We are 30 minutes away from the new releases from the Supreme Court. Here are some of “big ticket” cases to watch for: Fischer (limits on the use of obstruction charges in J6 case); Loper Bright Enterprises (continued viability of the Chevron doctrine); Moody (censorship on the Internet); Moore (scope of tax powers); Moyle (abortion and state rights); Murthy (censorship in social media); Trump (presidential immunity); and Rahimi (gun rights)...
...This term has so many such major cases that we ran out of days in my Supreme Court case in reviewing the full array...
...Five minute warning...
...Two boxes. It seems likely that they will add additional days for opinions but we will see...
...Hoping for Rahimi and Moore today but who knows . . . two minute warning. Buckle up...
...We have the first case. It is Moore!
...Another shattering of the narrative of a hopelessly ideologically divided court. 7-2 decision. This is the tax case that I thought we might get today. It addresses the scope of the taxation powers. supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf…
...Court rules that taxpayers who own shares in foreign corporations can be constitutionally required to pay a one-time tax on their share of the corporation’s earnings...
...In his dissent, Thomas notes that the Court avoided the "wealth tax" issue with a biting couple lines: "Even as the majority admits to reasoning from fiscal consequences, it apparently believes that a generous application of dicta will guard against unconstitutional taxes in the future. The majority’s analysis begins with a list of nonexistent taxes that the Court does not today bless, including a wealth tax."...
...Writing for the majority, Kavanaugh drops this footnote: "our analysis today does not address the distinct issues that would be raised by (i) an attempt by Congress to tax both the entity and the shareholders or partners on the entity’s undistributed income; (ii) taxes on holdings, wealth, or net worth; or (iii) taxes on appreciation."...
...Many of us have been watching for Moore due to the push by the Biden Administration and Sen. Warren to impose an unprecedented "wealth tax." I have been critical of that issue: jonathanturley.org/2021/03/22/war…
...Thomas is saying that the majority is still expanding the scope of tax authority beyond income realized by the taxpayer...
...We have the second opinion. It is CHIAVERINI ET AL. v. CITY OF NAPOLEON, OHIO, ET, a Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution case. supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf…
...This is a Justice Kagan decision that holds "the presence of probable cause for one charge in a criminal proceeding does not categorically defeat a Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim relating to another, baseless charge."...
...Once again, the critics of the Supreme Court will be disappointed with the diverse majority of Roberts, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, and Barrett joining Kagan in the 6-3 decision...
...We have the third decision. It is Diaz v. US and authored by Thomas. Justice Gorsuch joins Sotomayor and Kagan in dissent. supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf…
...The court holds that an expert testifying about how 'most people" have a particular mental state is not an opinion about the defendant and therefore does not violate federal evidentiary rules....
...fourth and final opinion of the day . It is a per curiam opinion in Gonzalez v. Trevino, supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf…
...This is a victory for free speech. The per curiam opinion rules for Gonzalez, who was arrested for mishandling a government petition in a raw political retaliation case. The Court adopts a lower standard for her to prove and sent the case back for further proceedings...
...For today...
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