Daily Supreme Court News Briefing - MAY 30, 2024
🗽A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 30, 2024
People Power United declares the Supreme Court has become unhinged.
In response to recent Supreme Court shenanigans, People Power United - a progressive grassroots group - issued the following statement:
“The Supreme Court has become unhinged. There is no power like that of the people, and People Power United stands ready to protect our communities against any and all injustices,” said Laurie Woodward García of People Power United.
People Power United will continue to oppose such harm to our community and champion civil rights for all.
Daily Supreme Court News Briefing
Trump
Politico: Trump congratulates Alito for rejecting recusal calls amid flag flap
Meredith McGraw and Josh Gerstein report that in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, “Donald Trump praised Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for rejecting calls to recuse himself from two pending cases involving the former president or January 6 attack on the Capitol.”
CNN: Who is Trump’s favorite Supreme Court justice? Probably not one of the 3 he nominated
Zachary Wolf writes about Donald Trump’s praise of Justice Alito, saying that Alito may be more favored by Trump than any of the justices he appointed.
Biden
CNN: Biden pledges to name progressives to the Supreme Court, suggesting he expects vacancies
Kevin Liptak reports that “President Joe Biden promised Black voters Wednesday that he would appoint progressives to the US Supreme Court if elected to a second term, suggesting he expects vacancies on the high court over the next four years.”
Judicial Nominations
AP: Republican Blocks Confirmation of First Native American Federal Judge for Montana
AP reports that according to his office, “Sen. Steve Daines blocked Jackson from consideration because the administration never sought his consent prior to her nomination.” The White House contests this, saying “members of Daines’ team had interviewed Jackson last year but that the senator refused to meet with her.”
State Supreme Courts
The Guardian: South Carolina’s supreme court to be entirely white for first time in 20 years
The Guardian reports that “when a new justice is seated after next week’s election, South Carolina will join 18 other states with all-white high courts.”
General
Slate: How the Supreme Court Has Shaped the U.S. Economy
Joseph Tomain and Sidney A. Shapiro write about Supreme Court cases that have shaped our economy, as detailed in their new book, How Government Built America.
Politico: The Supreme Court Could Make the President a King
Kimberly Wehle argues that “the high court’s decision in the Trump immunity case appears to set the stage for future abuses of the pardon power.”
Rulings
NBC: Supreme Court rules for NRA in New York government coercion battle
Lawrence Hurley reports that on Thursday the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the NRA, allowing them to “pursue a claim that a New York state official’s efforts to encourage companies to end ties with the gun rights group constituted unlawful coercion.”
Alito
NBC: Justice Samuel Alito declines to step aside from Trump-related cases over flag spat
Lawrence Hurley reports that in a letter to members of Congress on Wednesday, Justice Alito declined to recuse from Trump-related cases, arguing that the Supreme Court’s ethics guidelines do not require recusal in this situation.
Also covered by: CNN, NPR, Vox
Politico: Progressive groups squeeze Durbin over judicial ethics
Caitlin Opryosko reports that twenty five progressive groups sent a letter to Chair Durbin on Wednesday calling for him to investigate Justice Alito, as well as the Chief Justice’s handling of this matter.
AP: The Washington Post said it had the Alito flag story 3 years ago and chose not to publish
David Bauder reports that the Washington Post had the Alito flag story 3 years ago but decided not to publish it–he notes that this is very emblematic of how coverage of the Supreme Court has changed over the last few years.
New York Times: Jamie Raskin: How to Force Justices Alito and Thomas to Recuse Themselves in the Jan. 6 Cases
Rep. Raskin argues that instead of begging Alito and Thomas to recuse themselves from January 6th cases, the Department of Justice “can petition the other seven justices to require Justices Alito and Thomas to recuse themselves not as a matter of grace but as a matter of law.”
New York Times: Experts Question Alito’s Failure to Recuse Himself in Flag Controversy
Adam Liptak reports that ethics experts are questioning Alito’s reasoning not to recuse himself from January 6th cases. Some say that even if his wife has a right to fly whatever flag she likes, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t lead a reasonable person to doubt his impartiality.
Daily Beast: Rep. Jared Huffman: I Want to Thank Samuel Alito for Flying His Flags
Rep. Huffman argues that reporting on Alito flying the “Appeal to Heaven” flag has raised the alarm on Christian nationalism and the danger it poses to our democracy.
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People Power United champions progressive values and power to the people.