THE PERFECT GERRYMANDERING CASE | Ginsburg Smackdown of Gorsuch | Governator at SCOTUS This Morn
October 3, 207
ON OCTOBER 3RD HE ASKED ME WHAT DAY IT WAS
|And I told him to kick rocks because all I can think about is today at the Supreme Court…
HERE WE GO, HERE WE GO, BUT I'M NOT DOMINO
|The justices aren’t messing around this year, kicking off the new term with arguments in one of the biggest cases of the decade. The case of Gill v. Whitford was at the high court today testing the constitutional limits on drawing electoral districts to maximize political gain. The consequences of the justices’ decision on this issue will have a domino effect throughout the fabric of our democracy. The case comes to the justices from Wisconsin, where Republicans drew an electoral map designed to ensure they would retain a 60-vote supermajority in the state Assembly even if a majority of state voters chose Democrats. Maybe DONALD TRUMP was right after all when he said, “The system is rigged!” Justices will have the final say later this term.
THE PERFECT GERRYMANDERING CASE
|The King of SCOTUS, JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY once said he needed a particular set of facts to kill partisan gerrymandering and now he has them in Gill v. Whitford. Perry Grossman and Dahlia Lithwick explain why today’s case is absolutely perfect for squandering partisan gerrymandering once and for all.
A COURT DIVIDED
|The justices seemed divided over partisan gerrymandering today as they hinted at the high stakes for democracy if parties are allowed to design maps to give themselves a significant, long-term advantage over their rivals. In court today, JUSTICE ELENA KAGAN said there is “good evidence” that the maps drawn by the Republicans in Wisconsin were designed to have “a certain kind of an effect, which was to entrench a party in power.” And JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY seemed similarly open to the idea of putting limits on gerrymandering, though he gave no real hints as to how he might rule in this case.
HELP ME, OBI-WAN KENOBI. YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE
|The Supreme Court was told this morning that it is the “only institution in the United States” that can prevent a coming wave of extreme partisan gerrymandering that would distort the basic structure of democracy. Robert Barnes with The Washington Post writes, “But the justices seemed split about whether they could find a ‘manageable’ way of determining when politics plays too big a role in drawing legislative districts that are the building blocks of representative government.”
TWEET DU JOUR
|From @JeffreyToobin: “Epic Ginsburg smackdown of Gorsuch at #SCOTUS gerrymandering today. Details tk #notoriousrbg” … If only we lived in a world where the highest court in the country—which makes decisions that fundamentally shape our personal and professional lives—let us listen live to their arguments. If only, if only!
SPOTTED
|The Terminator/Governator/Kindergarten Cop was at SCOTUS this morning to speak out against partisan gerrymandering. The former Governor of California, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, took to the podium amid protests on the court steps and told the crowd, “I say this time, we say ‘Hasta la vista’ to gerrymandering!” Emily Heil with The Washington Post has the story.
TALE AS OLD AS TIME
|The Editorial Board for the Los Angeles Times notes that while partisan gerrymandering is just about as old the United States, longevity isn’t necessarily a sign of a good practice. LAT: “When the states don’t rein in that practice on their own — as California, for example, has done by entrusting redistricting to a commission — the courts must be able to step in.”
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|Meanwhile, the Editorial Board for The Wall Street Journal thinks the Supreme Court should steer clear of wading into the partisan dispute over gerrymandering. “The Supreme Court has had enough trouble judging gerrymanders that are challenged under the Voting Rights Act, which requires states to consider race when drawing districts. If judges make themselves arbiters of every political consideration in redistricting, they will usurp the powers of other branches and make themselves bigger political targets.”
OPENING JABS
|“Whose ox is being illegally gored?” NPR’s Nina Totenberg reports that was the question argued in the first case of the new term yesterday. She reviews the case that stands to impact millions of private-sector nonunion employees.
ROGUE ONE, COME IN. ARE YOU THERE?
|Stop everything and check out the transformation of FELICITY JONES into a young RUTH BADER GINSBURG. The Rogue One star will play the justice in the upcoming film, On the Basis of Sex, which will be released in 2018 to mark the RBG’s 25th anniversary on the Supreme Court.
GERRYMANDERING 101
|If you’re still wondering what gerrymandering is, or how it could impact you or your vote, read a piece from Rock the Vote’s Kosoko Jackson who breaks down the issue and explains why you should care greatly about today’s big case.
TRADITION, TRADITION!
|The staff over at Constitution Daily explains why the Supreme Court starts every new term on the first Monday of the month of October, a tradition that dates back to 1917. Because as we all know too well, the Supreme Court is nothing if not traditional.