DEATH PENALTY TODAY, IMMIGRATION TOMORROW | What’s at Stake This Week
November 29, 2016
TODAY AT SCOTUS
|The justices today heard the case of Moore v. Texas and considered whether it violates the Eighth Amendment and prior SCOTUS decisions Hall v. Florida and Atkins v. Virginia to prohibit the use of current medical standards on intellectual disability in determining whether an individual may be executed. AP reports the justices seemed likely to side with Bobby James Moore, the death row inmate who claims he is intellectually disabled and thus ineligible to be executed.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
|For The Atlantic, Garrett Epps previewed today’s case and wondered what the Supreme Court will do with the “Of Mice and Men” rule for Texas executions.
TWEET DU JOUR – BURN BABY BURN
|Twitter’s best friend, president-elect DONALD J. TRUMP tweeted yesterday: “Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag — if they do, there must be consequences — perhaps the loss of citizenship or a year in jail!” Unfortunately, his brief suggestion ignores two rulings from the United States Supreme Court that protected the act of burning the flag as a form of free speech, as well as the 1958 ruling that rejected the practice of stripping citizenship as a form of criminal punishment.
THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW
|Wednesday, the Supreme Court justices will hear arguments over whether federal authorities can detain immigrants indefinitely during deportation proceedings. The high court will consider an appeal brought by the ACLU representing some 1,000 immigrants in and around Los Angeles caught crossing the border illegally or for committing crimes considered deportable. The case is known as Jennings v. Rodriguez.
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|The Editorial Board for the Los Angeles Times wants the Supreme Court to end the “draconian” immigration detention rules that come before the high court Wednesday. LAT: “Immigration law is notoriously arcane, but this issue is pretty easy to unravel: The government should not hold people accused but not convicted of crimes — or in this case of violations of civil immigration law — for extended periods of time without giving them an opportunity to ask a judge to release them on bond or otherwise. It’s an issue of basic fairness and justice.”
THE SECRET SAUCE
|Cristian Farias with The Huffington Post reports on a new study that seeks to measure the “Scalia-ness” of DONALD TRUMP’S list of 21 potential nominees for the Supreme Court. The three variables that will be put to test are adherence to the doctrine of originalism, citations to Scalia’s non-judicial writings, and how often the candidate was willing to dissent or write separately from his or her colleagues on whatever court he or she sat.
IMMIGRATION
MacArthur 'Genius' Set to Argue Immigration Case Before Supreme Court
The National Law Journal“ACLU attorney Ahilan Arulanantham will step up to the lectern this week in a case that tests the due process rights of immigrants in detention.”
Legal resident, detained for months – The Supreme Court will decide whether immigrants can be locked up indefinitely
VICE News“Unlike in the criminal justice system, where defendants typically appear in court within a day of being arrested and a judge decides whether they’re eligible for bail, immigrants — including lawful permanent residents like Lora — can be held indefinitely, sometimes for years.”
OTHER NEWS
U.S. Supreme Court seeks Obama administration view on Gold King Mine legal dispute
The Denver Post“U.S. Supreme Court justices are looking at the Gold King Mine disaster and the legal dispute between New Mexico and Colorado over responsibilities when toxic mine pollution of a river in one state flows into another. The court asked the Department of Justice on Monday to weigh in on a lawsuit that New Mexico filed against Colorado in June.”
On Flag Burning, Trump Differs With Scalia but Agrees with Clinton
Reason“Clinton even tried to ban flag burning after the Supreme Court had ruled against such laws twice. Like Trump, she thought a year in jail would be an appropriate punishment. Then again, Clinton did not suggest that flag burners should lose their citizenship—a penalty the Supreme Court has said Congress is not authorized to impose.”