At this point, though, I think things get serious with a Garland nomination only when it is clear Trump will lose and Republicans will lose control of the Senate.
Zephyr Teachout NYT oped:
In its Citizens United ruling, the court gutted campaign finance laws. It acknowledged that American politics faced the threat of gift-givers and donors trying to corrupt the system, but it held that campaign finance laws… Continue reading
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision by Wisconsin’s high court to shut down an investigation of Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and conservative groups backing him.
Chisholm and… Continue reading
Marcia Coyle for NLJ:
Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. on Wednesday singled out an amicus brief, filed by Democratic and Republican former White House counsel, in support of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell. “I think it’s extraordinary that those people… Continue reading
The Supreme Court has posted the transcript of today’s oral argument in the Gov. McDonnell case. Bob Barnes (who is all over this story) says the Justices were “highly skeptical” of McDonnell’s conviction. I agree that a reversal seems likely. … Continue reading
Brendan Fischer:
It is a common refrain that cases like Citizens United allow for “legalized bribery.”
But few argue that the U.S. Supreme Court has literally legalized pay–to-play politics; such descriptions are usually shorthand for the systemic ways that big… Continue reading
Daniel Weiner for HuffPo:
The truth is that McDonnell’s case is not an easy one even for many committed advocates of political reform. One can wholeheartedly reject the suggestion that his actions were nothing more than “ordinary politics” entitled to… Continue reading
Today Judges Randolph and Henderson, with Garland not participating, held that a trial court erred in refusing to certify for en banc DC Circuit review a challenge to federal election law’s limits on how much an individual may contribute “per… Continue reading
Bob Barnes for WaPo:
Along with the state officials and law professors who are happy that the Supreme Court this week is reviewing the corruption conviction of former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell, add inmate No. 24775-001 at the federal… Continue reading