FIX THE COURT CALLS FOR LIVE AUDIO | The Inescapability of Gerrymandering | Hot Bench Tomorrow
November 8, 2017
AT LONG LAST
|Fix the Court announced this morning that almost six months after making the request, it has finally obtained a batch of 2016 disclosure reports, including one belonging to SCOTUS newbie, JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH. Read the full report which includes a note that Justice Gorsuch sold his stake in a northern Colorado estate earlier this year in May. However, we won’t know more about the transaction for — you guessed it! — at least another year.
NEVER, EVER GIVE UP
|Also today, Fix the Court joined with leaders of the Society for Professional Journalists, Radio Television Digital News Association, National Press Photographers Association and Online News Association in writing a letter to D.C. Circuit CHIEF JUDGE MERRICK GARLAND requesting live audio for arguments in the upcoming case, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press v. FBI. Last month, Judge Garland was amenable to a similar request, so here’s hoping for another go-ahead.
MY MONEY'S ON YOU
|Jessica Gresko with The Associated Press reports the Supreme Court seems inclined to side with a Native American tribe being sued by a man disgruntled over the construction of the tribe’s casino. The Michigan man is suing because the tribe was allowed to build its casino near his rural property in Wayland Township, and he argues the federal government improperly set aside the land for use by the tribe. This is now the second time the case has appeared before the court.
COMING FROM ALL DIRECTIONS
|“The Supreme Court justices are working their way through potential drafts for a ruling on a major Wisconsin case testing the constitutionality of partisan gerrymanders, but there is another big controversy over that question now moving along quite rapidly in lower courts.” That’s Lyle Denniston for Constitution Daily writing about an up-and-comer case that reveals the inescapability of the gerrymandering issue. The case tests 2011 maps Pennsylvania has been using for electing its 18 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
HOT HOT HOT TOMORROW
|That’s right, people! The Hot Bench is back. Check in tomorrow to see who sat down with SCOTUSDaily to chat about the justices, the new term, and all things SCOTUS. You won’t want to miss it.
SCOTUS VIEWS
Why Haven't We Abolished The Death Penalty And Moved On?
The Washington Post“It has become increasingly difficult for states or the federal government to apply the death penalty. But why even try? Nothing is accomplished, and while the chances of making a mistake are now diminished — DNA can prove guilt as well as innocence — life in prison is a worthy substitute. It shows that society appreciates what the loss of innocent life means — both to the victim and, more pertinently maybe, to the survivors.”
Gerrymandering Of Several Kinds Is The Only Thing Keeping the GOP In Power Now
The Washington Post“It should not have to be so frustratingly difficult for the majority of Americans to set this right, but they find that the deck has been stacked against them. So it is up to the American people to find a way to overcome this, before a majority Republican-appointed Supreme Court finds a way to make the merely unfair into the virtually impossible.”