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☆ Takeaways from the latest controversial and contentious Supreme Court term
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Ariane De Vogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

In his opinion blocking the student debt program, Roberts insisted he is concerned about criticisms of the court. “Make no mistake: Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the Court participates in the process or not,” he warned. In June, the court sided with a cement mixing company that sought to bypass federal labor law and sue a union in state court for the destruction of property caused by striking workers. On Tuesday, when Roberts announced the court’s opinion in Moore v. Harper, liberals and even some conservatives exhaled, relieved that the court was rejecting a controversial Trump-backed election law theory. “Justice Jackson has a different view,” he said at one point.

Persons: John Roberts, Roe, Wade, ” Roberts, Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, he’d, Joe Biden’s, Roberts –, –, It’s, Donald Trump’s, ”, Gorsuch, Neil Gorsuch, Bostock, Lorie Smith, ” Alito, Alito, Dobbs, Jackson, Brett Kavanaugh’s, hadn’t, Paul Singer, Singer, ProPublica, “ we’d, “, ” ProPublica, Thomas, Dick Durbin, Elena Kagan, KBJ, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Dr, Adam Feldman, ” Feldman, Sonia Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, Thomas couldn’t, ” Jenny Hunter, ” Jackson, ‘, Harper, exhaled, Barack Obama, Rick Hasen –, Hasen, Moore, Thomas Long, Kevin Merida, Michael Fletcher, “ Justice Jackson, Thomas ’ “, ” Thomas Organizations: CNN, Civil, Creative, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Street, GOP, Illinois Democrat, pounced, University of North, National Labor Relations, Independent, Trump, Federal, “, UNC Locations: Colorado, Washington , DC, United States, “, Rome, Illinois, American, Moore, North Carolina

☆ The Supreme Court justices paid an average of $42,539 to go to college. Today, they'd have to pay around $320,531.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Supreme Court struck down Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. Student loan payments will likely resume in October. For the justices behind the decision, the cost of an undergraduate degree was much cheaper when they were in school. According to EDI, there was a 2,807% increase in the average student loan debt at graduation between 1970 and 2021 before adjusting for inflation. Student loan borrowers gathered at the Supreme Court today to tell the court that student loan relief is legal on January 2, 2023.

Persons: —, Joe Biden's, Biden, Clarence Thomas, Wally McNamee, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, John Roberts, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Roberts, Jackson, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Larry French, Thomas, Gorsuch Organizations: Service, Republicans, White, Education Data Initiative, The College of, Princeton University, Harvard, Yale, Columbia University, Rhodes College, Associated Press, AP

☆ Conservatives are on a roll in their quest to remake America through the courts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The Supreme Court’s gutting of affirmative action in college admissions on Thursday toppled another pillar of America’s liberal social infrastructure. The wider political battleThe court’s activism is being complimented by increasingly radical conservative legislatures in many states. The Supreme Court ruled that June that same-sex couples could marry in all 50 states and upheld the Affordable Care Act. And President Joe Biden’s view of the conservative majority on the bench could hardly be more dark. This allowed Trump to name Justice Neil Gorsuch as his first Supreme Court nominee in 2017.

Persons: CNN — Conservatives –, –, Franklin Roosevelt –, Roe, Wade, Ron DeSantis, Republicans –, Clarence Thomas ’, “, Dobbs, Matt Schlapp, Thomas, perversely, Barack Obama, ” Obama, Joe Biden’s, ” Biden, Obama, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Merrick Garland, Biden, Trump, Neil Gorsuch, McConnell, Amy Coney Barrett Organizations: CNN — Conservatives, Biden, Trump, White, Senate, GOP, Republican, Florida Gov, House, Republicans, Political Action, thunderbolts, Democratic, Liberal, Supreme, Conservative, Republican Party, White House, Independent Locations: Colorado, America, –

June 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, effectively prohibiting affirmative action policies long used to raise the number of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students on campuses. "Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause," Roberts wrote, referring to the constitutional provision. Affirmative action had withstood Supreme Court scrutiny for decades, most recently in a 2016 ruling involving a white student, backed by Blum, who sued the University of Texas after being rejected for admission. Jackson did not participate in the Harvard case because of her past affiliation with the university. The ruling did not explicitly say it was overruling landmark precedent upholding affirmative action.

Persons: Constitution's, Edward Blum, Roe, Wade, John Roberts, Roberts, Blum, Donald Trump, Trump, Thursday's, Joe Biden's, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Sotomayor, Peter Hans, Hans, Clarence Thomas, Bollinger, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, Harvard, UNC, Fair, Universities, University of Texas, Republican, America, Liberal, Jackson, Asian, Civil, University of North Carolina, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, U.S, States, Black, America, New York

☆ Clarence Thomas says he's 'painfully aware the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race' as he rules against affirmative action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action policies at Harvard and UNC. Thomas said he's aware of the obstacles faced by 'my race,' but ruled affirmative action was discriminatory. Thomas declared "the Constitution prevails" in his opinion as the Supreme Court effectively outlawed affirmative action at US colleges and universities. In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled that policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina were unconstitutional. Thomas then wrote affirmative action is also discrimination, calling the policies "rudderless, race-based preferences designed to ensure a particular racial mix in" Harvard and UNC's "entering classes."

Persons: Justice Clarence Thomas, Thomas, he's, —, Clarence Thomas, Brown, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson — Organizations: Harvard, UNC, Justice, Service, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, of Education Locations: Independence, United States, University of North Carolina

Jackson and Thomas, reflecting a deep divide in the United States, diverged on how race must be treated in the law. Thomas wrote a concurring opinion accompanying the ruling that said Jackson's "race-infused world view falls flat at each step." "Our country has never been colorblind," Jackson wrote in her dissenting opinion, which was joined by the two other liberal justices. Much of what Thomas wrote on Thursday was directed at Jackson. "Justice Thomas ignited too many straw men to list, or fully extinguish," Jackson wrote.

Persons: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Clarence Thomas, Jackson, Thomas, Jackson myopically, Ilya Somin, Jim Crow, Michael Dorf, Justice Jackson, John Roberts, Black, Joe Biden, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Constitution, George Mason University, Black, Cornell Law, Harvard, UNC, Democratic, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Southern, New York

☆ Ketanji Brown Jackson accuses Clarence Thomas of having 'an obsession with race consciousness' and relying on 'many more straw men' than can be listed in his affirmative action opinion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ketanji Brown Jackson said Clarence Thomas's opinion showed "an obsession with race consciousness." In his own 57 page long concurring opinion, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas — a staunch conservative appointed by Republican President George H.W. "Worse still, Justice Jackson uses her broad observations about statistical relationships between race and select measures of health, wealth, and well-being to label all blacks as victims. "Given our history, the origin of persistent race-linked gaps should be no mystery," Jackson wrote. "Justice Thomas ignites too many more straw men to list, or fully extinguish, here," Jackson wrote.

Persons: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Clarence Thomas's, —, Clarence Thomas —, George H.W, Bush —, Joe Biden, Thomas, Jackson Organizations: Service, United States Supreme, Republican, University of North Locations: University of North Carolina

admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the equal protection clause,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority. The court had repeatedly upheld similar admissions programs, most recently in 2016, saying that race could be used as one factor among many in evaluating applicants. The university responded that its admissions policies fostered educational diversity and were lawful under longstanding Supreme Court precedents. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said that courts must give universities substantial but not total leeway in devising their admissions programs. The Texas decision essentially reaffirmed Grutter v. Bollinger, a 2003 decision in which the Supreme Court endorsed holistic admissions programs, saying it was permissible to consider race to achieve educational diversity.

Persons: “, John G, Roberts, ”, Sonia Sotomayor, Edward Blum, Antonin Scalia, Elena Kagan, Justice Anthony M, Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G, Breyer, Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kennedy, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ginsburg, Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Breyer, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Justice Jackson, Grutter, Bollinger, Sandra Day O’Connor, Clarence Thomas Organizations: Harvard, University of North, Civil, Asian, Fair, University of Texas Locations: University of North Carolina, North Carolina, Austin, Texas

☆ Supreme Court rejects affirmative action at colleges as unconstitutional
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

watch nowThe Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the affirmative action admission policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional. Justice Clarence Thomas, a Black conservative who wrote a concurring opinion, said that the schools' affirmative action admissions policies "fly In the face of our colorblind constitution. In her dissent to the majority, liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is Black, called the ruling "truly a tragedy for us all." In doing so, she argued the Supreme Court "cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter." U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Getty Images

Persons: John Roberts, Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Chip Somodevilla, Sonia Sotomayor, Sotomayor, Sonia Sotomayor Getty Organizations: Harvard, University of North, U.S, Supreme, of Harvard College Locations: University of North Carolina, Washington ,

☆ Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson criticize each other in unusually sharp language
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Washington CNN —The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling Thursday on affirmative action pitted its two Black justices against each other, with the ideologically opposed jurists employing unusually sharp language attacking each other by name. Justice Clarence Thomas and the court’s other four conservatives joined Roberts’ opinion. Thomas has previously acknowledged that he made it to Yale Law School because of affirmative action, but he has long criticized such policies. (While Jackson recused herself from the Harvard case, she did hear the UNC case, and her dissent was focused on the latter.) In his memoir, “My Grandfather’s Son,” Thomas says he felt “tricked” by paternalistic Whites at Yale who recruited Black students.

Persons: John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Roberts, Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson, ”, ” Thomas, “, Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Thomas ’, “ ‘, ” “, ” Jackson, Black, he’d Organizations: Washington CNN, Harvard, University of North, Yale Law School, UNC, CNN, Whites, Yale, “, University of Michigan Law School, White, Bollinger Locations: University of North Carolina, Independence, United States, Yale

☆ Opinion | Harvard Undermined Itself on Affirmative Action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There’s an old saying in the legal profession: Bad facts make bad law. Sometimes, however, bad facts highlight the need for better law. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that, in the case of college admissions, the bad facts of racial discrimination created the necessity of a new standard. The defendant, Harvard University, had repeatedly undermined its own case for race-conscious affirmative action, and the court’s new precedent outlaws racial discrimination in admissions while still preserving the state’s ability to respond to the legacy of past injustice. To understand why Harvard lost — and why race-based affirmative action in public colleges and federally-funded private schools is now unlawful — it’s necessary to understand two key facts about the case.

Persons: John Roberts, Justice Roberts, —, Clarence Thomas Organizations: Harvard University, Harvard, University of North Locations: University of North Carolina

“The Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today,” Roberts wrote. During oral arguments, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar stressed the unique interests of the military and argued that race-based admissions programs further the nation’s compelling interest of diversity. Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law, said the decision will still not end the legal fight over college admissions. The Supreme Court stepped in to consider the case before it was heard by a federal appeals court.

Persons: John Roberts, “, ” Roberts, Clarence Thomas, ”, ” Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, ” Sotomayor, Sotomayor, Martin Luther King, Jackson, “ ‘, Roberts, Elizabeth Prelogar, ” Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Republican Sen, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, ” Trump, Mike Pence, ” Pence, Chuck Schumer, Laura Coates, Steve Vladeck, ” Vladeck, ” Long, SSFA, Loretta C, Biggs, ” Biggs, SFFA, Cameron T, Norris, Harvard “, Prelogar, Lewis F, Powell Jr Organizations: CNN, Harvard, University of North, UNC, Supreme, GOP, Republican, America, Truth, New York Democrat, University of Texas School of Law, Asian, Fair, Court, Middle, Middle District of, University, US, University of California, Bakke Locations: University of North Carolina, Independence, United States, Lower, Middle District, Middle District of North Carolina

☆ Clarence Thomas isn't happy the Supreme Court went out of its way to shoot down a fringe right-wing elections theory
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Sonam Sheth | John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Supreme Court struck down a fringe right-wing elections theory in a 6-3 ruling. Two lawmakers in the state asked the Supreme Court to take up the case based on the independent state legislature theory. But the balance of power shifted on the North Carolina Supreme Court, which went back and allowed the map. Thomas wrote that with the original case now decided in the lawmakers' favor, the argument before the Supreme Court was "moot." In his dissent, Thomas wrote that the court's purpose is to "resolve not questions and issues but 'Cases' or 'Controversies.'"

Persons: Clarence Thomas, —, Clarence Thomas —, Moore, Harper —, Thomas, Thomas wasn't, Harper Organizations: Service, Republican, Voters, North, North Carolina Supreme Locations: North Carolina

☆ SCOTUS just killed a fringe conservative legal theory that could have upended national elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

State legislatures will continue to be checked by state courts. Then-President Donald Trump and his allies helped elevate the once-fringe election theory in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. In effect, it meant that state legislatures could nullify their own state's presidential election results, disenfranchising potentially millions of Americans in the process. Roberts said that the high court's decision does not mean that state supreme courts have "free rein" in ruling on election laws. "We hold only that state courts may not transgress the ordinary bounds of judicial review such that they arrogate to themselves the power vested in state legislatures to regulate federal elections," he concluded.

Persons: John Roberts, Roberts, —, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump, Michael Luttig, Luttig, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Thomas, Moore, Harper, Harper I Organizations: Service, Trump, Biden, North Carolina, North, North Carolina Constitution Locations: North Carolina

☆ Democratic lawmakers seek Supreme Court investigation into Clarence Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, left, talks to Chief Justice John Roberts during the formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. A group of 18 House Democrats wrote a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts Tuesday urging him to establish an independent investigative arm within the Supreme Court — and pressing for that office to probe Justice Clarence Thomas' relationship with a wealthy GOP donor. The Goldman letter recommends the establishment within the court of an "independent investigative body" that can provide transparency and accountability by probing "alleged ethical improprieties." After the Thomas story broke in April, Roberts declined Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin's request for him to appear before the panel to discuss Supreme Court ethics. Roberts is under no obligation to respond to the Goldman letter, much less create new institutions within the court.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Dan Goldman, Roberts, ProPublica, Thomas, Harlan Crow's, Samuel Alito, Paul Singer, Neil Gorsuch, Greenberg Traurig, Goldman, Alito, Mitch McConnell, Justice Thomas, Richard Durbin's Organizations: Democrats, Rep, NBC, GOP, Politico, Democratic, Republican Locations: Washington , DC, Alaska, Ky

The North Carolina controversy arose after the state Supreme Court struck down the state’s 2022 congressional map as an illegal partisan gerrymander, replacing it with court drawn maps that favored Democrats. Reggie Weaver, at podium, speaks outside the Legislative Building in Raleigh, North Carolina, Feb. 15, 2022, about a partisan gerrymandering ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court. Gary D. Robertson/APAfter the state high court ruled, North Carolina Republican lawmakers appealed the decision to the US Supreme Court, arguing that the state Supreme Court had exceeded its authority. After the last election, the North Carolina Supreme Court flipped its majority to Republican. With the US Supreme Court rejecting the lawmakers’ theory that state courts could not police federal election rules, lawyers for the legislature’s opponents celebrated Tuesday’s ruling.

Persons: Donald Trump, John Roberts, ” Roberts, Roberts, ”, “, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Barack Obama, ” Obama, Reggie Weaver, Gary D, Robertson, Tuesday’s, Neal Katyal, Today’s, court’s, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, ” Thomas, Gorsuch, Thomas, –, Jessica Ring Amunson, Sam Hirsch, Jenner, Hilary Harris Klein – Organizations: CNN, North Carolina, Independent, Chief, Federal, North Carolina Supreme, AP, North, North Carolina Republican, Supreme, North Carolina Supreme Court, Republican, US, Block, Southern Coalition for Social Justice Locations: North Carolina, Federal, Raleigh , North Carolina, “

☆ A federal judge once on the shortlist for the Supreme Court defended Clarence Thomas over the justice's relationship with billionaire Harlan Crow: 'Judges are just like every other human being'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Judge Amul Thapar in his new book defended Clarence Thomas' relationship with megadonor Harlan Crow. Thapar told CNN that judges "have a diverse group of friends, and those friends don't influence the way we do our job." "Judges are just like every other human being," Thapar told the network. And while speaking with CNN, Thapar also suggested that media reports about Thomas didn't always offer a clear picture of the longtime Supreme Court justice. "You can judge their works, and what they do, against what they've done in the past," Thapar told the network.

Persons: Amul Thapar, Clarence Thomas, megadonor Harlan Crow, Thapar, Thomas, —, Harlan Crow, Thomas didn't, Crow, Donald Trump —, ProPublica, Harlan, Kathy Crow Organizations: CNN, Crow, Service, United States, Appeals, Sixth Circuit, Judicial Conference Locations: United States

☆ Clarence Thomas: Appellate judge defends justice in new book, rejects 'pot shots' at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Ariane De Vogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A federal appeals court judge previously on short lists for the Supreme Court is taking the rare step to broadly and publicly reject allegations that Justice Clarence Thomas has been improperly influenced by lavish gifts provided by a conservative billionaire, dismissing “pot shots” at the Supreme Court in general. Thapar this past week released a new book about Thomas entitled “The People’s Justice,” in which he explores the justice’s favored judicial philosophy of originalism. “You can judge their works, and what they do, against what they’ve done in the past,” Thapar told CNN. Ethics and financial disclosuresThapar rejects suggestions that Thomas should have disclosed the hospitality provided by Crow on annual financial disclosure forms. They have called Justice Thomas ‘the cruelest justice,’ ‘stupid,’ and even an ‘Uncle Tom’ a traitor to his race,” Thapar writes.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Amul Thapar, Thapar, Thomas, originalism, Thomas ’, Thomas ’ originalism, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Harlan Crow’s, ” Thapar, Ginni, Crow, ” Virginia Canter, ” “, ” Canter, hadn’t, “, –, ”, Thomas’s, Thomas ‘, ’, Tom ’, Elizabeth Wydra, ” Wydra Organizations: CNN, Eastern, Eastern District of, ProPublica, Citizens, Crow, Administrative, Center Locations: Cincinnati, Eastern District, Eastern District of Kentucky, Washington

☆ Supreme Court rules in favor of Coinbase in arbitration dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The justices, in a 5-4 decision, overturned a lower court's ruling involving a user who sued after a scammer stole money from his account. The lower court had let a proposed class action lawsuit proceed while Coinbase pressed its appeal contending that the claims belong in arbitration. The suit accused the company of violating the Electronic Funds Transfer Act by not investigating or recrediting Bielski's account. In both cases, federal judges refused to force the claims into arbitration, as the company argued the user agreements required. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022 refused the company's requests to put further litigation on hold pending those appeals.

Persons: Coinbase, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, irretrievably, Clarence Thomas, Abraham Bielski, duping Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Conservative, Circuit Locations: California, dogecoin, San Francisco

☆ Biden to sign executive order expanding access to birth control
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

President Joe Biden signs an executive order in support of Joining Forces, the initiative to support military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors on June 9, 2023 at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. Biden's order also:Directs those departments to consider new ways to broaden access to affordable over-the-counter birth control medications, such as Plan B emergency contraception. Instructs the Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management to consider actions that would shore up birth control access for veterans and federal employees, among other provisions. The president's order does not suggest a timeline for shoring up that access and does not direct federal departments to consider new requirements to codify access to birth control. Approximately 65% of women ages 15 to 49 used birth control from 2017 to 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Persons: Joe Biden, Wade, Clarence Thomas, Xavier Becerra, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Roe Organizations: Forces, Fort Liberty, White House, White, Treasury, Labor Department, Department of Health, Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Affordable, FDA, Veterans Affairs, Management, Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Democratic, Northern District of Locations: Fort Liberty , North Carolina, U.S, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

The justices, in a 5-4 decision, overturned a lower court's ruling involving a user who sued after a scammer stole money from his account. The lower court had let a proposed class action lawsuit proceed while Coinbase pressed its appeal contending that the claims belong in arbitration. The justices dismissed a second case that Coinbase had asked it to review. It makes sense that lower court litigation should be paused while an appellate court decides whether a case belongs in court at all." In both cases, federal judges had refused to force the claims into arbitration, as the company argued the user agreements required.

Persons: Coinbase, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, irretrievably, Clarence Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, Katherine Minarik, Minarik, Abraham Bielski, duping, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Conservative, Liberal, Circuit, Thomson Locations: California, dogecoin, San Francisco, New York, Washington

☆ Opinion | Does Justice Alito Hear Himself?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Jesse Wegman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

And appearances count, perhaps nowhere more than at the Supreme Court, which is the final arbiter of many of the most fraught issues of American life. Justice Alito is hardly the first member of the current court to face charges of serious ethical lapses. Justice Thomas has mostly kept his mouth shut, though he did issue a brief statement after the ProPublica article about him. Justice Alito, by choosing to speak up at length and in a forum that he knew would be both friendly and prominent, muscled his opinion into public view. For instance, Justice Alito defended his decision not to report Mr. Singer’s freebie because it was “personal hospitality,” which he believed, like his colleague Justice Thomas, did not need to be reported.

Persons: Alito, Clarence Thomas, Ginni, ProPublica, Thomas’s, Harlan Crow, Thomas, Justice Alito, Singer’s, Justice Thomas, Singer, he’d Organizations: Supreme, Trump White House Locations: Alaska

NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Tuesday published a commentary in the Wall Street Journal defending himself from questions about his ethical conduct raised in a yet-to-be published article by news outlet ProPublica. Alito's comments come as the court has been embroiled in ethics controversies - in particular revelations about ties between conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and a Texas billionaire. Alito wrote that for the private flight to Alaska, which appears to have taken place in 2008, Singer "allowed me to occupy what would have otherwise been an unoccupied seat." Alito said the justices commonly interpreted financial disclosure requirements to mean that "accommodations and transportation for social events were not reportable gifts." Alito also said he had "no obligation" to recuse in any case connected to Singer, with whom he has spoken to a handful of times.

Persons: Samuel Alito, Alito, Paul Singer, ProPublica, Clarence Thomas, Singer, Singer's Elliott, Andrew Chung, Lincoln Organizations: YORK, Conservative U.S, Supreme, Street Journal, Judicial, Singer, Singer's Elliott Management, Thomson Locations: Alaska, Texas

☆ Justice Alito Defends Private Jet Travel to Luxury Fishing Trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In an extraordinary salvo in a favored forum, Justice Alito defended himself in a pre-emptive article in the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal before the news organization ProPublica posted its account of a luxury fishing trip in 2008. His response comes as the justices face mounting scrutiny over their ethical obligations to report gifts and to recuse themselves from cases involving their benefactors. The latest revelations are sure to intensify calls for the court to adopt more stringent ethics rules. Justice Clarence Thomas has been largely silent in the face of revelations of gifts from Harlan Crow, a wealthy Republican donor. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. turned down an invitation from Congress to testify about the court’s ethics practices and made vague statements about addressing them.

Persons: Samuel A, Alito Jr, Justice Alito, ProPublica, Clarence Thomas, Harlan Crow, John G, Roberts Jr

Against this backdrop, the court is again poised to decide cases with the potential to reshape key areas of law and impact life for millions of Americans. The court began its term in October and typically finishes by the end of June each year. The Supreme Court already has ruled in two major race-related cases. In the student admissions cases, the challengers - a group founded by anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum - accused the two schools of discriminating against white and Asian American applicants. The justices also are due to decide the legality of President Joe Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Clarence Thomas, Edward Blum, Joe Biden's, Lorie Smith's, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, Republican, Harvard, UNC, Colorado, U.S . Postal Service, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas , Iowa , Kansas , Missouri , Nebraska, South Carolina, Louisiana, U.S, Colorado, North Carolina, New York, Washington

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