Updated version of the paper out in May in the Annual Review of Political Science. Abstract: The period of increased polarization in the United States among the political branches and citizenry affects the selection, work, perception, and relative power of state … Continue reading
Category Archives: Supreme Court
Princeton Program in Law and Public Affairs: The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the Politics of Disruption Rick Hasen, University of California, Irvine School of Law Facebook Twitter Date: Fri, 11/09/2018 – 12:00pm Location: Robertson Hall, Bowl 16 Audience: Princeton … Continue reading
Adam Liptak captures the peril for the Court: For President Trump and for Senate Republicans, confirming Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice was a hard-won political victory. But for the conservative legal movement, it is a signal … Continue reading
Politico: The Supreme Court is passing up, for now, the Trump administration’s request to block Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from having to give testimony in lawsuits challenging the addition of a question on citizenship to the 2020 U.S. census. Justice … Continue reading
Roll Call: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh denounced the “millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups” during his testimony Thursday about sexual assault allegations, but he didn’t mention the millions spent by groups backing him. The Judicial … Continue reading
George Thomas WaPo oped: As the FBI conducts its investigations into the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh, just about everyone has been distracted from questions about his legal philosophy. But let’s not forget, as Justice Neil M. … Continue reading
Adam Liptak for the NYT: The current docket may appear a little sleepy. But additional cases could change that. Before the new term ends next June, the court may hear cases on partisan gerrymandering, whether a federal employment discrimination law … Continue reading
Release: On September 27, the Native American Rights Fund(NARF), on behalf of its clients, a group of Native American voters in North Dakota, filed an emergency appeal to the United States Supreme Court. They are asking the court to stay a … Continue reading
Pema Levy for Mother Jones. … Continue reading
Adam in the NYT: His performance on Thursday, responding to accusations of sexual misconduct at a hearing of the same Senate committee, sent a different message. Judge Kavanaugh was angry and emotional, embracing the language of slashing partisanship. His demeanor … Continue reading
In my post about the Supreme Court’s denial of a stay in the Crossroads campaign disclosure case, I wrote that it “does not solve all of the current disclosure problems, but this is a victory for transparency.” I stand by … Continue reading
Gannett: Sen. Claire McCaskill said Wednesday she will vote against federal appellate judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Citing “dark money” in politics as the main reason for her opposition, McCaskill released a lengthy statement through her office Wednesday … Continue reading
With no noted dissents, the Supreme Court has turned down Crossroad GPS’s request for emergency relief from an order that will require disclosure of more of its donors who are contributing money to influence federal elections. As I wrote last … Continue reading
Ken Doyle for Bloomberg: The continued secrecy of donors to campaign spending groups may depend on whether and how quickly the Senate can confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Chief Justice John Roberts reinstated in a brief order issued over the weekend a … Continue reading
The stay looks to be an administrative one, pending further action of the Court. Witht 4 Justices strongly in favor of disclosure on the Court, I would guess that this results in an eventual denial of the stay, either by … Continue reading
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Democrats are renewing their lawsuit over election maps that have helped Republicans maintain big margins in the state Assembly. An expanded group of Democratic voters filed a new version of their long-running lawsuit on Friday, three months after … Continue reading
Paul Waldman for the Plum Line. … Continue reading
Brendan Fischer blogs. … Continue reading
Jonathan Macey and Leo Strine have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this Article we show that Citizens United v. FEC, arguably the most important First Amendment case of the new millennium, is predicated on a … Continue reading
Guy-Uriel Charles and Luis Fuentes-Rohwer have a new piece forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review, on partisan gerrymandering and justiciability: This paper examines the Court’s decision in Gil v. Whitford. It advances two claims. First, it provides a comprehensive account … Continue reading
The water cooler conversation around the DC Circuit these days must be fascinating. The Democratic Coalition says it's filing an ethics complaint against #SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh re: his answers about whether he received stolen docs: https://t.co/wLKZvu5vc5 These are typically … Continue reading
AP: The U.S. Supreme Court won’t intervene in a dispute over Michigan‘s ban on straight-party voting. The court turned down an appeal Friday, which means the ban will go into effect in the November election. Voters can’t use a single mark … Continue reading
Eliza Newlin Carney for TAP. … Continue reading
Think Progress: Kavanaugh, for his part, tried to downplay the significance of Shelby County. “There is still, of course, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,” the nominee explained. That provision “allows litigation brought by plaintiffs to challenge voter restrictions that … Continue reading
Stephen Weissman for Slate. … Continue reading
You can find the leaked document here (via the NYT). He also correctly predicted that the case would come down the votes of CJ Rehnquist and Justice O’Connor (both in the end switched sides from their earrlier positions on this … Continue reading
In an earlier post, and in pieces in Politico and Slate, I explained how Judge Kavanaugh’s opinion for a three-judge court in Bluman v. FEC opens a huge gaping hole in campaign finance law allowing for foreign governments, entities, and individuals … Continue reading
Justin here, with my own take on Kavanaugh and the election process, also cross-posted over at the Take Care blog: In the 2016 elections, we were hacked. I don’t mean the breach of the DNC systems, serious as that was. … Continue reading
I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: By the time President Donald Trump runs for reelection in 2020, he might be able to accept unlimited campaign contributions to support his bid, thanks to his nomination of Judge Brett … Continue reading
Adam Liptak curtain-raiser for the NYT. … Continue reading
Daniel I. Weiner and Joanna Zdanys blog. … Continue reading
Got to give a lot of credit to these groups for making this conclusion, given the national stakes of fixing the partisan gerrymander in North Carolina’s congressional districts: The Court asked the parties to “file briefs addressing whether [it] should … Continue reading
WaPo: North Carolina Republicans plan to ask the Supreme Court to “step in” and preserve the state’s congressional map ahead of November’s midterm election, after a lower court ruled that the current map was unconstitutional. “What the court suggests is … Continue reading
The Charlotte Observer reports. More from WaPo. My earlier coverage, including what’s likely to happen at the Supreme Court, is here. … Continue reading
In a case with potentially national implications both short term and long, a three judge district court in North Carolina has held that the congressional redistricting plan—put in place after North Carolina’s districts last time were found to be a … Continue reading
AP: Civil rights advocates are objecting to a proposal to close about 75 percent of polling locations in a predominantly black south Georgia county. The Randolph County elections board is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss a proposal that would … Continue reading
From an emailed press release: This week, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order requiring the City of Austin to respond to the request filed in July by Don Zimmerman, former District 6 Councilmember, seeking High Court … Continue reading
Richard Raile for Fed Soc writes. … Continue reading
Looking forward to talking about the Kavanaugh nomination down in San Diego. RVSP link. … Continue reading
Here‘s Bob Egelko’s review “Originalism on Trial,” in the LA Review of Books, reviewing my book, The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the Politics of Disruption. … Continue reading
Manu Raju and Joan Biskupic report for CNN. A few of my earlier Slate pieces: The Only Thing That Might Stop Trump From Replacing Kennedy With a Scalia Clone How Justice Kennedy’s Successor Will Wreak Havoc on Voting Rights and … Continue reading
Listen here. (Link to buy the book, The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the Politics of Disruption.) … Continue reading
Guy Charles and Luis Fuentes-Rohwer for the HLR Blog. … Continue reading
Daniel Weiner blogs. … Continue reading
Peter Overby reports for NPR. … Continue reading
WaPo: Liberal activists, who were dramatically outspent in their last fight to fend off President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, are embracing a tactic that has been a mainstay of the conservative political playbook: tapping a war chest financed by unidentified … Continue reading
Michael Morley at The Conversation. … Continue reading
Adam Liptak for the NYT: Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has a favorite sentence. It explains why he is likely to reaffirm and build on the Citizens United decision if he is confirmed to the Supreme Court. The sentence appeared in a 1976 … Continue reading
I sat down with Dahlia Lithwick for Slate’s Amicus Podcast. Listen: In the first of a series of deep dives into great legal reads this summer, Dahlia Lithwick talks with Rick Hasen, author of The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the … Continue reading
Every Voice: A Russian company indicted earlier this year as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into foreign interference in our elections is using a decision written by none other than Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to … Continue reading