Category: Supreme Court

November 6, 2018

Trump’s Judges Imperil Our Rights for Decades

In less than two years as president, Donald Trump has already put two radical right-wing justices on the Supreme Court, cementing a conservative majority on the Court for decades. He has also placed 29 right-wing judges on the federal circuit courts of appeals with more in the works by the end of the year. These… Read more »

October 5, 2018

Five Reasons Why the GOP Is Rushing to Confirm Kavanaugh

After Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, Trump and the GOP leadership mounted a full-court press to ram through his confirmation before October 1, the first day of the Court’s new term. Why the rush? In part they want Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court before the November 6 midterm elections. If the… Read more »

September 29, 2018

Aggressive Kavanaugh Portrays Himself as Victim

Judge Brett Kavanaugh learned a lesson from his weak appearance on Fox News last week. Testifying at the September 27 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on sexual assault allegations leveled against him by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh became belligerent and aggressive. Displaying outrage at the process, he portrayed himself as the victim and painted a… Read more »

September 10, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh is a Threat to Racial Justice and Voting Rights

Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s record on racial issues and his answers to questions posed by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week raise red flags about how he would rule on voting rights if confirmed to the Supreme Court. During his confirmation hearing to become a Supreme Court justice, Kavanaugh bragged about hiring people of… Read more »

June 28, 2017

Gorsuch Leans Far Right in Muslim Ban Case

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the first major test of the scope of executive power to protect national security since Neil Gorsuch joined the Court as associate justice. Monday morning, the high court announced it will determine the legality of Donald Trump’s executive order establishing a Muslim travel ban when it reconvenes the… Read more »

April 27, 2017

Gorsuch Is Already Channeling Scalia on Life-or-Death Decisions

Just days after stealing Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court seat, Neil Gorsuch is channeling Antonin Scalia. On April 20, the newly minted associate justice cast his first ballot. Gorsuch provided the fifth vote that allowed Arkansas to execute a likely innocent man. Casting the Deciding Vote for Death For 24 years, Ledell Lee maintained his innocence,… Read more »

March 27, 2017

Neil Gorsuch and the Deconstruction of the Administrative State

When Donald Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus addressed the Conservative Political Action Committee in February, he identified two priorities of the administration: the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, and deregulation. It turns out that elevating Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and achieving deregulation are inextricably linked.

March 23, 2017

Gorsuch Would Use “Originalism” to Affirm Right-Wing Agenda

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch says he’s an “originalist.” The late Justice Antonin Scalia, whom Gorsuch called “a lion of the law,” also championed originalism. Justice Clarence Thomas now stands alone on the high court as a self-proclaimed originalist. Largely discredited by courts and legal scholars, originalism is ultimately a way to reach a right-wing… Read more »

February 16, 2017

Trump Challenges the Limits of Executive Power

When Donald Trump learned that a federal district court had refused to reinstate his Muslim ban last week, he tweeted in all caps, “SEE YOU IN COURT!” Aside from this strange reaction to a court decision, Trump’s angry outburst raises the question: Is the president allowed to have whatever he wants? To better understand the… Read more »