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☆ Hunter Biden, Citing Trump’s Classified Documents Ruling, Seeks Dismissal of Cases
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hunter Biden asked a federal court in Delaware on Thursday to toss out his conviction in his gun case, citing the dismissal of charges against former President Donald J. Trump in his classified documents case in Florida. On Monday, a federal judge in Florida, Aileen M. Cannon, threw out the case against Mr. Trump, saying the special counsel overseeing his prosecution, Jack Smith, had been unconstitutionally appointed. Hunter Biden, President Biden’s younger son, who has been by his father’s side in recent days as the president faces mounting calls to exit the race, also cited a concurring opinion that Justice Clarence Thomas wrote when the Supreme Court expanded presidential immunity. In it, Justice Thomas raised doubts about how Mr. Smith got his job. Those decisions have given rise to unusual alliances: President Biden called the Supreme Court’s ruling “specious” and misguided, and his administration almost immediately signaled that it would appeal Judge Cannon’s decision.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Donald J, Trump, Aileen M, Cannon, Jack Smith, Biden’s, Clarence Thomas, Justice Thomas, Smith, Biden, Cannon’s Locations: Delaware, Florida

CNN —Special counsel Jack Smith said Wednesday that he is appealing a judge’s decision to throw out the indictment against Donald Trump concerning his handling of classified documents. This means the shock ruling would be reviewed by judges from the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals based in Atlanta. Cannon in her ruling on Monday had said that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional, warranting the dismissal of the case against Trump. Her decision was at odds with the rulings of judges across the country that rejected attacks on the legality of special counsel appointments. Absent a move to speed the appeal in the Trump documents case, it will likely take several months for the appeal to play out in the Atlanta-based appeals court.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald Trump, Aileen Cannon, Cannon, Trump, Mark Meadows, George W, Bush, Smith, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira —, Merrick Garland, Smith —, Clarence Thomas, Thomas Organizations: CNN, Trump, FBI, Trump White House, Justice Department, Supreme, Circuit Locations: Atlanta, Mar, Lago, Georgia, Fort Pierce , Florida, Washington ,, Florida , Alabama

There may be a path for Smith to revive the case, Cannon noted in her ruling, and Smith can appeal the decision. Cannon left open a potential pathway in her ruling for the classified documents case to be revived. (He is being prosecuted by a separate special counsel, David Weiss.) And during the Trump-Russia investigation, multiple Trump allies similarly attempted to derail special counsel Robert Mueller’s work. Former Attorney General Edwin Meese and Citizens United argued the same, writing that Smith’s appointment “severely undermines” the constitutional order.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Aileen Cannon, Jack Smith, General Merrick Garland, Smith, Cannon, Trump, “, ”, ” Cannon, Garland, Bill Barr, John Durham, Smith’s, it’s, Clarence Thomas The, Clarence Thomas, Thomas ’, Thomas, John Roberts, wasn’t, ” Thomas, Steve Vladeck, Joe Biden’s, Hunter Biden, David Weiss, Robert Mueller’s, James Pearce, Cannon’s, Edwin Meese, ” “ Organizations: Washington CNN, Trump, Republican National Convention, Republican, Justice Department, Senate, United, United States Attorney, Defense, Treasury, The, Prosecutors, CNN, Georgetown University Law Center, FBI, Former, Citizens United Locations: Milwaukee, United States, California, Delaware, Russia, Virginia, Washington, DC, Mar

CNN —A federal judge on Monday dismissed the classified documents case against Donald Trump, a shock ruling that clears away one of the major legal challenges facing the former president. In a 93-page ruling, District Judge Aileen Cannon said the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the Constitution. She did not rule on whether Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents was proper or not. Even though a trial before the presidential election was considered highly unlikely, many legal experts had viewed the classified documents case as the strongest one of the four cases that were pending against the former president. Smith had charged Trump last year with taking classified documents from the White House and resisting the government’s attempts to retrieve the materials.

Persons: Donald Trump, Aileen Cannon, Jack Smith, ” Cannon, Cannon, Trump, ”, Smith, –, Clarence Thomas, James Pearce, “, Justice Department “, it’s Organizations: CNN, Republican National Convention, Truth Social, Justice Department, White, Trump, DOJ, United, United States Attorney Locations: Washington , DC, Georgia, New York, United States

☆ Florida judge dismisses classified documents case against Trump, ruling appointment of Jack Smith was unconstitutional
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

US District Judge Aileen Cannon — who was appointed to the bench by Trump while he was president — ruled Monday that the appointment of Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the prosecution, was unconstitutional. The legality of Justice Department special counsels has been the subject of some debate over the past two decades. Since then, the US Attorney General has appointed special counsels with less authority while relying on internal Justice Department regulations. AdvertisementDefense lawyers in special counsel investigations have routinely argued the appointment of these newer special counsels is unconstitutional. His lawyers had signaled that, on appeal, they would challenge the legality of appointing a special counsel in the first place.

Persons: Trump's, Lago, Aileen Cannon —, —, Jack Smith, Smith, Trump, Cannon, Jean Carroll's, Carroll, defaming, Ronald Reagan's, Bill Clinton's, General, Clarence Thomas, Robert Mueller, Hunter Biden, David Weiss Organizations: Trump, Business, White, FBI, Justice, Congress, Justice Department, Appeals, US, Defense Locations: Mar, Lago, Florida, Manhattan, Georgia, Iran, United States

☆ Aileen Cannon’s nuking of the Trump documents case continues her trend of embracing long-shot legal theories
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

She said Smith was unconstitutionally appointed as special counsel and that the funding of his office also violated the law. “It’s not just that this is an extreme argument about the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, it’s that it’s one that exactly one Supreme Court justice has endorsed and lots of precedent refutes,” said Steve Vladeck, a CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at Georgetown University of Law. And Cannon’s opinion left open the possibility that the charges could be revived if brought by the Justice Department in a way not reliant on the current special counsel infrastructure. In other special counsel cases, defendants have not even bothered to bring the long-shot claims. The special counsel office has not yet weighed in on Cannon’s decision.

Persons: Aileen Cannon, Jack Smith’s, Donald Trump, Smith, Trump, –, It’s, ”, Steve Vladeck, Clarence Thomas, coronate Trump, Monday’s, Michael Moore, “ She’s, Moore, Obama, Clarence Thomas Just, Cannon, Thomas ’, Thomas, Robert Mueller’s, David Weiss ’, Hunter Biden, “, Justice Thomas, Mark Schnapp, it’s, ” Vladeck Organizations: CNN, Trump, CNN Supreme, Georgetown University of Law, Justice Department, Republican National Convention, House, Saturday, “ CNN, Appeals, Supreme Locations: Fort Pierce , Florida, Washington ,, South Florida, Robert Mueller’s Russia

☆ Jack Smith says Clarence Thomas’ attack on his appointment should not factor into classified documents case
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Special counsel Jack Smith told the judge in the classified documents case in Florida that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ criticism of his appointment should have no bearing on the criminal case against former President Donald Trump. In a brief filing Friday, Smith said that Thomas’ writing in the presidential immunity case – in a concurrence that no other justice joined – isn’t binding on US District Judge Aileen Cannon. In a filing last week, Trump’s lawyers brought to Cannon’s attention both the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and the concurrence that Thomas wrote in that dispute. In response on Friday, Smith said that he agreed with Trump that both sides should file more briefing on how the high court’s immunity ruling affects the documents case. Cannon has not signaled yet how she’ll weigh the Supreme Court’s new ruling in the case before her.

Persons: Jack Smith, Clarence Thomas ’, Donald Trump, Smith, Thomas ’, –, Aileen Cannon, ” Smith, Thomas, Cannon, Trump, CNN’s Holmes Lybrand Organizations: CNN, Trump Locations: Florida, Washington ,

☆ Clarence Thomas accepted a free yacht trip to Russia and got flown out on a complimentary helicopter ride to Putin's hometown, 2 Democratic senators say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Democratic senators have accused Justice Clarence Thomas of accepting undisclosed gifts and trips. He allegedly accepted gifts like a yacht trip and a chopper ride to St. Petersburg, Putin's hometown. Senators seek investigation into potential tax fraud and financial ties between Thomas and Crow. AdvertisementTwo Democratic senators have accused Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of accepting free trips to Russian President Vladimir Putin's hometown. The letter highlighted the "serious possibility of tax fraud" and accused Thomas of having "secretly accepted gifts and income potentially worth millions of dollars."

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Putin's, Thomas, —, Vladimir Putin's, Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, Ron Wyden, General Merrick Garland, SCOTUS Organizations: Service, Oregon, Business Locations: St . Petersburg, Rhode Island

☆ Democrats Seek Criminal Investigation of Justice Thomas Over Travel and Gifts
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Maya C. Miller | More About Maya C. Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two top Democratic senators have asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation of Justice Clarence Thomas for possible violations of federal ethics and tax laws. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Ron Wyden of Oregon sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland last week asking that he appoint a special counsel to investigate Justice Thomas’s failure to disclose lavish gifts, luxury travel, a loan for a recreational vehicle and other perks given to him by wealthy friends. The request further intensified efforts by Senate Democrats to scrutinize Justice Thomas’s conduct at a time when they are trying to force Supreme Court justices to comply with stricter ethics and financial disclosure rules. “We do not make this request lightly,” the senators wrote in a joint statement. “Supreme Court justices are properly expected to obey laws designed to prevent conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety and to comply with the federal tax code.”

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Sheldon Whitehouse, Ron Wyden, General Merrick B, Garland, Thomas’s Organizations: Democratic, Justice Department, Oregon Locations: Rhode Island

☆ Senators seek special counsel probe of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas during the formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Two Democratic Senate committee leaders asked the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas broke federal tax and ethics laws, the senators said Tuesday. "The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws," the senators alleged in the letter. It also "raises significant questions about whether he and his wealthy benefactors have complied with their federal tax obligations," Wyden and Whitehouse wrote. That evidence, they wrote, suggests that Thomas "likely violated federal law by accepting lavish gifts from wealthy benefactors and failing to report them" in violation of the Ethics in Government Act.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Ron Wyden, Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, General Merrick Garland, Thomas, Wyden, Whitehouse Organizations: Democratic, Justice Department Locations: Washington , DC

☆ A Mark of Shame for 900 Years. Until Now?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-06 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The question now is whether the label will actually tarnish Mr. Trump, as it has so many people over the centuries. President Biden seems to be betting that it will. But in a sense, its power derives from its elastic boundaries: Unlike specific crimes, which hinge on the defendant’s behavior, the felony category is defined only by its punishments. “We don’t have a positive definition,” said Elise Wang, a historian who has traced the word’s origins back to medieval literature. “We only have a tautology.”

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Donald J, Trump, Biden, ”, Trump “, who’s, “, Elise Wang Organizations: Biden Locations: Manhattan

☆ Trump presses Judge Cannon to take up immunity question in classified documents case in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Paula Reid | Katelyn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Attorneys for former President Donald Trump are now seeking to use the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision to help him in his criminal case in Florida over the mishandling of classified documents. In a new court filing Friday, Trump’s team said they want an updated schedule in the federal classified documents case so they can argue points related to the Supreme Court decision. The decision “guts the Office’s position that President Trump has ‘no immunity’ and further demonstrates the politically-motivated nature of their contention that the motion is ‘frivolous,’” Trump’s attorneys wrote. The Supreme Court’s decision directly applies to the federal case over 2020 election subversion efforts in Washington, DC, but it could impact all four of the criminal cases against the former president. Trump’s attorneys argue the concurrence “adds force” to motions Trump has filed against how Smith was appointed and funded.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump’s, Trump, ”, Clarence Thomas, Jack Smith’s, Smith, Aileen Cannon’s, Cannon, Thomas, Thomas ’, CNN’s Holmes Lybrand Organizations: CNN, White, Trump Locations: Florida, Washington ,, Fort Pierce , Florida

☆ Clarence Thomas takes aim at a new target: Eliminating OSHA
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewSupreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has set his sights on eliminating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. And Thomas, widely considered to be the most conservative justice on the already mostly conservative court, wasn't happy. In a dissent, he explained why he believed the high court should've taken the case: OSHA's power, he argues, is unconstitutional. He argued that if OSHA didn't unconstitutionally grant too much legislative power to an agency, "it is hard to imagine what would." This isn't the first time Thomas has disagreed with his fellow justices to a conservative extreme.

Persons: —, Clarence Thomas, Thomas, should've, Julie A, Su, Labor —, Roe, Wade Organizations: Service, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, Business, Labor, Appeals, Circuit, Reuters, Internal Revenue Locations: USA, Ohio, United States, SeaWorld

CNN —The Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision Monday granting Donald Trump partial immunity from special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case, handing the former president a significant win during his reelection bid. For starters, the Supreme Court ruled that for “core” presidential activity, Trump has the absolute immunity he had sought. The analysis about what’s immune and what isn’t “ultimately is best left to the lower courts to perform,” Roberts wrote. Immune, immune, immune,” she wrote. In a significant break from the court’s other conservatives, Barrett seemed to suggest Trump should go to trial quickly.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jack Smith’s, Smith, John Roberts, “, ” Roberts, ”, Trump, Justice Department –, isn’t “, Roberts, What’s, Tanya Chutkan, Sonia Sotomayor, Sotomayor, ” Sotomayor, Honig, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, ” Trump’s, Barrett, Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s, ” Barrett, David Cole, Thomas, Clarence Thomas, Merrick Garland, Garland, hasn’t, ” Thomas, CNN’s Katelyn Polantz Organizations: CNN, Supreme Court, Justice Department, Trump, American Civil Liberties Union, Senate Locations: Washington , DC, Florida

☆ Analysis: The Supreme Court just gave presidents a superpower. Here’s its explanation
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

But Congress may not criminalize the President’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the Executive Branch under the Constitution. Juries can’t even consider official acts in terms of a prosecution, according to the Supreme Court. This case poses a question of lasting significance: When may a former President be prosecuted for official acts taken during his Presidency? She said they could easily have expressed that some of Trump’s conduct was unofficial. Sorting private from official conduct sometimes will be difficult—but not always.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, John Roberts, Here’s Roberts, ”, Roberts, ’, –, Jack Smith’s, John Sauer, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Mike Pence, Pence, they’re, George Washington’s, Smith, Clarence Thomas, “, …, Sonia Sotomayor, Trump’s, Sotomayor Organizations: CNN, Trump, Branch, Capitol, Supreme, Government, Founders Locations: Washington ,, Washington, United States

☆ Supreme Court allows emergency abortions in Idaho for now
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A group of doctors join abortion rights supporters at a rally outside the Supreme Court on April 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. The court dismissed an appeal brought by Idaho officials, meaning a lower court ruling that allows doctors in the state to perform abortions in emergency situations remains in effect for now. The legislation, known as the Defense of Life Act, went into effect in 2022 when the Supreme Court rolled back Roe. The Supreme Court in January allowed Idaho to enforce the provisions while agreeing to hear oral arguments in the case. The emergency room dispute is one of two abortion cases the Supreme Court considered this term, both of which arose in the aftermath of the 2022 decision to overturn Roe.

Persons: WASHINGTON —, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Alito, Biden, Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Donald Trump, Roe, Wade, Lynn Winmill Organizations: WASHINGTON, Conservative, Liberal, Defense, Labor, U.S, Circuit, Supreme, Food Locations: Washington , DC, Idaho, U.S, San Francisco

☆ On Guns, the Supreme Court Steps Back - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Linda Greenhouse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The nine members of the Supreme Court peered over a precipice. They could apply their two-year-old gun-rights precedent, as a lower court had, and declare unconstitutional a federal law aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of individuals under court-issued restraining orders for domestic violence. If they endorsed such an extreme outcome, they knew, they would be taking down not only a 30-year-old law but also perhaps even the court itself, already at a near low in public esteem. But it’s impossible to see the outcome in United States v. Rahimi as anything other than an exercise in institutional self-preservation. While Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion garnered eight votes, five members of his majority felt impelled to express their own contrasting if not exactly conflicting views in separate opinions.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, John Roberts’s Locations: United States

☆ Supreme Court allows White House to press social media companies to remove disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( John Fritze | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the White House and federal agencies such as the FBI may continue to urge social media platforms to take down content the government views as misinformation, handing the Biden administration a technical if important election-year victory. Republican officials in two states – Missouri and Louisiana – and five social media users sued over that practice in 2022, arguing that the White House did far more than “persuade” the tech giants to take down a few deceptive items. That might include, the justices theorized, social media threats targeting public figures or disclosures of sensitive information about US troops. The case arrived at the high court at a time when the government has repeatedly warned of foreign efforts to use social media to influence elections. The jawboning case was one of several high-profile matters the court is deciding at intersection of the First Amendment and social media.

Persons: Biden, Amy Coney Barrett, “, ” Barrett, ” Biden, –, Hunter, John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Alito, Samel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, ”, ” Alito, ’, unjustifiably, Vivek Murthy, Roe, Wade, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett Organizations: CNN, White, FBI, Biden, Department of Homeland Security, Facebook, Republican, Centers for Disease Control, Infrastructure Security Agency, Supreme, National Intelligence Locations: – Missouri, Louisiana, Florida, Texas

☆ Early divisions signal bitter internal conflicts as Supreme Court turns toward final decisions
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Even as the court is sometimes finding wider-than-expected majorities for relatively limited outcomes, the nine justices are regularly in conflict over the meaning of decisions. A number of lower-profile cases have also sparked deep doctrinal divisions, even when the final vote count is lopsided. “It does seem, at least anecdotally, unusual to have this many separate opinions in cases with relatively lower stakes,” said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law. The Supreme Court earlier this month tossed out an appeal from anti-abortion doctors challenging expanded access to the abortion pill mifepristone. Among them, Justice Sonia Sotomayor slammed the court’s majority opinion for its reliance on history to decide the trademark dispute.

Persons: ”, Steve Vladeck, “, dinged, councilwoman, Brett Kavanaugh, ” Kavanaugh, Donald Trump, Jack Smith’s, yank Trump, Trump, Amy Coney Barrett, Samuel Alito, Kavanaugh, ” Barrett, Aziz Huq, Huq, Moore, John Roberts ’, hasn't, Neil Gorsuch chimed, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, ” Alito, Clarence Thomas, Alito, it’s, Sylvia Gonzalez, Florida GOP Sen, Marco Rubio, Sonia Sotomayor Organizations: CNN, University of Texas School of Law, Trump, Capitol, University of Chicago, New York, Police, Florida GOP, Republican Locations: Moore, Texas, Trump, concurrences

☆ Our contributors rewatched the 2020 Biden-Trump debates for clues. Here’s what they predict will happen Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Cnn Opinion | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +27 min

Kate Bedingfield served as White House communications director in the Biden administration and was the deputy campaign manager on Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. That contentious exchange during the 2020 debate put Biden on the defensive. A President Trump might make their decisions about retirement that much easier. David Urban, a CNN political commentator, served as an adviser to then-President Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign. On Thursday, President Biden needs to do it again.

Persons: isn’t, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump’s, —, Stephanie Griffith, Scott Jennings, Trump, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, counterpunched Biden, CNN Trump masterfully, ” Scott Jennings Trump, mightily, George W, Bush, Sen, Mitch McConnell, Sophia A, Nelson Stephanie Honikel, Chris Wallace, Wallace, Trump’s, it’s, Nelson, It’s, Kate Bedingfield, Donald Trump Kate Bedingfield, Shermichael Singleton, Bill Clinton’s, James Carville, “, Democratic Barack Obama, they're, aren’t, “ It’s, David Axelrod, people’s, ” Biden, jibing Trump, ”, Barack Obama, Obama, David Urban, Amy Coney Barrett, Amy Coney Barrett's, Roe, Wade, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Reagan, Clinton, ” David Urban, Dobbs, Lady Jill Biden, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Bakari Sellers, Abraham Lincoln, chokeholds, Emmett Till, HBCUs ? Biden, Hilary Krieger Organizations: CNN, White, Biden, Scott Jennings CNN, Trump, Democratic, Republican, RunSwitch Public Relations, Capitol, GOP, Republican Government Reform, White House, NBC, Marist, Fox News, Global, Senate, United, Appeals, Federalist Society, American, United State Supreme Court, National Guard, South Carolina House of, Strom Law, CNN Opinion’s Locations: Cleveland , Ohio, Nashville , Tennessee, New York, Louisville , Kentucky, Charlottesville , Virginia, “, White, Charlottesville, Michigan, Scranton, Claymont, America, United States, Pennsylvania, HBCUs

☆ Opinion | Clarence Thomas and John Roberts Are at a Fork in the Road
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Two years ago, when the Supreme Court decided New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, it created a jurisprudential mess that scrambled American gun laws. On Friday, not only did the cleanup begin, but the Supreme Court cleared the way for one of the most promising legal innovations for preventing gun violence: red flag laws. Before Bruen, lower courts had struggled to establish a uniform legal test for evaluating gun restrictions, and the Supreme Court hadn’t provided any clarity. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion in a 6-to-3 decision split along ideological lines. Under a fair reading of Thomas’s opinion, lower courts would be hard pressed to uphold any gun restriction unless you could point to an obvious historical match.

Persons: Brett Kavanaugh, hadn’t, Clarence Thomas Organizations: Supreme, New York State, Inc, ” Locations: Bruen

☆ Supreme Court upholds law barring domestic abusers from owning guns in major Second Amendment ruling
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Supreme Court upheld a federal law Friday that bars guns for domestic abusers, rejecting an argument pressed by gun rights groups that the prohibition violated the Second Amendment. The 8-1 decision lands as the nation continues to grapple with gun violence and mass shootings. A roiling political debate over firearms has left Washington unable to pass new gun laws. The decision could help shore up similar federal gun regulations that have been challenged since the Supreme Court vastly expanded gun rights in 2022. Rahimi’s lawyers claimed that the Supreme Court’s blockbuster decision two years ago meant that the law on domestic violence orders could not be squared with the Constitution.

Persons: John Roberts, Roberts, ” Roberts, ”, Steve Vladeck, Clarence Thomas, “, ” Thomas, Zackey Rahimi, Thomas, Biden, Joe Biden’s, Hunter, ” Biden, Alito, Samuel Alito Organizations: CNN, University of Texas School of Law, New York, Government, Appeals, Supreme Locations: Washington, State, New, Texas, Bruen, New Orleans

That sent lower courts scurrying into historical analyses to figure out if modern gun laws had some connection to the 18th Century. Roberts’ opinion said that lower courts were misunderstanding what the majority had said in that ruling. But Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a member of the court’s liberal wing, suggested it was the high court’s fault for not providing clarity for lower courts to follow. One deals with a Pennsylvania man’s challenge to a federal law prohibiting felons, including those who are non-violent, from possessing firearms. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar presented that argument with an eye toward several other challenges pending to similar federal gun prohibitions that involve non-violent criminal activity.

Persons: John Roberts, Zackey Rahimi, ” Roberts, Donald Trump, Roberts, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, ” Barrett, ” Thomas ’, Bruen, Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Elie Honig, SCOTUS, Rahimi, ” Thomas, Hunter Biden, Hunter, Biden, Daniels, Steve Vladeck, ”, Elizabeth Prelogar Organizations: CNN, Supreme Court, New York, Trump, US, Appeals, Supreme, Circuit, University of Texas School of Law Locations: Texas, New, Bruen, Mississippi, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Illinois

☆ Supreme Court upholds domestic violence gun restriction
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Activists rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court before the start of oral arguments in the United States v. Rahimi second amendement case in Washington on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal law that prohibits people subjected to domestic violence restraining orders from having firearms, taking a step back from its recent endorsement of a broad right to possess a gun. The court on an 8-1 vote ruled in favor of the Biden administration, which was defending the law — one of several federal gun restrictions currently facing legal challenges. He argued that he cannot be prosecuted under the federal gun possession restriction in light of what the Supreme Court concluded. But the case before the justices concerns his separate prosecution by the Justice Department for violating the federal gun possession law.

Persons: Biden, John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Joe Biden, Zackey, Rahimi's, Rahimi Organizations: U.S, Supreme, New York State, Justice Department, Circuit, Appeals Locations: United States, Washington, Texas, Arlington , Texas, New Orleans

☆ Supreme Court Upholds Law Disarming Domestic Abusers
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the government may disarm a Texas man subject to a domestic violence order, limiting the sweep of its earlier blockbuster decision that vastly expanded gun rights. That decision, issued in 2022, struck down a New York law that put strict limits on carrying guns outside the home. The new case, United States v. Rahimi, explored the scope of that new test. Only Justice Clarence Thomas, the author of the majority opinion in the 2022 decision, dissented. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that Second Amendment rights had limits.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, John G, Roberts Jr Locations: Texas, New York, United States

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