GERRYMANDERING GOES TO SCOTUS | Will Roberts Save High Court? | What Made the Man the Legend?
November 22, 2016
UP UP AND AWAY
|Big news out of Wisconsin yesterday – a panel of three federal judges struck down the state’s legislative map calling it illegally partisan and requiring the Supreme Court to once again consider whether political gerrymandering violates the Constitution. The last time this issue came before the high court, JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA wrote that it was impossible to determine a test that might decide when partisan line-drawing crosses the line. The Wisconsin judges determined that when the Republican assembly and GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER drew up the map, they made it impossible for Democrats to receive their fair share of power. The case could come down to the vote of JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY who has expressed a willingness to strike down partisan gerrymandering but has yet to accept a rationale for it.
BABY, DON'T SAVE ME
|For Slate, Lara Bazelon considers whether CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS will save the Supreme Court from DONALD TRUMP. She notes, “Should Roberts allow the ideologues to have their way, the consequence will be a terrible disruption to the lives of millions of people who have come to rely on these constitutionally enshrined rights when making crucial life decisions.”
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|The Editorial Board of The Wall Street Journal argues DONALD TRUMP needs to prioritize the nomination of a Supreme Court justice in order to deal with all of PRESIDENT OBAMA’S regulations that are now being challenged in various federal courts. “The circuit courts of appeal might be inclined to rubber stamp those regulations, which means they would become law in those circuits unless the Supreme Court takes the cases.”
TOP-ED
|“The courts face a troubling crisis of independence, and it seems to be encouraged – if not driven – by pressure from electors. We need to take a step back and really reconsider what role voters should be playing in our courts. The greatest injustice in the legal system may end up being the dishonor we do to its constitutional design.” That’s Robert Gebelhoff writing in The Washington Post on the ever-growing politicization of courts in America.
THEY MAD THEY AIN'T FAMOUS
|What made JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA one of the most cited Supreme Court justices of all time? What made the man so famous? Was it style or substance? Kimberly Robinson with Bloomberg BNA spoke with some of Scalia’s former clerks to get some answers.
OTHER NEWS
Donald Trump's Business Dealings Test a Constitutional Limit
The New York Times“Not long after he took office, President Obama sought advice from the Justice Department about a potential conflict of interest involving a foreign government. He wanted to know whether he could accept the Nobel Peace Prize. The answer turned on the Emoluments Clause, an obscure provision of the Constitution that now poses risks for President-elect Donald J. Trump should he continue to reap benefits from transactions with companies controlled by foreign governments.”
Conservative Lawyers Take Up the Unexpected Opportunity of Trump's Win
Buzzfeed“Conservative lawyers attending this year’s Federalist Society convention had anticipated an extended wake of sorts for Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February. Instead, surprised and skeptical of President-elect Donald Trump as they may be, the conservative legal world seeks enormous opportunity before it.”