Share this page!

Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
Twitter logo
22 Feb, 8 tweets, 4 min read
A lot of big stuff in today's SCOTUS orders. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…

For starters, SCOTUS finally denies Trump's request to block Cy Vance's subpoena (without comment or dissent). Vance will finally get his hands on more Trump financial records.
SCOTUS dismisses the Pennsylvania election cases as moot, over the dissents of Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch. These cases challenged the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's three-day extension of the mail ballot deadline. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…
Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch endorse the radical proposition that SCOTUS has authority to overturn the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's interpretation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Thomas claims mail voting is inherently suspect, unreliable, and rife with fraud.
Notable: Back in October, Kavanaugh joined Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch in attempting to block the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's extension of the mail ballot deadline. He appears to have pulled back from the brink, because he didn't join today's dissents. Neither did Barrett.
This move provides more evidence in support of @imillhiser's theory that Barrett has not (yet) joined the nihilist wing of the Supreme Court. She declined to reach out and grab ultra-contentious election cases, unlike Thomas, Gorsuch, and Alito. vox.com/2021/2/6/22269…
The many GOP-controlled state legislatures that are currently racing to pass new voter suppression laws will likely cite Thomas' opinion today to justify their new draconian limits on mail voting.
SCOTUS agreed to hear challenges to Trump's Title X rule (which blocked federal funds for clinics that make abortion referrals) and public charge rule (which imposes a wealth test on immigrants), but the Biden administration will likely moot these cases by repealing the rules.
In the good news department, SCOTUS nudged the Fifth Circuit to reconsider whether a Texas prison guard really deserved qualified immunity after spraying an incarcerated person in the face with a chemical agent for no reason. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Mark Joseph Stern

Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @mjs_DC

Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
23 Feb
Carrie Severino, president of a dark money group funded by a handful of anonymous billionaires, opposes Vanita Gupta's nomination because she is allegedly "deeply entrenched in the world of ... dark money." foxnews.com/opinion/biden-… Image
Carrie Severino leads one of the most infamous dark money groups in the country! The Judicial Crisis Network is a textbook example of a dark money group! It strenuously and unapologetically conceals the identities of its benefactors, including multi-million dollar donors! ImageImageImageImage
How does the president of a lavishly funded dark money group propped up by anonymous billionaires make this argument with a straight face! ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
19 Feb
.@SenSherrodBrown, new chair of the subcommittee that oversees Social Security, calls on Biden to fire Andrew Saul and David Black, whom Trump installed at the Social Security Administration to destroy the agency and hobble its union.

Background here: slate.com/news-and-polit…
In light of the Supreme Court's decision in Seila Law v. CFPB, there is no real doubt that Biden can fire Saul and Black. It's unclear why he is waiting since both officials continue to implement awful Trump policies that undermine Social Security, especially disability benefits.
Meanwhile, Mark Calabria—the Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency—continues to dismantle the government’s conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, subverting the mission of the agency he leads. Biden hasn't fired him either. slate.com/news-and-polit…
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
12 Feb
Late last night, BARRETT joined Kagan, Breyer, and Sotomayor in blocking Willie Smith’s execution on religious freedom grounds, holding that the state may not deny Smith’s request to bring his pastor into the execution chamber. supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
There is, however, a mystery here. Barrett, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Breyer voted to block the execution. Thomas voted to allow the execution. So did Kavanaugh and Roberts (dissent below). Who cast the fifth core to block it? We literally do not know. supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
Although I'm confident that anyone acting in good faith understand this, my intent was to point out that justices are not required to note their votes in "shadow docket" decisions like this one, not to launch a conspiracy that Banquo's ghost cast the fifth vote.
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
6 Feb
Kagan's dissent last night may be the most scathing of her career. She accused her conservative colleagues of "armchair epidemiology" that may well exacerbate the pandemic and cost human lives. A justice does not level that charge lightly.
slate.com/news-and-polit… @Slate
Equally important:

•The conservatives ignored the heightened standard for emergency relief and issued a merits opinion late on Friday.

•They also radically altered free exercise doctrine, turbocharging exemptions on the basis of "religious liberty."
slate.com/news-and-polit…
Employment Division v. Smith is effectively dead. The five ultraconservative justices have established a new rule that if a law exempts ANY secular business or activity, it MUST exempt churches and religious exercise. This has huge ramifications for claims of "religious liberty."
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
6 Feb
Kagan:

"I fervently hope that the Court’s intervention will not worsen the Nation’s COVID crisis. But if this decision causes suffering, we will not pay. Our marble halls are now closed to the public, and our life tenure forever insulates us from responsibility for our errors."
Kagan, joined by Sotomayor and Breyer, dissented from the Supreme Court's order tonight lifting COVID restrictions on California churches. It is an extraordinary opinion.

"The Court injects uncertainty into an area where uncertainty has human costs."

supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
Gorsuch comes out with another "I know more about COVID than public health officials" opinion, this time castigating California for letting "Hollywood" hold singing competitions while banning indoor church services. Also, COVID restrictions are a tyrannical partisan fraud.
Read 13 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
5 Feb
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) appointed Kevin Clarkson (R) as state attorney general. Clarkson resigned due to a sexual misconduct scandal. Dunleavy appointed Ed Sniffen (R) to replace him.

Now Sniffen has resigned due to ... a sexual misconduct scandal. nytimes.com/2021/02/04/us/…
AG Clarkson (R) resigned after sending 558 text messages to a female state employee over 27 days. Many were romantic and sexual. Clarkson is married.

AG Sniffen (R) resigned because he had sex with a 17-year-old student on the mock trial team he coached. nytimes.com/2021/02/04/us/…
Let's review:

•18 Republican state attorneys general asked SCOTUS to overturn the election.
•A Republican state AG group helped organize Trump's Jan. 6 rally.
•Two consecutive Alaska AGs, both Republicans, have resigned within less than six months for sexual misconduct.
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @mjs_DC has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @mjs_DC!

Read all threads by @mjs_DC