these nominations roll in, we will gain more traction on how Trump plans to remake the federal judiciary.”
Supreme Court Recognizes that with Gerrymandering, Not all Votes are Equal
NBC“The argument that minorities simply need to turn out and vote is rooted in privilege, since it ignores the many ways that minorities are targeted by our electoral system. From Voter ID laws that erect barriers to participation, the resistance to automatic voter registration and the existence of gerrymandered districts that dilute minority voting power, our electoral system systematically disenfranchises Latino and other voters.”
The Supreme Court's Useless Guidance
The Wall Street Journal“The Supreme Court ruled Monday that race can be a factor, but not the predominant one, when states draw maps for legislative districts. If that formulation sounds familiar, it’s because the same court has offered similarly useless guidance regarding affirmative action in college admissions.”