WEEKEND AUDITIONS | TRUMP’S SISTER ON SCOTUS | Who is originalism really for?
November 21, 2016
TODAY IN HISTORY
|On this day in 1969, the Senate voted down the Supreme Court nomination of Clement F. Haynsworth, 55-45, the first such rejection since 1930.
WEEKENDER
|For USA Today, Richard Wolf reports nearly all the judges on DONALD TRUMP’S Supreme Court shortlist spent their weekends celebrating a man they might replace – JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA. Wolf: “It’s been more than nine months since the 79-year-old justice, a towering influence in conservative legal circles, died suddenly and unexpectedly at a Texas ranch. But the memorials and testimonials keep coming, and this one was noteworthy for including the people vying for his job.”
Q&A WITH BOB BARNES
|“Since DONALD TRUMP won the presidential election, I have been consistently asked three questions about the Supreme Court. Two seem obvious, and the third, at least to me, was surprising. 1. Can President Obama simply appoint JUDGE MERRICK GARLAND to the court since the Senate has refused, for 250 days and counting, to act on the nomination? 2. How likely is it that the court’s jurisprudence on abortion will change now that Trump will be choosing justices? 3. And can Trump nominate his sister, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, in Philadelphia, to the high court?” Robert Barnes with The Washington Post addresses each of these questions, the answers of which might surprise you – particularly the one on a potential sister act.
HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS BOYS
|The nuclear option might not be so “nuclear” after all. POLITICO’s Burgess Everett reports Senate Republicans are sending an implicit threat and important message to their Democratic colleagues: Play your cards right, or else the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court nominees goes out the window. “No matter whom Trump selects, conflict is brewing.” You can say that again.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
|In the Los Angeles Times, Carl Tobias opines that with 94 unfilled vacancies on the federal circuit and district courts, the Senate should take action and vote on qualified nominees to fill those seats. “The courts desperately need those openings filled, and most of the nominees are capable and uncontroversial. Moreover, by the time PRESIDENT TRUMP has his administration running and confirms a replacement for SCALIA, there could be 135 vacancies.”
SCOTUS REVIEWS
Voting Rights in the Age of Trump
The New York Times“The Voting Rights Act once enjoyed bipartisan support, but that consensus has collapsed. Recent elections illustrate that when more people vote, Democrats tend to do better, which is why Republicans want to restrict access to the ballot. After this year, the party that claimed the election was rigged will be the one doing the real rigging.”
Do We Need Another Originalist Justice Like Scalia?
Newsweek“It appears originalism may be back on the agenda. Therefore, it may be a good time to start (or for some of us to continue) to ask the question: Who is originalism really for?”
OTHER NEWS
Jeff Sessions, as Attorney General, Could Overhaul Department He's Skewered
The New York Times“His department would also play an important role in advising the White House on Supreme Court nominees and working to get them confirmed in the Senate. Mr. Sessions, an avid student of constitutional history, has called Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February, a model, hailing him for ‘an unwavering commitment to the rule of law’ rather than judicial activism.”