Tag: SCOTUS

Kavanaugh Is A Threat To Women’s Health

Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Kavanaugh, is a threat to women’s health. If he is successfully appointed, he would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. We know this because Trump admitted it is a litmus test for his Supreme Court nominees, and because  Kavanaugh has a long record of undermining women’s access to reproductive care.

Trump said that overturning Roe v. Wade would be a litmus test for his nominee.

“It is. It is.” – Trump, on whether overturning Roe v. Wade would be a litmus test for Supreme Court nominees, 2015

“I will be appointing pro-life judges.” – Trump, 2016

Continue reading “Kavanaugh Is A Threat To Women’s Health”

What about Trump’s Supreme Court Nomineee Brett Kavanaugh?

Why are people concerned with what’s happening with Pres. Trump’s pick to replace Justice Kennedy?  Here’s why:

Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Kavanaugh, is a threat to Americans’ health care and women’s rights. If confirmed, he will be an extremist on the Supreme Court bench, where he will be able to carry out a far-right agenda long after Trump leaves office.

This is the most consequential Supreme Court nomination in a generation and will affect monumental decisions made for the next half century. It could roll back women’s rights, and the right to affordable and accessible health care, for decades to come. Continue reading “What about Trump’s Supreme Court Nomineee Brett Kavanaugh?”

Neil Gorsuch’s first major opinion is a decision allowing bosses to steal wages from their workers

The following article by Ian Millhiser was posted on the ThinkProgress website May 21, 2018:

Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee is exactly who you think he is.

Credit: Eric Thayer/Getty Images

The Supreme Court held on Monday that employers can force their employees to sign away many of their rights to sue their employers. As a practical matter, Monday’s decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis will enable employers to engage in small-scale wage theft with impunity, so long as they spread the impact of this theft among many employees.

Neil Gorsuch, who occupies the seat that Senate Republicans held open for a year until Donald Trump could fill it, wrote the Court’s 5-4 decision. The Court split along party lines.

Epic Systems involves three consolidated cases, each involving employment contracts cutting off employees’ rights to sue their employer in a court of law. In at least one of these cases, the employees were required to sign away these rights as a condition of starting their job. In another, existing workers were told to sign away their rights if they wanted to keep working. Continue reading “Neil Gorsuch’s first major opinion is a decision allowing bosses to steal wages from their workers”

Supreme Court Appears Split on Union Case

The following article by Todd Ruger was posted on the Roll Call website February 26, 2018:

Case about dues could have a far-reaching impact on labor unions

Hilary O. Shelton, director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, appears outside the Supreme Court on Monday in support of unions as the Court hears arguments on a lawsuit filed by Illinois state worker Mark Janus. Janus says his rights are being violated by having to pay dues to a union he doesn’t support. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Justice Neil Gorsuch likely holds the key vote in a major labor case that drew dueling protests outside the Supreme Court building for Monday’s oral arguments, but he did nothing to tip his hand about his thinking.

Gorsuch did not ask a question during an hour of arguments, while the other eight justices appeared to be equally split along ideological lines. The case asks the justices to overturn a decades-old precedent and deal a financial blow to the unions that represent teachers and other public-sector employees. Continue reading “Supreme Court Appears Split on Union Case”

Senators Warn Union Case Risks Supreme Court’s Reputation

The following article by Todd Ruger was posted on the Roll Call website February 26, 2018:

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington. Credit:
Carlos Barria/Reuters

The Supreme Court appears set to overturn a decades-old precedent and deal a financial blow to Democratic-aligned unions that represent teachers and other public-sector employees in a major case with blatant political overtones.

Ahead of oral arguments Monday, two Democratic senators sent the justices this message: The Supreme Court’s reputation is at stake, and overturning the 1977 ruling will further erode the public’s confidence that the federal courts are neutral and above politics. Continue reading “Senators Warn Union Case Risks Supreme Court’s Reputation”

What’s At Stake In Supreme Court Gerrymander Decision

The following article by Steven Rosenfeld was posted on the National Memo website October 4, 2017:

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard one of the most politically consequential cases in years, to decide whether partisan gerrymandering, or having elected politicians choose which voters do and don’t cast ballots in specific U.S. House and state legislative elections, is constitutional.

If you want to know why the GOP has not only controlled the House but has supermajorities in states that should be politically purple, such as North Carolina and Georgia, the answer is extreme partisan gerrymandering. Continue reading “What’s At Stake In Supreme Court Gerrymander Decision”

Gorsuch’s speeches raise questions of independence, critics say

The following article by Robert Barnes was posted on the Washington Post website September 27, 2017:

President Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, Colorado appeals judge Neil Gorsuch, honored the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016. “All of his colleagues on the bench cherished his wisdom and his humor,” Gorsuch said. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

LEXINGTON, Ky. — No member of Congress was more essential to Neil M. Gorsuch’s ascent to the Supreme Court than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who blocked President Barack Obama’s nominee for the job and then spearheaded the confirmation process for Gorsuch.

Last week found McConnell (R-Ky.) and Gorsuch traveling the Bluegrass State together for a tour of the senator’s alma maters. “President Trump simply could not have made a better nominee,” McConnell said in introducing Gorsuch before a packed-house lecture at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. Continue reading “Gorsuch’s speeches raise questions of independence, critics say”

Schwarzenegger joins McCain, Kasich in calling for Supreme Court to end gerrymandering

The following article by Seema Mehta was posted on the Los Angeles Times website September 6, 2017:

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is among about three dozen prominent Republicans who filed friend-of-the-court briefs in a closely watched gerrymandering lawsuit that is scheduled to be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court next month.

Breaking ranks with GOP leadership, Schwarzenegger joined with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole and other present and former elected officials on Tuesday to argue that redistricting — the drawing of legislative and congressional district lines — in a way that favors any political party is unconstitutional. Continue reading “Schwarzenegger joins McCain, Kasich in calling for Supreme Court to end gerrymandering”