A DISLOYAL LAWYER, An End To The CPP, The Second Class Status of Puerto Rico & A Whole Lotta Gins-Burns
October 9, 2017
MORE OFTEN THAN YOU THINK
|Robert Barnes with The Washington Post reviews a new case the Supreme Court announced that it would review which will decide whether it is a violation of the Constitution for a defense counsel to concede a client’s guilt over the accused’s expressed objection. In the report, visiting lecturer at Yale Law, Lawrence J. Fox, is quoted noting, “It happens more often than you think it would.”
A DISLOYAL LAWYER
|Meanwhile, Adam Liptak with The New York Times shared his take on the case of the disloyal lawyer. He notes that sometimes conceding guilt in a capital case is the right move, but the high court will have to figure out if it should be allowed even if the man whose life is at stake objects to the concession. The case revolves around ROBERT MCCOY and his lawyer, LARRY ENGLISH. In his opening statement, Mr. English admitted his client committed triple murder, but McCoy has adamantly maintained that he is innocent.
CLIMATE CHANGE SHLIMATE SHANGE
|The head of the Environmental Protection Agency, SCOTT PRUITT, announced today that he will take formal steps to end the Clean Power Plan (CPP) which was an Obama-era policy aimed at limiting carbon emissions from power plants to combat climate change. The Supreme Court put the plan on hold last year following legal challenges by industry and coal-friendly states. Regardless, the CPP has been responsible for the retirement of various coal-fired plants as well as state mandates promoting energy conservation. This comes as the latest Trump administration effort to dismantle PRESIDENT OBAMA’S legacy on fighting climate change.
SECOND CLASS STATUS
|Slate’s Doug Mack covers the current devastation in Puerto Rico and points to a series of Supreme Court cases that he says, “Cemented the islands second-class status.” They are known as the “Insular Cases” – a series of cases from the early 20th Century which were “built on the same racist worldview” of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, but are still standing today.
TOTAL CONFIDENCE
|Today in history, in the year 1991, PRESIDENT GEORGE H. W. BUSH declared “total confidence” in his Supreme Court nominee, CLARENCE THOMAS. Andrew Glass with POLITICO looks back at the controversial nomination of Thomas and what came to pass.
A TOTAL GINS-BURN
|ICYMI, The Notorious RBG was on SNL over the weekend and she was as feisty as ever. KATE MCKINNON portrayed the small but mighty justice on Weekend Update by doling out some serious “Gins-burns” to everyone from JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO to JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH to the Weekend Update co-host, COLIN JOST. She also commented on her own high spirits noting, “Supreme Court justice is the only job where people openly place bets on when you’re gonna croak. Well, joke’s on you. I made a deal with our female god that I would trade height for years. So by 2095 I’m gonna be the size of a PlayMobil but I’ll still be kicking ass.” Skip to minute 4:30 to watch the sketch.
OTHER NEWS
The Democrats' Gerrymandering Obsession
POLITICO“But if Democrats think this is the key to their political woes, they are kidding themselves. What ails the party—at every level—goes far beyond alleged Republican skulduggery. And a diagnosis of those ills requires an understanding of what the past decade has wrought.”
Chief Justice Roberts, Gerrymandering Isn't Just 'Sociological Gobbledygook'
The Detroit Free Press“Roberts himself is a consummate politician — a strategist who worries about appearances and harbors a ward heeler’s contempt for the intelligence of the average voter. And his cynicism was on full display last week when justices took up the politically fraught problem of gerrymandering.”
Compelled Association
Slate“If requiring non–union members to pay fair share fees violates the First Amendment, then obligating unions both to represent nonmembers and to do so free of charge violates the First Amendment in spades. Unions ought to have the very same right to exclude nonmembers and define the terms of their association as any other organization.”