Category Archives: Supreme Court

“How the Supreme Court could make it legal to steal the next presidential election”

July 11, 2022, 6:32 amelection subversion risk, legislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Jessica Levinson in MSNBC on Moore v. Harper: “Our conservative Supreme Court stands ready to allow states to legally steal presidential elections by blessing a right-wing legal theory called independent state legislature doctrine. It is not an overstatement to… Continue reading

“How The Supreme Court Could Turbocharge Gerrymandering — Just In Time for 2024”

July 8, 2022, 9:18 amelection subversion risk, redistricting, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

538 on Moore v. Harper: The independent state legislature theory is fewer than 25 years old, and for most of its life, it’s been relegated to the fringes of academia. But it was widely promoted by former President Donald … Continue reading

“What a New Supreme Court Review May Mean for Albany’s Culture of Graft”

July 8, 2022, 8:39 ambribery, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

NYT: “[I]in key rulings in the past dozen years, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the law governing corruption, resulting in the overturning of the convictions of at least three prominent former New York lawmakers. And with the court’s announcement… Continue reading

“Next Time Trump Tries to Steal an Election, He Won’t Need a Mob”

July 8, 2022, 8:16 amelection subversion risk, redistricting, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Jamelle Bouie’s NYT column: Last week, the Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments in Moore v. Harper, a challenge to North Carolina’s new congressional map.The long and short of the case is that North Carolina Republicans proposed a… Continue reading

“The dangerous election theory the Supreme Court may be poised to endorse”

July 8, 2022, 4:13 amelection subversion risk, legislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Josh Douglas in CNN Opinion: The justices have agreed to hear Moore v. Harper, a case that hinges on a technical legal issue with immense implications, and that raises the question of whether there any limits to… Continue reading

Washington Post on Independent State Legislature Theory

July 5, 2022, 9:46 pmlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

WaPo editorial: “The decision to hear Moore v. Harper could lead to an erosion of voting rights and an increasing likelihood of election interference…. It could also create manifold opportunities for mischief of the sort then-President Donald Trump and… Continue reading

A Historical Challenge to the Independent State Legislature Theory

July 5, 2022, 9:13 pmlegislation and legislatures, Supreme Court, UncategorizedDan Tokaji

Sean Daly (MA, Political Science, NIU) shares these thoughts: In the 1930s the Court unanimously decided Smiley v. Holm, Secretary of State, 285 U.S. 355 (1932), Koenig et al. v. Flynn, Secretary of State, et al., 285 U.S. 375 (1932),… Continue reading

“Will Justice Barrett Switch Sides on Independent State Leg. (ISL) Theory?”

July 4, 2022, 12:04 pmlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Interesting post on Daily Kos, claiming: “[B]ack when ACB was trying to get the GOP nominee elected president [in 2000], she argued AGAINST the ISL theory. Had the ISL theory been applied in her case, her side would’ve lost, and… Continue reading

“Trust in Supreme Court falters after Roe decision”

July 4, 2022, 5:14 amSupreme CourtDan Tokaji

WaPo on Dobbs and the cert grant in Moore v. Harper: The abortion ruling came amid a string of high-profile decisions, including ones expanding gun rights and curtailing the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to curb carbon emissions. On Thursday,… Continue reading

“How the Founders Intended to Check the Supreme Court’s Power”

July 4, 2022, 4:47 amSupreme CourtDan Tokaji

A historical case for court packing and jurisdiction stripping, from Politico Magazine: Acting in concert, the president and Congress may shape both the size and purview of the court. They can declare individual legislative measures or entire topics beyond… Continue reading

“It’s Hard to Overstate the Danger of the Voting Case the Supreme Court Just Agreed to Hear”

June 30, 2022, 10:14 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate on today’s cert grant in Moore v. Harper.

Breaking and Analysis: Supreme Court Will Hear Moore v. Harper, the Independent State Legislature Theory Case from North Carolina; This Case Could Severely Curtail the Ability of State Courts to Protect Voting Rights and Stop Partisan Gerrymandering

June 30, 2022, 7:48 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

The Supreme Court today just agreed to hear Moore v. Harper, an “independent state legislature” theory case from North Carolina. This case has the potential to fundamentally rework the relationship between state legislatures and state courts in protecting voting rights… Continue reading

Analysis: Supreme Court in EPA Case, Like the OSHA Case Earlier This Term, Shows The Court is Not Really “Textualists” and Applies Statutory Canons Reflecting Its Values

June 30, 2022, 7:31 amstatutory interpretation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Dissenting today in West Virginia v. EPA, Justice Kagan writes: “Some years ago, I remarked that “[w]e’re all textualists now.” Harvard Law School, The Antonin Scalia Lecture Series: A Dialogue with Justice Elena Kagan on the Reading of Statutes… Continue reading

ELB Book Corner: George Thomas: “The Inescapability of Constitutional Judgment”

June 29, 2022, 6:56 amELB Book Corner, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I am pleased to welcome to ELB Book Corner George Thomas, author of The (Un)Written Constitution. Here is the final of three posts: In the first post I pointed out that unwritten understandings play a central role in… Continue reading