CLARENCE THOMAS URGES JUDICIARY IS NOT A PUPPET | Gorsuch To Speak At Event Closed To Press | Sotomayor Says SCOTUS Moving On From Kavanaugh Confirmation
October 19, 2018
SIGHTS SET ON SCOTUS
|Richard Wolf with USA Today reports conservative groups are now looking to influence the Supreme Court. They have a stronghold on the White House, on Congress, and now with BRETT KAVANAUGH on the bench, SCOTUS seems well within reach. Wolf points out, “While the court’s reinvigorated majority may be cautious about moving too fast on hot-button issues such as abortion, affirmative action and gun rights, the justices are more likely to flex their muscles in more obscure but consequential areas of law.”
OBJECTIVITY IS EVERYTHING
|“It is becoming increasingly common for public opinion to galvanize behind particular outcomes and around particular interests without regard for the law or an objective assessment of facts.” That’s Supreme Court JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS speaking in Georgia today about the need for judicial independence and neutrality — especially in today’s world when public opinion is so deeply divided. Thomas urged, “In our great country, the judiciary is not a puppet for those in power, nor is it the engine for pioneering social change. Rather, it is a safeguard against tyranny, and an assurance of neutral arbiters for those seeking the protection of the law.” AP’s Kate Brumback reports.
NOT-SO-FREE PRESS
|Jess Bravin with The Wall Street Journal covers JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH’S appearance before a Catholic group that has barred journalists from attending. Bravin writes, “Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch’s doctoral study on a conservative philosophy called natural law is a prime reason right-leaning legal thinkers recommended him to President Trump. But the public won’t have a chance to learn the jurist’s latest thoughts on the theory when he speaks Friday at a conference of Catholic legal scholars seeking to expand Christian influence on public policy.”
CAN'T GET AWAY THAT EASY
|In an interview with Univision, JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR noted the arrival of BRETT KAVANAUGH to the Supreme Court was somewhat ordinary as he was greeted with the traditional welcome granted to any new member of the court. But she also added that “we are going to let these times pass.” Tony Mauro with The National Law Journal notes this was “an apparent reference” to Kavanaugh’s “stormy confirmation process.” And speaking of stormy, Sotomayor also used her interview as a chance to draw attention to the fact that Puerto Rico has not received the help it needs to recover from Hurricane Maria. She noted, “The richness of the island is its beauty, which we have to work to rebuild again, but we need a lot of help to do it.”