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4 May, 5 tweets, 2 min read
Today's oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Terry v. U.S. involve a complicated (and extremely important) question about the scope of the First Step Act's sentence reductions. I think this amicus brief by @MyConstitution does a great job explaining it: supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/2…
Today's case also illustrates the Trump administration's Janus-faced approach to criminal justice: Trump signed the First Step Act, but his Department of Justice relentlessly sought to sabotage it. In this case, Trump's DOJ fought tooth and nail against a sentence reduction ...
But thankfully, Joe Biden's Department of Justice switched positions, favoring a sentence reduction in this case (and a more generous interpretation of the First Step Act). Acting SG Elizabeth Prelogar's brief is characteristically excellent: supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/2…
You can listen to arguments in Terry starting now. Pure speculation: I think Gorsuch and the three liberals will favor a more generous interpretation of the First Step Act. Not sure if there's a fifth vote for that position, though. c-span.org/video/?510029-…
Seems right to me. A major disappointment, and I hope Congress fixes it quickly.

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More from @mjs_DC

Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
3 May
I want to be clear that meat has been a “culture war” issue for a while. The meat industry relentlessly associates the consumption of animal flesh with masculinity and patriotism. But today more people are recognizing the catastrophic environmental consequences of meat ...
... and these folks tend to care about the climate crisis, which means they’re disproportionately progressive, which means people like Hotline Josh pick up on meat’s culture war valence because it falls along traditional partisan lines and becomes woke-adjacent Fox News fodder.
I have been a vegetarian for 18 years. I do not ever preach the virtues of vegetarianism and don’t even like talking about it. Yet people consistently take my refusal to eat meat as a personal and political affront, and often code it in terms of gender and sexuality.
Read 8 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
3 May
The Supreme Court once again takes no action on Dobbs, the challenge to Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. Orders here: supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…
Fallout from the Supreme Court's recent decision in Jones v. Mississippi restoring juvenile life without parole: SCOTUS reverses a 9th Circuit decision that had ordered resentencing for Riley Briones, who was condemned to life without parole as a child. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…
Clarence Thomas urges the Supreme Court to overturn the Feres doctrine, which bars members of the military from suing for injuries incident to military service. RBG signaled that she might agree with his position in 2019 (and I think he's right). supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…
Read 7 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
29 Apr
The Supreme Court has issued its first and only opinion of the day in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, ruling against the government, with this literally unprecedented lineup. supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
Here is Gorsuch's opinion paragraph, which is truly classic Gorsuch. (The answer to the question at the end is no.) supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
The upshot of today's decision is that the government screwed up its notice of removal to Mr. Niz-Chavez, who entered the country without authorization, so he can now seek cancellation of his deportation. Kavanaugh, Roberts, and Alito dissent. supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
Read 8 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
26 Apr
BREAKING: Supreme Court takes a Second Amendment case challenging New York's restrictions on concealed public carry. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…
This case is likely to pave the way to the Supreme Court declaring a constitutional right to concealed public carry, overriding many state and local restrictions on the ability to bear concealed arms in public.
The Supreme Court sends a signal that it may let states intervene to defend Trump's "public charge" rule—which seeks to limit immigrants' access to public benefits—potentially throwing a wrench in the Biden administration's attempt to kill it through a court settlement.
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Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
23 Apr
New Supreme Court class photo. RBG is out, Amy Coney Barrett is in. Justice Sotomayor is seated for the first time.
Note: The Supreme Court only takes a new class photo when a new justice joins OR every ten years, whichever comes first. This one was delayed because of COVID.
Also, this picture isn't the official portrait! The Supreme Court will reveal that at a later time. Great, fun background on this tradition from @adamliptak: nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
22 Apr
Oops: When the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about juvenile life without parole in 2019, I wrote that there was a real chance Brett Kavanaugh might uphold Kennedy's legacy and preserve strict limits on JLWOP. I really, really wrong! slate.com/news-and-polit…
Sorry about that. I will say that in the intervening two years I have realized that Kavanaugh LOVES to assume a pose of moderation, reasonableness, compromise, and respect for precedent, then write opinions that abandon those principles while pretending to adhere to them.
My early optimism about Kavanaugh (here's another example) was fed by a belief that his words and tone at oral arguments would reflect the substance of his rulings. But I was very wrong. Kavanaugh performs moderation then implements Federalist Society law.
slate.com/news-and-polit…
Read 5 tweets

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