Tag: SCOTUS

Justice Neil Gorsuch says no-one can sue to stop the government from establishing religion

Theocrat Gorsuch says no American can challenge a Christian religious display on government property.

One inherent danger of allowing a religious minority to install a puppet controlled by religious fanatics in the White House is the now unfolding threat of government officially establishing religion – the Christian religion. Any American’s confidence that the U.S. Constitution is a protection against government establishing religion is grossly misplaced and, that belief is about to be disabused by the current religious conservatives responsible for adjudicating the law of the land.

Because a nearly half-century-old Supreme Court ruling prevented the government from advancing religion, the wall of separation between church and state is almost certainly going to be eviscerated by the Christian conservatives on the current Supreme Court. The crusade to demolish the wall of separation is being advanced by one of the Heritage Foundation SCOTUS nominees confirmed shortly after Trump corrupted every aspect of  the government his tiny little hands touched. However, it is noteworthy that Neil Gorsuch’s theocratic crusade is wholly supported by Trump’s other SCOTUS appointee, religious serial liar and sexual abuser Brett Kavanaugh.

View the complete March 28 article by Something Rmuse from the Daily Kos on the AlterNet website here.

The Supreme Court looks likely to break the wall of separation between church and state

Credit: Getty Images

They don’t seem to have any idea what to replace it with, though.

It is likely, but not entirely certain, that there are five votes on the Supreme Court to overrule Lemon v. Kurtzman, a nearly half-century-old precedent preventing the government from advancing religion. It is also all but certain that the court will uphold the so-called “Peace Cross,” a 40-foot tall, cross-shaped monument in Maryland. One or two of the liberal justices may even join an opinion favoring the cross, which was erected to honor fallen soldiers from the First World War.

Yet, while several members of the court seemed eager to blow up much of the law preventing the government from advancing a particular faith in two consolidated cases argued on Wednesday — American Legion v. American Humanist Association and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission v. American Humanist Association — it is far from clear what will emerge to replace the toppled precedents.

True to form, Neil Gorsuch staked out the most radical possible position, at one point suggesting that plaintiffs who challenge government endorsements of religion shouldn’t be allowed to sue in the first place. As a general rule, a plaintiff must show that they were somehow injured by the party they are suing in order to file a lawsuit, a requirement known as “standing.” Yet Gorsuch suggested that no plaintiff may have standing to challenge a religious display on government property because their only injury is that they take “offense” to the display — and “mere offense” isn’t enough.

View the complete February 27 article by Ian Millhiser on the ThinkProgress website here.

Ginsburg back at Supreme Court

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was back at the court on Friday for the justices’ private conference.

The Supreme Court’s Public Information Office told The Hill that Ginsburg was attending the regular closed-door meeting in which the justices consider requests to review cases. Ginsburg has been absent from the court since undergoing surgery in late December to remove two cancerous nodules from her lower left lung.

The 85-year-old justice missed oral arguments last month while recovering at home from the surgery. Her absence marked the first time in more than 25 years on the bench she was forced to miss arguments due to her health.

View the complete February 15 article by Lydia Wheeler on The Hill website here.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to quickly take up census citizenship question

The Justice Department’s request to add a citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. Census was granted. Here’s how that could affect voting districts. (Joyce Koh, Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to bypass its normal procedures and decide quickly whether a question on citizenship can be placed on the 2020 Census.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman of New York ordered the administration to stop its plans to add the question to the survey. Furman said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross broke a “veritable smorgasbord” of federal rules by ordering the citizenship question added against the advice of career officials who said it was likely to cut down the response rate and make the census less accurate.

Normally, the Justice Department would appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. But Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco said that would not leave enough time for a final ruling from the Supreme Court.

View the complete January 22 article by Robert Barnes on The Washington Post website here.

DNC on Supreme Court Allowing Transgender Troop Ban to Take Effect

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would allow the Trump administration to move forward with its ban on most transgender troops serving in the U.S. armed forces:

“Prejudice is not patriotism. Discrimination is not a national security strategy. This ban is nothing more than bigotry codified into law and an insult to all who have worn our nation’s uniform. Not only does it go against our values as Americans, it also makes us less safe.

“Democrats believe diversity is our nation’s strength. We believe everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter who you love or how you identify. The brave service members who defend our freedoms should be able live freely. And we will keep fighting for the transgender community and all those who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our country.”

DNC on Supreme Court Not Taking Up DACA

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the Trump administration’s attempt to end DACA in its current term:

“The Supreme Court made the right call today. Trump’s cruelty toward immigrants knows no bounds, but that doesn’t mean his administration can sidestep the rule of law. Trump’s attack on the DACA program goes against the will of almost 90% of Americans who want DACA recipients to stay in the U.S. These are our neighbors and friends, our classmates and co-workers. They are American in every way but on paper, and they deserve the chance to stay in the country they call home. It is long past time for Trump to stop using them as bargaining chips and work with Democrats to fix our broken immigration system.”

Supreme Court rules against mystery corporation from ‘Country A’ fighting subpoena in Mueller investigation

Credit:  Carlos Barria, Reuters

The Supreme Court on Tuesday left in place a lower-court order requiring an unnamed foreign-owned corporation to comply with a subpoena said to be part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The court dissolved a temporary stay that had been put in place by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. In a short order, it did not give a reason for the decision or note any dissents.

The entity that is the subject of the cloaked legal battle — known in court papers simply as a “Corporation” from “Country A” — is a foreign financial institution that was issued a subpoena by a grand jury hearing evidence in the special counsel investigation, according to two people familiar with the case.

View the complete January 8 article by Robert Barnes, Devlin Barrett and Carol D. Leonnig on The Washington Post website here.

Doug Wardlow’s Record of Discrimination Pushed by Trump to Supreme Court

Trump Administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a case Doug Wardlow originally argued, to allow LGBTQ people to be fired for who they are

Throughout his life, Wardlow has fought to discriminate against Minnesotans based on who they are

MINNESOTA – Today, Congressman Keith Ellison, candidate for Minnesota Attorney General, and LGBT elected officials denounced Republican candidate Doug Wardlow’s record of discrimination which is headed for the United States Supreme Court.

“Minnesotans believe that everyone should be treated fairly, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation,” said Ellison. “Doug Wardlow’s career of discrimination has now caught the attention of President Trump, and threatens to allow LGBT people across the country to be fired simply for being who they are. Our state needs an Attorney General who will enforce the rights of all, not enact a political purge to push a discriminatory agenda.”

Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced that it would ask the United States Supreme Court to rule that businesses can discriminate against workers based on their gender identity. The case the Trump Administration is asking the Court to consider was originally argued by Doug Wardlow on behalf of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an anti-LGBTQ hate group, to uphold the discriminatory firing of a funeral home employee in Michigan. Continue reading “Doug Wardlow’s Record of Discrimination Pushed by Trump to Supreme Court”

Want to Know More About: Justice Brett Kavanaugh

Willie Geist: “If You Thought He Was Partisan In His Testimony Which A Lot Did When He Talked About A Clinton Conspiracy, That Wasn’t Helped By Yesterday’s Event Whatsoever. He Looked Even More Partisan.” SCARBOROUGH: “Wasn’t it Brett Kavanaugh himself that was going down the list, thanking Republican senators, not mentioning anybody else, making it clear that his political allegiance were on one side of the aisle.” GEIST: “If you thought he was partisan in his testimony which a lot did when he talked about a Clinton conspiracy, that wasn’t helped by yesterday’s event whatsoever. He looked even more partisan” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 10/9/18; VIDEO]

Kristen Welker: “President Trump Was Anything But Unifying. He Further Stoked The Partisan Battle In His Remarks.” WELKER: “Brett Kavanaugh vowed to be a justice for all Americans after that fierce confirmation fight. But president trump was anything but unifying. He further stoked the partisan battle in his remarks. For the president, it was all aimed at energizing Republicans with four weeks until election day.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 10/9/18; VIDEO]

Joe Scarborough: “It Was A President Who Once Again Had An Opportunity […] Instead It Ended Up Being A Political Pep Rally.” SCARBOROUGH: “It was a president who once again had an opportunity, not to be the great uniter, not to be Abraham Lincoln after the civil war talking about with malice toward none, but to do a small thing or two, send an olive branch, but he had all the members of the Supreme Court there, including the liberal members of the supreme court, and instead it ended up being a political pep rally.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 10/9/18; VIDEO] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: Justice Brett Kavanaugh”

With Kavanaugh confirmation, GOP officially becomes the party of rape

Nearly two years after electing an admitted sexual predator, Republicans voted nearly unanimously to confirm an accused sexual predator to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh Credit: Saul Loeb, Pool

All but one Senate Republican voted Saturday to confirm credibly accused sexual predator Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, marking the GOP’s embrace of sexual assault and victim shaming.

The vote to install Kavanaugh comes nearly two years after the election of admitted sexual predator Donald Trump, who was accused of sexual assault by more than a dozen women and heard on tape bragging about it.

Since then, Republicans have gone all in on pedophilia, defended the alleged widespread cover-up of sexual assault by a member of their own party, and dropped any pretense of caring about the fact that their party is led by a man who not only admitted to sexually assaulting women, but actually touted it.

View the October 6 article by Caroline Orr on the ShareBlue.com website here.