Search
Items tagged with: ActivistCourt
The case will also force the justices to address 2 doctrines favored by the conservative legal movement, both of which appear to work against #Trump’s claims. The “major questions doctrine” says #Congress must use clear language to authorize executive actions that could transform the #economy. #SCOTUS relied on the doctrine to invalidate many of President #Biden’s key initiatives, including his student loan forgiveness program.
“Judges lack the institutional competence to determine when foreign affairs pose an unusual & extraordinary threat that requires an emergency response,” Sauer wrote in a court filing.
Sauer also pointed to a recent concurring opinion from Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh in another case that suggested the 2 doctrines play little to no role in the context of national security & foreign policy emergencies.
#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy
Experts say the case is a tossup that poses difficult legal & political considerations for the justices, made all the more tense by Trump’s efforts to personalize the dispute.
#Trump had mused about attending the court’s argument this week, & has spoken repeatedly of the case’s importance to him. On Sunday, he said he decided against going to court, but stressed that he considered the stakes to be monumental.
#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy
The case “is one of the most important in the history of the country,” #Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “If a president was not able to quickly & nimbly use the power of tariffs, we would be defenseless, leading perhaps even to the ruination of our nation.” 🙄
Observers of #SCOTUS said the justices would be keenly aware that Trump would perceive a legal defeat as a personal blow.
#law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy
#SCOTUS’ 6 conservative justices have so far been receptive to Trump’s claims of #PresidentialPower. Among other things, they have allowed the admin to withhold funds appropriated by #Congress, kick #transgender troops out of the #military & pursue aggressive #immigration-related policies—but all on a “temporary”, “emergency” basis.
The #tariffs case is the first time the justices have weighed the underlying legal merits of a key admin priority in Trump’s 2nd term.
Other such cases are on the horizon. Next month, #SCOTUS will consider #Trump’s efforts to seize control of #independent agencies. And in January, the justices will weigh his attempt to remove a member of the #FederalReserve Board. The admin has also asked them to consider the legality of the president’s executive order ending #BirthrightCitizenship.
#law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy
Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor & former top #DOJ lawyer under George W. Bush, said that because the legal issues were so closely contested in the #tariffs matter, some justices could
weigh broader implications across the set of presidential cases, concerned about either handing #Trump too much #power — or too many defeats.
#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy
…In a sign that the court recognizes the importance of the #tariffs case, the justices set a brisk schedule for the parties to submit written briefs & present oral arguments. They now seem likely to rule swiftly rather than wait until the end of the term next summer, as is their usual practice for the most consequential decisions.
#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #Trump #economy
The case has divided the conservative legal community.
The #Constitution gives #Congress the power to impose #taxes. But soon after taking office, #Trump declared that a 1977 #law gave him the power to impose #tariffs unilaterally during “emergencies”.
#SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy
#Trump used the statute to announce tariffs on goods imported into the US from China, Canada & Mexico, saying the levies were a punishment for failing to stop the flow of fentanyl. In April, he again relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [#IEEPA] when he announced #tariffs on imports from >100 trading partners, saying they were needed to address #trade deficits with the rest of the world.
#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy
The admin’s on-again, off-again taxes on imports have roiled small businesses, prompting lawsuits from state officials & 6 companies, including the wine importer V.O.S. Selections & the toy manufacturer Learning Resources, whose cases are before the court on Wednesday. Trump’s actions, they say, were unlawful, cut into their profits & forced them to lay off employees & raise prices.
#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy
The 1977 statute gives the president certain tools to “deal with any unusual & extraordinary threat” to “the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.” That includes the power to “regulate” imports.
The president’s lawyers say that language gives him broad authority to impose #tariffs when he believes an emergency exists.
#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy
But the #law does not mention the words “tariffs,” “taxes” or “duties.” If the word “regulate” meant “tax,” the small businesses told the court, the president “could tax everything from autos to zoos.”
From the start, the admin has insisted that the consequences for the country are too significant for the court to resist #Trump.
#SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy
They say that rolling back the #tariffs — & potentially refunding money already collected — could lead to economic ruin akin to the Great Depression, an interruption of #trade negotiations & diplomatic embarrassment. [so don’t break the law in the first place jackasses]
#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy
…But prominent legal figures opposed to the #tariffs, including retired federal judges and a founder of the conservative #FederalistSociety, said the case was not a close call. While past presidents have invoked the emergency statute to impose sanctions or to freeze a country’s assets, #Trump is the first in 50 years to rely on it to impose tariffs.
#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy
“Emergency powers are meant to be used in emergencies,” said Michael W. McConnell, a former federal appeals court judge nominated by President George W. Bush, who is leading the coalition of small businesses. “No Supreme Court would want to provoke a confrontation with a president of the United States unnecessarily, but on the other hand, the law is the law.”
#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy
Roberts & #Kavanaugh are the ones to watch
Along with the three liberal justices, #JohnRoberts & Brett Kavanaugh were part of a surprising decision two years ago that required #Alabama to redraw its congressional districts to benefit Black voters and led to the new map in #Louisiana as well.
The outcome likely will be different if either justice votes differently this time around.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
4 lawyers will present arguments to the court
But only one is defending the #Louisiana congressional map with 2 majority #Black districts.
That will be #CivilRights lawyer Janai Nelson, representing the Black voters who sued when the state initially produced a map with just one majority Black district.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
The other lawyers are the #Trump administration’s deputy solicitor general, Hashim Mooppan, #Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga & Edward Greim, the lawyer for the #white voters who sued over the map with 2 majority #Black districts.
Louisiana switched sides after the court ordered new arguments.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
Arguments underway in #SCOTUS #VotingRightsAct case
#JohnRoberts first called on Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to present her argument. Nelson is representing Press Robinson & other #Black #Louisiana voters.
Nelson argues her opponents “seek stagging reversal of precedent that would throw maps across the country into chaos.”
#law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
#ClarenceThomas has been questioning section 2 almost since he joined the court in 1991
The questioning begins with Thomas. His long-held view that drawing districts with #race in mind violates the #Constitution. Until now, that view has never commanded a majority of the court.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
“We’re talking about racially polarized voting that is above 84%, which is more than what this court found in Thornburg v. Gingles in 1986,” Nelson said.
A bit of political/legal jargon repeatedly came up early in Wednesday’s voting rights oral arguments.
“Packing & cracking” refers to a practice by the party in power, which tries to pack Black voters into condensed areas, then divide them.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
When it comes to redrawing districts in #Louisiana, the argument by plaintiffs is that #Republicans are seeking to condense the #Black vote then dilute it by dividing them among districts.
Justice Jackson brings up a 2023 case from #Alabama where #SCOTUS upheld the #VotingRightsAct.
Nelson’s argument seems to suggest, “We not revisit the determination that we made just 2 years ago,” Jackson said.
“That is absolutely correct,” Nelson responded.
#Kavanaugh, one of the key justices to watch in this case, questions whether there might be a point where the country no longer needs to take #race into account in drawing voting districts.
“The issue, as you know, is that this court’s cases, in a variety of contexts, has said that race-based remedies are permissible for a period of time … but that they should not be indefinite & should have an end point,” he said.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions plans at Harvard & the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private & public colleges, respectively.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
Now the justices will hear from J. Benjamin Aguiñaga, #Louisiana’s solicitor general. The state is no longer defending the disputed map.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
Nelson pushed back. It’s not #discrimination for states to keep race in mind as they draw voting districts to comply with the #VRA & ensure representation for minority votes, she argued.
Under questioning from Justice Elena #Kagan, Nelson describes as “catastrophic” the impact of Secton 2 of the #VotingRightsAct ceasing to prevent vote dissolution, including in legislative districts beyond #Congress.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
“We only have the diversity that we see across the South, for example, because of litigation that forced the creation of opportunity districts under the #VotingRightsAct,” Nelson said.
“It is an intervention that has been crucial to diversifying leadership & providing an ability of minority voters to have an equal opportunity to participate in the process, she adds.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
Then an important caveat: “But it also isn’t a permanent remedy. It corrects itself over time, & it’s only triggered when those extreme conditions exist.”
Benjamin Aguiñaga is now arguing for the state. He’s the state’s solicitor general and is considered a rising star in conservative legal circles. He’s defending the states position that could bring major changes to the #VotingRightsAct.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
“The #Constitution does not tolerate this system of of government-mandated racial balancing,” Aguiñaga said. “I respectfully but firmly resist the premise that this comes to the court on a finding of specific discrimination by the state.”
Questioning Aguiñaga about the role of race in #redistricting, #Sotomayor says it’s always a factor.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
Justice #Sotomayor is pressing #Louisiana’s lawyer about the state’s change in position from the first iteration of the case. The state previously told the court that lawmakers drew congressional boundaries primarily with #politics in mind, not #race. The map protected high-profile lawmakers, including Speaker #MikeJohnson, a Republican whose district is in the state.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
The justices set one hour for today’s argument. We’ve passed the one-hour mark and with four lawyers arguing it will likely extend much longer.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
Justice #Kagan is pointing out that Section 2 of the #VotingRightsAct is not aimed at preventing #racial #discrimination that comes as an effect of #redistricting, regardless of its intent by map drawers.
“Section 2 is not about intentional discrimination. Section 2 is about effects,” Kagan says.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
“Our duty of candor requires, requires us to give the court our honest answer to that question,” Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga, said. “The race-based redistricting that you’re now objecting to is redistricting designed to remedy a specific identified, proved violation of law.”
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
#Kavanaugh *again* comes back to the question of whether the country might come to a point where it no longer needs to take #race into account when drawing voting districts.
Aguiñaga, the Louisiana solicitor general, essentially argues that we’re there already [oh really?]:
“I think the warning bells have been sounding for decades, & I think that’s a long enough notice for anybody involved.”
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
In an animated discussion to close up Aguiñaga’s arguments, Justice #Jackson asked him to specify where in §2 another minority district was laid out as a potential solution.
As the #Louisiana solicitor general repeatedly referenced prior court interpretation of §2 as seeking to settle matters of “racial injustice,” Jackson interjected to note that such cases were “so tied up w/race because that’s the initial problem.”
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
“It is a separate question as to how we go about remedying that, & the extent to which we need to use #race as a remedy,” Justice #Jackson added. “That’s the question we’re here on today.”
Up next is attorney Edward Greim for Phillip Callais & other #white #Louisiana voters.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
Earlier, Justice #Kavanaugh gave #Louisiana’s lawyer an opportunity to push back on the #NAACP lawyer’s warning of “catastrophic” implications if the court strikes down §2 & the possibility that none of Louisiana’s 6 congressional districts would be majority-minority.
The state’s lawyer says, “I don’t know what our legislature would do,” but adds, “I don’t think the sky is going to fall.”
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
Edward D. Greim, a partner at the Kansas City firm Graves Garrett Greim, who is representing the #white voters from #Louisiana who challenged the map, urges the justices to act in time to allow new maps in the #2026election. [of course he does]
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
I think the biggest problem with this guy‘s argument is that he is continuously arguing that all #Black people vote #Democrat in #Louisiana and that’s just bullshit. He’s saying that because all Black people vote Democrat then you don’t need a separate test for racial redistricting & political redistricting they’re exactly the same is his argument, but sorry that’s just bullshit.
This is his Gingles / Robinson argument.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
