The newest member of the #SCOTUS, #KetanjiBrownJackson, is the epitome of the #rhetorical Justice. Last week, as the Court prepared to finish its work for the year, Jackson issued a pair of dissents that signalled her despair over the Court’s trajectory, her refusal to sugarcoat its behavior, & her willingness to break with her [appeasing] #liberal colleagues, #Kagan & Sonia #Sotomayor.
#law #dissent #resist #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #FederalistSociety #Christian #NewApostolicReformation
A rhetorical Justice can call out the conservatives for the sake of educating the current public & planting a flag for history. Or she—& the 3 #liberals are all #women—can tailor her response to the specific case.
Elena #Kagan exemplifies this last, hybrid model. She is more than willing to let the majority have it when that is warranted; she also forges compromises w/individual #conservatives when it is possible to pick up their votes.
In a unanimous decision by Justice Elena #Kagan, #SCOTUS held that a lawsuit by the Mexican government was barred by #US #legislation that insulates #GunMakers from #liability. #Mexico, she wrote, had not plausibly argued that American #GunManufacturers had aided & abetted in unlawful #gun sales to Mexican #DrugTraffickers.
Supreme Court justices #Kagan and #Jackson went to Harvard (as undergraduates and law students). So did Roberts and Gorsuch (undergrads and law, as well). I think we can guess what the first two think of Harvard's excellent decision to refuse to get in line with Trump's demands. I wonder what the latter two think.
Maybe we'll find out.
#otd #startrek #deepspacenine #inquisition #sisko #dax #kiranerys #worf #odo #obrian #bashir #quark #sloan #section31 #weyoun #chandler #kagan #jemhaddar #romulans #ds930 #startrek58 @trekcore
Russian war in #Ukraine: #Trump Is Offering #Putin Another #Munich
#Hitler didn’t want a #peace deal, and neither does #Putin. By Robert #Kagan #TheAtlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/03/putin-hitler-munich-parallel/681973/
New leaks make clear that Justices #Jackson, #Kagan, and #Sotomayor wanted the #SCOTUS #CodeOfEthics to be enforceable. #Alito, #Gorsuch, #Roberts, and #Thomas did not.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/us/supreme-court-ethics-rules.html
The article is silent on #Kavanaugh and didn't identify the position of #Barrett.
Having an #oversight cmte made up of well-respected lower-court judges “seems like a good idea to me in terms of ensuring that we comply with our code of conduct going forward in the future; it seems like a good idea in terms of ensuring that people have confidence that we’re doing exactly that,” #Kagan said during a wide-ranging conversation at NYU #Law School w/professor Melissa Murray….
#SCOTUS adopted a code of conduct specific to the 9 justices last fall for the first time. But the policy was quickly panned because it does not include a way to examine alleged misconduct, review whether the justices have recused themselves when necessary, or clear or sanction justices who might violate the rules.
“I just think judges are not so afraid of us. I think there are plenty of judges around this country who could do a task like that in a very fair-minded & serious way” #Kagan said.
Kagan was expanding on her recent suggestion that Chief Justice #JohnRoberts appoint an outside panel of highly experienced judges to review allegations of wrongdoing or #recusal decisions by the justices, some of whom face questions over unreported gifts & conflicts of interest in key cases.
#Justice #Kagan: Lower court #judges could enforce #SCOTUS #ethics code
Interviewed at NYU #law school, Justice #ElenaKagan also discussed the emergency docket & the historic number of women on the high court.
Justice Elena Kagan on Mon brushed aside concerns about whether lower-court judges could effectively enforce the #SupremeCourt’s new ethics rules, saying those on the federal bench are more than capable of holding justices to account.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/09/supreme-court-kagan-melissa-murray/
Harris backs Biden's supreme court reforms
Kamala Harris has endorsed Joe Biden’s push for supreme court reforms
that include term limits for justices,
a binding code of conduct
and a constitutional amendment to remove immunity for crimes committed by a president while in office.
“President Biden and I strongly believe that the American people must have confidence in the supreme court,” she said in a statement.
Yet today, there is a clear crisis of confidence facing the supreme court as its fairness has been called into question after numerous ethics scandals and decision after decision overturning long-standing precedent.
Harris added:
These popular reforms will help to restore confidence in the court, strengthen our democracy and ensure no one is above the law."
#immunity #immunity #terms #limited #stricter #enforceable #rules #Kagan #Thomas #Alito
Biden calls for supreme court reforms including 18-year justice term limits
Joe Biden has called for a series of ⭐️reforms to the US supreme court,
⭐️including the introduction of term limits for justices
and a
⭐️constitutional amendment to remove immunity for crimes committed by a president while in office.
In an op-ed published on Monday morning, the president said justices should be🔸 limited to a maximum of 18 years’ service on the court
rather than the current lifetime appointment,
and also said 🔸ethics rules should be strengthened to regulate justices’ behavior.
The call for reform comes after the supreme court ruled in early July that former presidents have some degree of #immunity from prosecution,
a decision that served as a major victory for Donald Trump amid his legal travails.
“This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle:
⭐️No one is above the law.⭐️
Not the president of the United States.
Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States,” Biden wrote.
“I served as a US senator for 36 years, including as chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.
I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today.
“I have great respect for our institutions and separation of powers.
♦️What is happening now is not normal, ♦️and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions,
including those impacting personal freedoms.
We now stand in a breach.”
Biden called for a
⭐️“no one is above the law” amendment⭐️ to the constitution,
which would make clear that no president is entitled to #immunity from prosecution by virtue of having served in the White House.
Biden also said justices’ #terms should be #limited to 18 years,
under a system where a new justice would be appointed to the supreme court by the serving president every two years.
The president also called for #stricter, #enforceable #rules on conduct which would require justices to disclose gifts,
refrain from political activity,
and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial interest.
Last week Justice Elena #Kagan called for the court to strengthen the ethics code it introduced in 2023
by adding a way to enforce it.
That code was introduced after a spate of scandals involving rightwing justices on the court:
Clarence #Thomas was found to have accepted vacations and travel from a Republican mega-donor,
while Samuel #Alito flew on a private jet owned by an influential billionaire on the way to a fishing trip.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/29/biden-us-supreme-court-reforms?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Biden to announce plans to reform US supreme court – report
The US president also will seek constitutional amendment to limit immunity for presidents and various officeholders
Joe Biden will announce plans to reform the US supreme court on Monday, Politico reported,
citing two people familiar with the matter,
adding that the US president was likely to back #term #limits for justices and an enforceable #code #of #ethics.
Mr. Biden said earlier this week during an Oval Office address that he would call for reform of the court.
He is also expected to seek a #constitutional #amendment to limit #immunity for presidents and some other officeholders, in the aftermath of a July supreme court ruling that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution.
Biden will make the announcement in Texas on Monday and the specific proposals could change, the report added.
Justice Elena #Kagan on Thursday became the first member of the supreme court to call publicly for beefing up its new ethics code by adding a way to #enforce it.
“The thing that can be criticized is, you know, rules usually have enforcement mechanisms attached to them, and this one
– this set of rules
– does not,” Kagan said at an annual judicial conference held by the ninth circuit.
More than 150 judges, attorneys, court personnel and others attended.
The court had been considering adopting an ethics code for several years,
but the effort took on added urgency after it was reported last year that Justice Clarence #Thomas did not disclose luxury trips he accepted from a major Republican donor.
Public #confidence in the court has slipped sharply in recent years.
In June, a survey for the Associated Press-Norc Center for Public Affairs Research found that
four in 10 US adults have hardly any confidence in the justices
and 70% believe they are more likely to be guided by their own ideology rather than serving as neutral arbiters.
#Kagan on Thursday called criticism of the code of conduct “fair,” and went on to say that she thought the best enforcers of it for the #SupremeCourt would be lower-court judges, but not the justices themselves.
“I can’t think of other people who should enforce a code of conduct … against judges. And I think it would be quite bad … for us to do it to each other...”
She knows that 2/3 of #scotus can't be trusted.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/25/politics/kagan-supreme-court-ethics-sacramento-conference/index.html
Justice #Kagan became 1st member #SupremeCourt 2 call publicly for beefing up its new #ethicscode by adding a way 2 #enforce it. [What a novel idea!]
Kagan said she wouldn’t have signed onto new rules if she didn’t believe they were good. But having good rules is not enough,
“The thing that can be criticized is, you know, rules usually have enforcement mechanisms attached to them, and this one, this set of rules — does not.” https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-elena-kagan-ethics-code-0de5fc0fb31eaab57202cf96b4e9c3e7 #courts #ethics #corruption #MAGA #billionaires
Justice Kagan calls for a way to enforce Supreme Court ethics code
Justice Elena #Kagan said Thursday that she would support the creation of a committee of judges to examine potential violations of the Supreme Court’s new ethics code,
speaking out as President Biden and others are increasingly calling for reform at the high court.
In an interview before a crowd of judges and lawyers at a judicial conference,
Kagan suggested that Chief Justice John G. #Roberts Jr. could appoint an outside panel of highly respected, experienced judges
to review allegations of wrongdoing by the nine justices.
Last fall, in response to criticism from Democratic lawmakers and outside experts about perceived ethics violations, Roberts announced that the court for the first time had agreed to abide by an ethics code specific to the justices.
But the policy did not include a way to examine alleged misconduct,
or to clear or sanction justices who might violate the rules.
Since then, a new round of ethical questions, and the court’s rulings this term, have increased calls for change.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/25/supreme-court-kagan-ethics-code-reform/
Useless Headlines like this How #SupremeCourt broke its own most important rule - court’s self-important drive 2 announce an all-encompassing principle was underscored during #oral #argument in April #SCOTUS yrs ago ceased to be anything more than an arm of the #GOP #MAGA #billionaires w the exception of #Kagan #Sotomayor & #KetanjiBrownJackson who R the only thread 2 #democracy on court. America should be #voting in overwhelming numbers #2024Election but I fear otherwise https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/supreme-court-trump-immunity-decision-john-roberts-rcna159884
#SCOTUS says #ContentModeration is #speech
Writing for the majority, Justice #Kagan said #SocialMedia sites engage in expression of their own when they curate & #moderate posts, making that activity eligible for #FirstAmendment protection. That’s true even if they allow most posts & restrict only a few categories of content. And it’s true regardless of whether they take posts down manually or use #algorithms.
#law #tech #online #content #moderation
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/02/netchoice-scotus-content-moderation-speech/
US supreme court strikes down 40-year precedent, reducing power of federal agencies
The US supreme court has overturned one of its own most important precedents, the #Chevron #doctrine, that for the past 40 years has guided the work of federal government in critical areas of public life, from food and drug safety to environmental protection.
In a ruling that the Biden administration has warned could have a “convulsive” impact on the functioning of government,
the court’s hardline conservative majority delivered a major blow to the regulatory powers of federal agencies.
Voting as a block, the six rightwing justices who wield the supermajority threw out the supreme court’s own 1984 opinion in Chevron USA Inc v Natural Resources Defense Council, which has required the courts to defer to the knowledge of government experts in their reasonable interpretation of ambiguous laws.
Writing the opinion, chief justice John Roberts bluntly stated that the Chevron precedent “is overruled”.
He lambasted the legal theory laid out in the ruling, claiming it “gravely erred” and calling it was “misguided” and “unworkable” despite the fact that it has steered the functions of the federal government for four decades.
Roberts not only eradicated the Chevron doctrine, he turned it on its head.
Under his ruling, the relationship between courts and federal agencies is reversed:
in the modern era, the courts have shown deference to the expertise of agencies, but from now on the courts alone will decide.
“The constitution assigns to the federal judiciary the responsibility and power to adjudicate cases and controversies,” Roberts wrote.
“Agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do.”
In recent years, the Chevron doctrine has become a central target of rightwing groups that blame it for what they see as a proliferation of government regulations executed by unelected bureaucrats in the so-called “deep state”.
A key group behind the supreme court challenge, the 💥New Civil Liberties Alliance, 💥
was founded with seed money from the oil billionaire Charles #Koch.
In a raft of amicus briefs to the court, alliances of scientists, environmentalists and labor organizations warned that undoing Chevron would roll back a regulatory framework that for four decades has improved the health, safety and welfare of Americans.
It would also unravel efforts to protect the environment and fight the climate crisis.
Elena #Kagan issued a withering dissent, which was joined by her fellow liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
She accused her rightwing peers on the bench of throwing out a precedent that had stood for 40 years as “a cornerstone of administrative law”.
Chevron had been applied over that period in thousands of judicial decisions and become “part of the warp and woof of modern government”, said Kagan.
By casting out decades of settled law, the conservative supermajority had once again asserted their authority.m
👉“The majority disdains restraint, and grasps for power,” 👈Kagan added.
The ruling was widely denounced by liberal observers. Elizabeth #Warren, the US senator from Massachusetts, said it was a “power grab by the far right to benefit the wealthy and well-connected”.
Laurence #Tribe, professor of constitutional law at Harvard law school, said on social media:
🔥“The administrative state just died. The imperial judiciary” has “relegated Congress to a secondary role”.🔥
