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☆ Supreme Court rejects challenge to abortion pill mifepristone
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( John Fritze | Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

As those bans helped propel the demand for medication abortion, mifepristone became a logical target for the anti-abortion movement. None of those lower court rulings went into effect because the Supreme Court intervened last year and ordered that the status quo around mifepristone remain in place until the justices reviewed the case. The Supreme Court heard arguments in March. Both the FDA and several medical groups, including the American Medical Association, told the Supreme Court that mifepristone is safe. The mifepristone appeal was one of two abortion cases the high court was considering this month.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Brett Kavanaugh, “, ” Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, ”, Clarence Thomas, mifepristone, Donald Trump, Matthew Kacsmaryk, —, –, Kacsmaryk, Biden, Steve Vladeck, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Food, Legislative, Trump, FDA, US, American Medical Association, Alliance for Hippocratic, University of Texas School of Law, Jackson, Health Organization, Biden Locations: Texas, mifepristone, Amarillo , Texas, Dobbs v, Idaho

☆ Opinion | The Supreme Court’s Bump Stock Decision Will Prove Fatal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( David Firestone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There was nothing abstract about the 6-to-3 decision issued Friday morning by the Supreme Court to permit bump stocks to be used on semiautomatic rifles. It is one of the most astonishingly dangerous decisions ever issued by the court, and it will almost surely result in a loss of American lives in another mass shooting. Bump stocks attach to the back of a rifle and use the gun’s recoil to enable shooting hundreds of bullets at a very rapid pace, far faster than anyone could shoot by pressing the trigger multiple times. Bump stock devices were banned the next year, just as all fully automatic machine guns are banned for public use, but the six conservative members of the court seemed entirely unbothered by their deadly potential. The opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, parses in a ridiculous level of detail whether bump stocks truly fit the precise mechanical definition of a machine gun.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, parses, Trump Organizations: Vegas, Firearms Policy Foundation

☆ Justice Thomas Raised Him 'As a Son.' Now He Faces Decades in Prison.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Lilian Manansala | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Clarence Thomas took in his grandnephew and raised him like a son. Mark Martin now faces more than 25 years on drug and weapons charges. The Thomas' guardianship is part of the scandal surrounding the Supreme Court justice's failure to disclose gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Mark Martin, Thomas, Harlan Crow Organizations: Business

☆ Clarence Thomas raised him 'as a son.' Now he's facing 25-plus years on weapons and drug charges.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"For me, in so many ways, it's rewarding because it's brought me, again, full circle," Thomas told Lamb. Related storiesWhen neither placement prevented Martin from acting out with minor drug use and other petty crimes, the Thomases cut him off, Martin told BI. AdvertisementLast summer, according to court records reviewed by BI, Martin was arrested on charges of drug trafficking and weapons possession. Martin says he was eventually expelled from Randolph-Macon Academy for failing a drug test as a junior in high school. "I actually don't know if they know that I'm locked up — I'm not sure they'd care too much," Martin told BI.

Persons: —, Clarence Thomas, Ginni, Mark Martin, Thomas, Emma Mae Martin, Clarence, Ginni Thomas, He's, Harlan Crow, Martin, I've, Brian Lamb, it's, Lamb, Mark, ProPublica, Crow, Crow's, Myers Anderson, Anderson, SPAN Martin, Martin's, they'd, he'd, I'm, — I've Organizations: Service, Supreme, Business, BI, Detention, SPAN, Randolph, Macon Academy, Hidden Lake Academy, Lake Academy, Conception Seminary College Locations: Virginia, Jasper, South Carolina, Macon, Bali, California, Randolph, Georgia

☆ Beyoncé tickets, book advances, Bali trip revealed in new Supreme Court financial disclosures
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Jackson valued the four tickets at $3,711.84, according to her annual disclosure form, which covered all of 2023. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disclosed receiving concert tickets from pop superstar Beyoncé, one of several notable items revealed Friday in the high court's latest financial disclosure reports. The Beyoncé tickets may have been the flashiest gifts given last year to a member of the nation's most powerful court, but they were not the only ones. The most recent justice to join the high court also disclosed more income from a book than any of her colleagues last year, the filings showed. Jackson is the only justice on the court who was nominated by President Joe Biden.

Persons: Jackson, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Beyoncé, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Clarence Thomas, Terrence Giroux, Alger, Barbara, Thomas, Harlan Crow, Crow Organizations: Supreme, D.C, Penguin Random, Alger Association, Republican Locations: Washington, Bali , Indonesia, Monte Rio , California

☆ Clarence Thomas, in Financial Disclosure, Acknowledges 2019 Trips Paid by Harlan Crow
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged on Friday additional luxury travel he had accepted from a conservative billionaire, amending a previous financial disclosure to reflect trips he had taken to an Indonesian island and a secretive all-male club in the Northern California redwoods. The trips, taken in 2019, were earlier revealed by ProPublica, but it is the first time that Justice Thomas has included them on his financial disclosures. Other Supreme Court justices chronicled their gifts, travel and money earned from books and teaching. The financial disclosures, released yearly, are one of the few public records available about the justices’ lives, providing select details of their activities outside the court. A steady drumbeat of revelations about ties between some of the justices and wealthy donors has only intensified interest in the reports, particularly after disclosures that Justice Thomas had accepted lavish gifts and travel from affluent friends over decades.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, ProPublica, Thomas, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Lonnie Holley, ’ Organizations: Northern California redwoods Locations: Indonesian, Beyoncé, Alabama

Thomas received 103 gifts with a total value of more than $2.4 million between 2004 and 2023, the judicial reform group Fix the Court said in a report Thursday. Fix the Court's analysis found that Alito accepted 16 gifts worth a combined $170,095. Counting those gifts, Thomas' total two-decade haul is valued at nearly $4.2 million. The value and number of gifts Thomas received also eclipsed those accepted by eight retired or dead Supreme Court justices whose tenures overlapped his service on the court, which began in 1991. Antonin Scalia, a conservative justice who died in 2016 while on the court, accepted 67 gifts worth about $210,000 during his tenure, which began in 1986.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch's, Chip Somodevilla, Thomas, Alito, Harlan Crow, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, William Rehnquist Organizations: Supreme, Getty, Congressional Locations: Washington ,, Grove

☆ These 38 GOP senators just voted against protecting contraception. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewThe Senate failed on Wednesday to advance a bill designed to protect access to contraceptives nationwide. Just two Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — voted with Democrats to advance the bill. Advertisement"Do people really think that even a significant minority of the Republican conference is against access to contraception?" AdvertisementBut still — if Republicans aren't against contraception, why won't they just vote for the bill? Glenn Youngkin of Virginia vetoed a bill to protect access to contraception, arguing that it violated principles of religious freedom.

Persons: —, — Susan Collins of, Lisa Murkowski, Alaska —, Chuck Schumer, Republican Sen, Thom Tillis, — Schumer, it's, Tillis, Griswold, Roe, Wade, Clarence Thomas, They've, James Lankford, Lankford, Sen, Rick Scott of, Glenn Youngkin, John Barrasso of, John Barrasso of Wyoming Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee John Boozman, Arkansas Ted Budd of, Carolina Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Bill Cassidy, Louisiana John Cornyn, Texas Tom Cotton, Arkansas Kevin Cramer of, Arkansas Kevin Cramer of North Dakota Mike Crapo, Idaho Ted Cruz of, Idaho Ted Cruz of Texas Steve Daines, Montana Joni Ernst, Iowa Deb Fischer, Nebraska Chuck Grassley, Josh Hawley, Missouri John Hoeven of, Missouri John Hoeven of North Dakota Cindy Hyde, Smith, Mississippi Ron Johnson, Wisconsin James Lankford, Oklahoma Mike Lee, Utah Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming Roger Marshall of Kansas Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma Rand Paul of Kentucky Pete Ricketts, Nebraska Jim Risch, Idaho Mike Rounds, South Dakota Marco Rubio, Eric Schmitt, Missouri Rick Scott, Florida Tim Scott of, Florida Tim Scott of South Carolina John Thune of, Florida Tim Scott of South Carolina John Thune of South Dakota Thoms Tillis, North Carolina Tommy Tuberville, Alabama Roger Wicker, Mississippi Todd Young, Mike Braun, Indiana Katie Britt, Alabama Lindsey Graham of, Alabama Lindsey Graham of South Carolina Bill Hagerty, Tennessee John Kennedy, Louisiana Jerry Moran of, Louisiana Jerry Moran of Kansas Mitt Romney, Utah Dan Sullivan, Alaska JD Vance, Ted Budd Organizations: Service, Nine Republicans, Democratic, Republican, Business, Republicans, GOP, Oklahoma Republican, Democrats, Republican Gov, Arkansas Kevin Cramer of North, Nebraska, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South, Florida Tim Scott of South Carolina John Thune of South Dakota, North, Alabama Lindsey Graham of South Locations: — Susan Collins of Maine, Alaska, North Carolina, . Connecticut, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Rick Scott of Florida, Virginia, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Arkansas, West, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Idaho, Idaho Ted Cruz of Texas, Montana, Missouri, Missouri John Hoeven of North Dakota, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Florida, Florida Tim Scott of South Carolina, Florida Tim Scott of South Carolina John Thune of South, Alabama, Indiana, Alabama Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana Jerry Moran of Kansas, Ohio

☆ McConnell suggests 'discipline' for Dem senators pressuring Supreme Court over Alito flags
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., suggested Wednesday that the Supreme Court should punish at least two Democratic senators over their calls for Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from key cases related to former President Donald Trump. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island are bound by court rules that "provide for discipline against those who engage in conduct unbecoming an officer of the court," McConnell said on the Senate floor. But McConnell singled out Blumenthal and Whitehouse because they are members of the Supreme Court bar. They are therefore "potentially engaged in unethical professional conduct before the court," McConnell said of Blumenthal and Whitehouse, both of whom are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The responses from Roberts and Alito confirm that they also viewed the communication as public, Whitehouse added.

Persons: Mitch McConnell, luncheons, Samuel Alito, Donald Trump ., Richard Blumenthal of, Sheldon Whitehouse, McConnell, Alito, Blumenthal, Whitehouse, John Roberts, Leonard Leo, Roberts, Dick Durbin, Clarence Thomas, Wednesday's Organizations: Democratic, Donald Trump . Sens, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Trump, American, CNBC, Wall Street, Capitol, Durbin Locations: Ky, Washington, Rhode, Virginia

☆ Biden pledges to name progressives to the Supreme Court, suggesting he expects vacancies
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —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. The ideological makeup of the court has emerged as one of the defining facets of American political power. Breyer announced his retirement in January 2022, allowing Biden to fulfill a campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the court, Ketanji Brown Jackson. Instead, he consulted the justice on lower court nominations as a way to cultivate a degree of comfort with the process. “Many presidents never get the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court justice.

Persons: Joe Biden, “, they’re, we’ve, ”, Biden, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, —, Wade, Stephen Breyer, Breyer, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Don McGahn, Anthony Kennedy, Obama, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Trump, Amy Coney Barrett, we’ll Organizations: CNN, Black, Wednesday, Republican, Committee, Liberal, White, Trump, “, Liberty Locations: Philadelphia, Roe

☆ Alito tells lawmakers he will not recuse from Supreme Court cases despite flag controversy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“The two incidents you cite do not meet the conditions for recusal,” Alito wrote in a letter distributed by the Supreme Court. Supreme Court justices rarely get into a back-and-forth with lawmakers and many members of the court do not explain their reasons for recusing – or not. Video Ad Feedback See how GOP lawmakers reacted to Judge Alito's flag controversy 01:24 - Source: CNNThe Supreme Court is weighing major cases tied to the 2020 election and the attack on the US Capitol. From Google“I had no involvement in the decision to fly that flag,” Alito wrote. Justice Alito also told Fox News the neighbor used the term “c*nt” at one point during the exchanges.

Persons: Samuel Alito, ” Alito, Alito, recusing, Alito's, Donald Trump’s, Jack Smith’s, “, –, Martha, Ann Alito, Samuel Alito's, Illinois Sen, Dick Durbin, ” Durbin, ”, ” Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, Clarence Thomas ’, —, Sen, Richard Blumenthal, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, John Roberts, Thomas, Hank Johnson, Alito’s, ” Johnson, Trump, Justice Alito, “ Alito, SCOTUS, Roe, Wade, CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Kate Sullivan, Jack Forrest, Morgan Rimmer, Tierney Sneed, Holmes Lybrand Organizations: CNN, Supreme, Trump, US Supreme, Google, ’, recusal, Democratic, Illinois Democrat, Rhode Island Democrat, Connecticut Democrat, Georgia Democrat, United States Supreme, New York Times, Fox News, Times, Republicans Locations: Alexandria, Virginia, New Jersey, Long Beach, Illinois, Connecticut, Georgia, House

☆ How to Force Justices Alito and Thomas to Recuse Themselves in the Jan. 6 Cases - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Jamie Raskin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many people have gloomily accepted the conventional wisdom that because there is no binding Supreme Court ethics code, there is no way to force Associate Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas to recuse themselves from the Jan. 6 cases that are before the court. Justices Alito and Thomas are probably making the same assumption. Justice Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, was deeply involved in the Jan. 6 “stop the steal” movement. Above the Virginia home of Justice Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, flew an upside-down American flag — a strong political statement among the people who stormed the Capitol. (Justice Alito said on Wednesday that he would not recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases.)

Persons: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Alito, Thomas, Donald, Justice Thomas’s, Ginni Thomas, Martha, Ann Alito, Biden, Trump, Fischer, — Organizations: Trump v . Locations: New Jersey, Trump v, Trump v . United States, United States

☆ Opinion | Can the Supreme Court’s Liberals Reclaim Judicial Restraint?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Linda Greenhouse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court’s recent rescue of an important federal agency from the hands of a hostile lower court was an exercise in the evolving definition of originalism. A mechanism that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit deemed unconstitutional was clearly known to and accepted by the Constitution’s framers, Justice Thomas concluded. Justice Elena Kagan wrote a concurring opinion to say that while the old history was enlightening and adequate to support the agency’s constitutionality, modern practice supported it as well. “All the flexibility and diversity evident in the founding period,” she wrote, has “continued unabated” when it comes to financing government operations. Notably, two of the court’s conservatives, Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, in addition to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined Justice Kagan’s endorsement of the significance of later, even contemporary, practice when interpreting the Constitution.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Elena Kagan, ”, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Kagan’s, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch Organizations: Consumer Financial, United States, Appeals, Fifth Circuit

☆ Michael Avenatti: Supreme Court turns away appeal of disgraced attorney’s extortion conviction
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined an appeal from disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti, who argued that his extortion conviction was based on a vague anti-corruption law that shouldn’t apply to lawyers making settlement demands. On his broad point, at least, Avenatti’s argument has picked up some support from members of the Supreme Court’s conservative wing. Avenatti cited the Gorsuch opinion in his appeal and argued that the Supreme Court should invalidate the law. The Biden administration countered that Avenatti’s conduct was well within the plain meaning of the prohibition – in other words, not a fringe case – and that his appeal was foreclosed by earlier Supreme Court precedent. The New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to overturn Avenatti’s conviction last year.

Persons: Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels, Avenatti, it’s, Neil Gorsuch, ” Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Biden, shouldn’t, Avenatti’s, Brett Kavanaugh Organizations: CNN, Nike, Conservative Locations: New York

☆ Tired, testy and fractured: The Supreme Court prepares for more drama
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —As Supreme Court justices try to resolve more than a dozen major cases over the next month, including whether Donald Trump must stand trial for election subversion, they appear mired in antagonism and distrust. Conservatives, who indeed hold the upper hand on the 6-3 court, nonetheless spike their writing and remarks with derision for the left. When the court majority allowed Louisiana state officials to use a map with a second majority-Black congressional district (over the protest of a GOP-backed group of White voters), the three liberals dissented. (A lower US court had referred to it as the “bleaching of African American voters” from the district.) Dissenting liberals emphasized that the decision reversing the lower court undercut a 2017 Supreme Court ruling, Cooper v. Harris, issued before the far-right majority took hold.

Persons: Donald Trump, Samuel Alito, Alito, Elena Kagan, Clarence Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson, John Roberts, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Sonia Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson, Blacks, Purcell, ’, Amy Coney Barrett, “, ” Barrett, Roberts, ” They, Bush, Feedback Kavanaugh, Gore, Cooper, Harris, ” Kagan, ” Alito, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Martha, Ann, ”, Alito tersely, Kagan’s, Edwin Kneedler, ” Roberts, Kneedler, Joshua Turner, Sotomayor, ” Sotomayor, Turner, interjected Organizations: CNN, Trump, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Liberal, GOP, White voters, Congress, Gore, South, American, Capitol, New York Times, US Justice Department Locations: America, Colorado, South Carolina, Carolina, Louisiana, Virginia, New Jersey, American, Alito’s, Jersey, Grants Pass , Oregon, Idaho, The Idaho

☆ Republican senators defend Alito over second controversial flag
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Manu Raju | Morgan Rimmer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Top Republican senators are defending Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito as the conservative justice became embroiled in a second flag controversy, even as some Democrats call for Alito to recuse himself from key matters pending before the high court. “I just think Democrats are determined to harass members of the Supreme Court. So obviously, they don’t like Justice Alito or the decisions he makes,” he told CNN. Several prominent Republican senators criticized Alito over the upside-down flag. “I think the question is how many MAGA battle flags does the Supreme Court justice have to fly until the rest of the court takes it seriously?” he asked.

Persons: Samuel Alito, Alito, Donald Trump, Sen, John Cornyn, “, Sotomayor, Kagan, ”, Clarence Thomas, —, GOP Sen, Chuck Grassley, Sonia Sotomayor, “ I’m, ’, Grassley, Trump, Joe Biden’s, –, Thom Tillis, I’m, you’re, ” Tillis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bill Cassidy, Cassidy, Sheldon Whitehouse, MAGA, Hakeem Jeffries, ” Jeffries, Katherine Clark, Alito’s, ” Clark, CNN’s Haley Talbot, Annie Grayer Organizations: CNN, Top Republican, Capitol, Committee, GOP, “, Supreme, New York Times, Times, Senate, Democratic, Democrat, United States Supreme Locations: New Jersey

☆ Cruz refuses to unconditionally accept results of 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Shania Shelton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“I think that’s actually a ridiculous question,” replied Cruz when asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” whether he will accept the results of the 2024 election regardless of who wins. Cruz, who objected to Arizona’s election results on January 6, 2021, then went on in his interview with Collins to suggest, baselessly, that the 2020 election was rife with fraud. “So my question for you again, free and fair election, will you accept the results regardless of who wins?” Collins asked. “If the Democrats win, I will accept the result, but I’m not going to ignore fraud regardless of what happens,” Cruz responded. Trump said earlier this month that he would only accept the 2024 election results “if everything’s honest.” Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and Sen. J.D.

Persons: Republican Sen, Ted Cruz, “, ”, Cruz, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, ‘ Will, ” Cruz, Collins, ” Collins, I’m, Donald Trump, Trump, Elise Stefanik, Sen, J.D, Vance of Ohio, South Carolina Republican Sen, Tim Scott, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, We’re, Sam Alito, Martha, Ann Alito, Alito Organizations: CNN, Republican, Republicans, Trump, South Carolina Republican, Senate Locations: New York

☆ Opinion: What Alito’s flag controversies say about the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Julian Zelizer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —If Chief Justice John Roberts is really an institutionalist — someone deeply concerned about the integrity of the Supreme Court and public perceptions about it — then he has a big problem on his hands. The discovery also comes at a time when the Supreme Court will be making a decision about Trump’s claims of sweeping presidential immunity, his get-out-of-jail-free card for the federal cases he faces. The notion that the Supreme Court can be trusted to be an arbiter above partisan politics has suffered major blows in recent years. Supreme Court decisions have not been the only issue. The Alito flag controversy is another blow to the image of the court.

Persons: Julian Zelizer, ”, John Roberts, —, Samuel Alito —, Donald Trump, Alito, Alito hasn’t, Trump, SCOTUS, “, Dobbs, Roe, Wade, Clarence Thomas ’, Virginia Thomas, Thomas ’, Roberts, George W Organizations: CNN, Princeton University, Twitter, Supreme, New York Times, Jackson, Health, Annenberg Public, Center, Pew Research Center, Republican Locations: New Jersey, Virginia, Vietnam, Florida

☆ Biden’s EPA is trying to take a huge bite out of the climate crisis. But can it survive Trump’s Supreme Court?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Bottom row, from left, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Top row, from left, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. And environmental attorneys are intrigued by Barrett, who has had some tough questions for EPA’s challengers during recent Supreme Court arguments. The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the EPA can use its authority to regulate greenhouse gases. That gives the agency the recent Congressional direction the Supreme Court has said it so badly needs, some experts said.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Richard Lazarus, “, Michael Regan, ” “, ” Regan, Regan’s, ” Lazarus, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Gorsuch, Alito, ” David Doniger, “ Alito –, ”, Reagan, Anne Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, J, Scott Applewhite, Amy Coney Barrett –, Roberts, Barrett, Kavanaugh, Sackett, “ He’s, he’s, doesn’t, Ann Carlson, ” Carlson, ” Doniger Organizations: CNN, Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency, Harvard Law, EPA, Republican, Natural Resources Defense Council, Chevron, DC, Appeals, DC Circuit, University of California, Biden, Congress Locations: China, United, Virginia, University of California Los Angeles, West Virginia, Congress

☆ Opinion | There’s No Sense of Shame at the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Jesse Wegman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An earlier generation of Supreme Court justices seemed to possess the capacity for shame. In 1969, Justice Abe Fortas resigned his seat for accepting a $20,000 consulting fee (which he returned) from a foundation led by a man who was convicted of securities fraud. Whatever Justice Fortas believed about his own honor and morality, he understood that the Supreme Court is an inherently fragile institution, and that its nine justices cannot afford the slightest whiff of bias or corruption. They are saying, in effect, that they don’t care if any of this bothers you. To go by recent polls showing that this court’s public approval has approached record lows, it bothers many millions of Americans.

Persons: Abe Fortas, Justice Fortas, “, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas Locations: Washington

☆ Opinion: Credibility is the key at Trump trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

The idea that Cohen talked to Trump about Daniels on that call “was a lie,” Blanche alleged. Moreover, my experience has been that juries don’t decide based upon one moment — they base their judgment on an overall view.”There were allegedly three parties aware of the scheme to conceal the real reason Trump paid Cohen more than $400,000 in supposed legal fees: Trump, Cohen and Allen Weisselberg, then-chief financial officer of the Trump Organization. “Weisselberg could be the linchpin to validate Cohen’s claims about Trump agreeing to reimburse him through Trump Organization, as a business expense,” wrote attorney Stacy Schneider. Trump seems to be tempted to go mano a mano and show that he is better fit to be commander-in-chief. The new requirement for GOP politicians wanting to demonstrate their loyalty to Trump seems to be visiting the Manhattan courthouse where he’s on trial.

Persons: CNN —, ” Mark Twain, “, Twain, ” Michael Cohen, Donald Trump, —, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Todd Blanche, Cohen, Norm Eisen, Blanche, ”, pummeled Cohen, Robert Mueller, Nick Anderson, Agency Cohen, Keith Schiller, Daniels, ” Blanche, ” Eisen, don’t, Allen Weisselberg, Stacy Schneider, Weisselberg, David Zurawik, “ I’ve, Sen, Robert Menendez, He’s, George Santos ., CNN “ It’s, he’s, ‘, Henry Cuellar, ” Cupp, Drew Sheneman, Georgia —, Vladimir Putin’s, Frida Ghitis, ” Ghitis, Joe Biden’s, ” Dana Summers, “ Biden, ” Julian Zelizer, mano, Biden, ” Bill Bramhall, Stephanie Griffith, Howard Tucker, Gayle Fleming, Michael Ventura Gayle Fleming, Biden —, ” Tom Brady’s, Kara Alaimo, Tom Brady “, Kevin Hart, Gisele Bündchen, Brady, Benjamin, Vivian, ’ Brady, ’, Alaimo, Brady didn’t, Nafees Syed, Kamel El Hilali, Andrew Borene, freakout Scott Stantis, Jeff Yang, … ” Brown, Keith Magee, Brown, backpedaling, Forget, Doug Burgum, Scott Jennings, Burgum’s, Bill Bramhall, Content Agency Clarence Thomas Washington, Clarence Thomas ’, Dean Obeidallah, Thomas, Harlan Crow, ” Clay Jones, John Oliver’s, Steve Vladeck, “ Thomas, ” Don’t, Clayton Swope, Dan Perry, Netanyahu, Jill Filipovic, Miss Teen USA Mary Ziegler, Bob Kolasky, Megan L, Ranney, Karen Tang, Halle Berry, Naomi Watts, Jonathan Yeo, King Charles III, Aaron Chown, Holly Thomas, King Organizations: CNN, Trump, Tribune, Agency, Trump Organization, Twitter, Facebook, DC, Robert Menendez of New, GOP, ” Texas, White, Europe, Russia, Kyiv, Biden, ABC, Democratic Party, Netflix, Garden State, Content Agency, Capitol, Consumer Financial, Board, Fifth Circuit, ICC, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Buckingham Palace, Royal Locations: New York, Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Russian, Ukraine, Slovakia, Georgia, Soviet Republic, United States, Cleveland, “, Manhattan, North, . North Dakota, ” That’s, Louisiana , Mississippi, Texas, Florida’s, Buckingham

☆ The Mrs. defense: powerful men blaming their wives
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Alito said in a written statement to The New York Times, which first reported the story this week. A Supreme Court justice being unmasked as having a partisan tilt wouldn’t be illegal – just awkward and icky. Shannon Stapleton/ReutersCouples behaving badlyFormer Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican, pioneered the Mrs. defense when he and his wife were both accused of funneling campaign funds for private use. A unanimous US Supreme Court, including Alito, later vacated the governor’s conviction and narrowed the scope by which prosecutors can pursue bribery allegations. The Mrs. defense could conceivably be turned on its head and used by a powerful woman to blame her husband.

Persons: Samuel Alito doesn’t, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Alito, “, ” Alito, Ann, Alito won’t, Clarence Thomas ’, Ginni, Thomas, Menendez ‘, Sen, Bob Menendez, Nadine, Menendez, Nadine Menendez, Menendez’s, Shannon Stapleton, Duncan Hunter, Margaret, Trump, Henry Cuellar, Imelda, ”, . Cuellar, Jesse Jackson Jr, Sandra, Bob McDonnell, Maureen, Cori Bush, Bush, Kim Taylor, Jeremy Taylor Organizations: CNN, New York Times, House, New, New Jersey Democrat, California Republican, Texas Democrat, Illinois Democrat, Former Virginia Gov, Republican, Missouri Democrat, Supervisors Locations: New Jersey, New York, Manhattan, New York City, California, Texas, Illinois, Missouri, Washington, Iowa, Woodbury County

☆ Display at Alito’s Home Renews Questions of Supreme Court’s Impartiality
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Jodi Kantor | Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In coming weeks, the Supreme Court is expected to issue two key decisions involving the storming of the Capitol on that day. The cases will shape the degree to which former President Donald J. Trump can be held accountable for his efforts to subvert the election. “These cases were always going to be seen through an ideological and partisan lens,” Michael C. Dorf, a Cornell law professor and former clerk to Justice Anthony Kennedy, said in an interview. An upside-down flag, a popular symbol with Trump supporters contesting President Biden’s victory, appeared on Justice Alito’s front lawn in January 2021, The New York Times reported based on photographs and interviews with neighbors. It hung on the Alitos’ flagpole days before the inauguration, a little over a week after the Capitol riot and while the Supreme Court was considering taking up an election case.

Persons: Samuel A, Alito Jr, Donald J, Trump, Michael C, Anthony Kennedy, “, you’ve, Clarence Thomas’s, Virginia Thomas, Biden’s Organizations: Capitol, Cornell, Republican Party, Trump, The New York Times

☆ Free Speech Becomes a New Battleground in Abortion Litigation - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Linda Greenhouse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There has hardly ever been as fierce a defender of free speech as the current Supreme Court. The court’s version of free speech has become a powerful tool against government regulation. In his majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said the “unduly burdensome” requirement amounted to unconstitutionally compelled speech. Now the question is whether the court’s solicitude toward those who would rather not talk about abortion extends in the other direction. What about state laws that prohibit rather than require offering information about where to get an abortion?

Persons: John Roberts, Janus, Elena Kagan, “, Clarence Thomas Organizations: . American Federation of State, Municipal Employees, ” Locations: . American Federation of State , County, California

☆ The US did a complete 180 on same-sex marriage
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The vast majority of Americans opposed same-sex marriage on May 17, 2004, when the first same-sex couples took their vows after a court decision in Massachusetts. Barack Obama notably opposed same-sex marriage when he ran for president as a Democrat in the 2008 election and, as public opinion was rapidly shifting, changed his tune in 2012 to support same-sex unions. Warnings were unfoundedThere is also evidence that warnings about same-sex marriage somehow endangering “traditional marriage” simply never materialized. A new study by researchers for the RAND Corporation to assess two decades of same-sex marriage in the US argues marriage rates actually increased among opposite-sex couples as same-sex couples were granted the ability to marry in certain states. A key difference between support for same-sex marriage and support for abortion rights, according to Lundry, is that support for abortion rights has remained positive for decades, in contrast to same-sex marriage, which saw a complete turnaround.

Persons: CNN —, Mitt Romney, George W, Bush, Hillary, Julie Goodridge, Charles Krupa, Sen, John Kerry, Hodges, Barack Obama, Obama, Romney, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, weren’t, ” Romney, Obergefell, —, PRRI, Alex Lundry, Republican pollster, “, ” Lundry, Gen, Dick Cheney, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Republican, House, Boston City Hall, Massachusetts Democrat, Democrat, Supreme, Gallup, RAND Corporation Locations: Massachusetts, Utah, Oregon, Ohio, Without Ohio, America

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