BACKPEDALING NAMED AN OLYMPIC SPORT | Lawyers, Love Lost & Love Triangles
September 2, 2016
FOR THE LONGEST TIME
|“Wednesday marked the 200th day since the death of Supreme Court JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA, and right on cue, the nation’s top jurists handed down a decision to reflect the absurdity of holding up his replacement.” That’s The Baltimore Sun’s Editorial Board reflecting on the 4-4 tie which led to the refusal to reinstate North Carolina’s voter ID law, and how that story fits in to the broader narrative around filling Scalia’s empty seat.
DOES THIS THING GO BACKWARDS?
|Speaking of SCOTUS nominations, SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY made back-pedaling look like an Olympic sport this week when he suggested JUDGE MERRICK GARLAND could be confirmed by a lame-duck Congress after the November 8th election.
WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT
|Above the Law’s David Lat wonders why we didn’t see JUDGE GOODWIN LIU among the names on HILLARY CLINTON‘s Supreme Court shortlist. The reason might have less to do with matters of politics than with matters of the heart. It could be that the distinguished California Supreme Court justice wasn’t part of Clinton’s batch because of his matrimonial split and subsequent love triangle with a law student. Whoever said lawyers were boring clearly wasn’t keeping up with Lat’s coverage here.
PUT ME IN COACH
|The Trump campaign just picked up a heavy hitter, hiring DAVID BOSSIE to serve as deputy campaign manager. Bossie is a longtime conservative operative and recent president of Citizens United, the group best known for being the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that paved the way for super PACs to upend the campaign finance system.
I SCREAM YOU SCREAM WE ALL SCREAM
|For MERRICK GARLAND ice cream! Earlier this week, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick wrote that the “continuing Garland news blockade warrants a publicity stunt worthy of a hot August afternoon” (or September, I doubt she’s picky). Lithwick: “Judge Garland deserves a hearing and a vote, yes, but barring all that he also deserves a personalized Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor.” Vote now to submit your idea for a Merrick-themed s’cream.
OTHER NEWS
Gary Johnson on SCOTUS
Reason“Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson recently sat down with conservative journalist Guy Benson for a wide-ranging interview. Among the topics they discussed was the future of the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Big Business Is Still Dominating State Supreme Courts
Center for American Progress“All of this money in judicial elections — and the changes in state law that it has helped bring about — illustrates the need to reform the way America chooses judges.”