Category Archives: Supreme Court

“Mindlessly Literal Reading Loses Again; This Supreme Court decision is a dig at Bush v. Gore.”

June 29, 2015, 12:08 pmBush v. Gore reflections, Elections Clause, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Here’s my piece at Slate on today’s AZ redistricting ruling from the Supreme Court. It begins: The Supreme Court ended its term Monday with another major rejection of conservative attempts to use wooden, textualist arguments to upset sensible policies. The… Continue reading

Ned Foley on the AZ Redistricting Decision

June 29, 2015, 11:47 amElections Clause, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

At Moritz: “The majority contends that its counterintuitive reading of ‘the Legislature’ is necessary to advance the ‘animatingng principle’ of popular sovereignty.” With this sentence in his dissent (at page 14), Chief Justice Roberts gets to the heart of the… Continue reading

Tom Mann On the AZ Redistricting Decision

June 29, 2015, 11:42 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

At Brookings: The Court has upheld the right of those states to legislate electoral rules through a popular vote. Had the minority position prevailed, state laws governing many aspects of the electoral process would have been subject to constitutional… Continue reading

Is Justice Scalia Losing It?

June 29, 2015, 11:24 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Read Dahlia Lithwick. I don’t mean this facetiously.

“No Guarantee That Redistricting Verdict Will Help Democrats”

June 29, 2015, 11:07 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Nate Cohn for NYT’s The Upshot.

Breaking: #SCOTUS Upholds Independent AZ Redistricting Commission 5-4

June 29, 2015, 7:28 amElections Clause, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

You can read the 5-4 opinion here. I will have a piece posting soon at Slate on the larger meaning of the case, but here are some thoughts in the interim: 1. The key holding (aside from standing): AZ… Continue reading

Breaking: #SCOTUS Denies Cert in Kobach, Renzi Cases

June 29, 2015, 6:34 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

The order list is here. This is a very big deal. Kobach had the potential to shift more power away from the federal government in administering elections toward the states. The question was whether the states of AZ and… Continue reading

Justice Kennedy’s Brain

June 28, 2015, 12:51 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Jack Balkin deconstructs and reconstructs Justice Kennedy’s equal protection argument in Obergefell, doing a much better job than Justice Kennedy did. One can fully support a Supreme Court decision recognizing a constitutional right to same sex marriage while still seeing… Continue reading

Is Chief Justice Roberts Really Consistent? Think Citizens United and Shelby County

June 28, 2015, 11:34 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Jeffrey Rosen makes the case in the NYT Sunday Review, seeing a similar deference/minimalism in deferring to the political branches in the same sex marriage and Obamacare cases. But what about his utter lack of deference in the campaign finance… Continue reading

“One-Third Of Congressional Districts Could Be Affected By Supreme Court Ruling”

June 28, 2015, 11:28 amElections Clause, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

NPR reports.

“Supreme Court Decision On Arizona’s Congressional District Maps Coming Monday”

June 28, 2015, 11:27 amElections Clause, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I spoke with Mark Brodie of KJZZ about the case expected to come down Monday.

Arizona on the Mind: A Response to Rick Pildes

June 26, 2015, 12:49 pmredistricting, Supreme Courtredistricting, Supreme CourtBob Bauer, guest-blogger

My friend and NYU colleague Rick Pildes, anticipating the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Arizona redistricting case, argues strongly for the Court to let independent redistricting commissions flourish. The question presented – – whether “legislature” can be read to mean… Continue reading

Registration Now Open: All Star Line Up for UCI #SCOTUS Term in Review Event July 13

June 26, 2015, 9:50 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

[Bumped to the Top] Wow this will be great, especially given the high profile cases this term: 5th Annual Supreme Court Term in Review Monday, July 13, 2015, 12:00–1:30 P.M. UCI Student Center, Pacific Ballroom (Map) This… Continue reading