WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE | SCOTUSDaily Launches Website
October 11, 2016
WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE
|The one and only SCOTUSDaily is proud to present our brand spankin’ new website for your reading pleasure! Head on over to scotusdaily.com and share today’s briefing with family, friends, and acquaintances who you have just enough of a relationship with to know they could use a little refresher on our third branch of government. Happy reading ~
TODAY AT SCOTUS
|Week two of OT16 is upon us, and today the Supreme Court justices will hear their third case of the term that involves race and the criminal justice system. Today before the court comes a case that will test the constitutionality of widespread rules that bar courts from examining evidence of racial bias in jury deliberations.
TOP-ED
|From Executive Director of Fix the Court, GABE ROTH, comes an op-ed in The New York Times in which he calls the Supreme Court hypocritical for its “do as we say, not as we do” attitude. Roth: “If the court wants to regain some of the respect it has lost in recent years, the justices should consider how, by acting more consistently with their own rulings, they could help build a more open and accountable institution.”
*TYPED THIS ON AN IPHONE
|The smartphone wars are here, people. This morning, the justices heard the latest iteration of Apple and Samsung’s patent dispute in which they must consider how much Samsung owes Apple for patent infringement on the iPhone’s design.
QUICK TAKE
|It looks like the justices may be willing to reduce the yuge penalty of $399 million levied against Samsung. Today in court, “some of the justices expressed deep skepticism over how, in practice, juries could figure out which part of a product a design applies to, in order to calculate damages for patent infringement.” JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY remarked, “If I were a juror, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
IS IT TOO LATE NOW TO SAY SORRY
|Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern reports the Supreme Court just did something that likely won’t sit well with liberals. Monday, the high court clarified that victim impact statements in capital cases are constitutionally barred from including opinions about a defendant and recommendations about his or her punishment.
THERE SHE GOES, THERE SHE GOES AGAIN
|In an interview yesterday with Katie Couric, JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG said she thinks COLIN KAEPERNICK’S public refusal to stand for the national anthem is “really dumb.” However, she added, “Would I arrest [him] for doing it? No.”
M*A*S*H
|Jazmine Ulloa with the Los Angeles Times explains how “MASH” star MIKE FARRELL became the leading voice in the fight to end the death penalty in the state of California.
TODAY IN HISTORY
|On this day in 1991, ANITA HILL sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee and accused JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS of sexually harassing her.
GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT
|Our new website is only the beginning, my friends. Look forward to a packed Fall season in which we’ll be bringing you all the top stories from SCOTUS every day. With the presidential election next month, and this historic term already off to the races, there’s a lot ahead, and SCOTUSDaily will be there with you through it all.
NEGATION STATION
Justices Reject Tobacco Firms' Appeal Over State Payments
The Associated Press“The Supreme Court won’t hear appeals from tobacco companies that wanted to reduce payments owed to Maryland and Pennsylvania.”
U.S. Supreme Court turns away companies in California tax dispute
Reuters“The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a challenge by Procter & Gamble Co and other companies to the way California imposes taxes on business that operate in multiple states.”
Judicial Elections Won't Get Another Supreme Court Look
Bloomberg LawToday, the Supreme Court decided to pass on reviewing Arizona’s restrictions on judicial candidates’ speech.
OTHER NEWS
Corporations Have Rights. Why Not Nature?
New RepublicIn the United States, companies are, like people, entitled to certain rights and protections. However, that’s not the only instance of extending legal rights to nonhuman entities. Just look to New Zealand…
Suspended Ala. Chief Justice Wants New Justices for Appeal
The Associated PressSuspended Alabama Chief Justice ‘Bad Boy’ Roy Moore wants his former colleagues to recuse themselves as he appeals his own suspension from the bench.