“Ginni Thomas pressed 29 Ariz. lawmakers to help overturn Trump’s defeat, emails show”

June 11, 2022, 5:44 amUncategorizedJanuary 6Guy Charles

Emma Brown of the Washington Post has this article on Ginni Thomas. From the article: Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pressed 29 Republican state lawmakers in Arizona — 27 more than previously known —… Continue reading

President Zelensky Takes Questions for 1+ Hours From Journalists, CEOs

June 10, 2022, 12:41 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

This week, I was honored to be part once again of the annual CEO Summit run by Jeff Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management. The Summit brings together major corporate leaders, former high-ranking… Continue reading

Public Attitudes Toward Proposed Changes to the Supreme Court

June 10, 2022, 12:04 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

A new study on the Supreme Court, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has been getting a fair amount of attention for its findings on the relationship over time between public opinion on major issues before… Continue reading

The (unsteady) origins of the Plenary Presidential Elector Selection Power Doctrine

June 10, 2022, 10:41 amelectoral collegeDerek Muller

Rick P. has posted something that I’ve been puzzling over for a while, and I’m glad he did so: there’s a formal legal distinction between the “Legislature Thereof Clauses,” more popularly known as the “independent state legislature doctrine”… Continue reading

The Other Cause of January 6

June 10, 2022, 8:23 amUncategorizedJanuary 6, The Electoral CollegeGuy Charles

Cardozo Law Professor Kate Shaw in the Atlantic on the Electoral College. From the article: John Eastman. Rudy Giuliani. Donald Trump himself. These people all bear some responsibility for the events of January 6, 2021. But there is another… Continue reading

“U.S. Senate confirms Michigan’s Bagenstos to be Health and Human Services lawyer”

June 10, 2022, 7:44 amUncategorizedGuy Charles

Congrats Sam! Coverage of Sam’s latest accomplishment here.

Center for Political Accountability Issues Report on Corporations, Political Spending, and Democracy

June 10, 2022, 7:41 amUncategorizedCenter for Political Accountability; Corporations; Money & PoliticsGuy Charles

Bruce F. Freed and Karl J. Sandstrom have this post on the Center For Political Accountability’s report on corporations and democratic crisis. From the post: “Companies today face a moment of reckoning for their political spending. The crisis that confronts… Continue reading

“‘Trump Was at the Center’: Jan. 6 Hearing Lays Out Case in Vivid Detail”

June 10, 2022, 7:29 amUncategorizedJanuary 6Guy Charles

Luke Broadwater has this story for the NY Times. From the article: The House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol opened a landmark set of hearings on Thursday by showing video of aide… Continue reading

“Order To Redo Louisiana Maps Temporarily Halted By Circuit Court”

June 10, 2022, 7:23 amUncategorizedRedistricting; Louisiana, Voting Rights Act; Section 2Guy Charles

The Fifth Circuit has issued a temporary stay of the district court opinion in Robinson v. Ardoin. Here is a short story by Bloomberg reporter Meghashyam Mali. This development is not surprising. The question for me is whether the plaintiffs… Continue reading

Live-Tweeting the First January 6 Committee Hearing

June 9, 2022, 4:52 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

You can follow along here on Twitter: Starting here with my live-tweeting the @January6thCmte hearings. My first point: the most important audience for these hearings are the 10+ Republican Senators who are poised to enact reforms to make the next… Continue reading

Breaking and Analysis: Supreme Court, with 3 Noted Dissents, Won’t Interfere with Pennsylvania Race Requiring Counting of Undated but Timely Mail-In Ballots; Justice Alito Suggests Expeditious Review Before Next Elections

June 9, 2022, 12:35 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

You can find the Court’s order without opinion, and Justice Alito’s dissent for himself and for Justices Gorsuch and Thomas at this link. (Thanks to Steve Mazie for the pointer.) The case involves whether a part of the Civil Rights… Continue reading

“Dems meddle in Senate primary to advance hardline MAGA Republican”

June 9, 2022, 12:19 pmUncategorizedGuy Charles

Natalie Allison for Politico. From the article: “Colorado isn’t viewed as a prime Republican Senate pickup opportunity this fall — not yet at least.In the hopes of keeping it that way, Democrats are aggressively advancing the campaign of a… Continue reading

“Ten years later, California’s ‘top two’ primary isn’t always what it seems”

June 9, 2022, 12:10 pmUncategorizedCalifornia; Top-two primary; political partiesGuy Charles

John Myers has this piece in the LA Times. From the article: “The promises made by supporters of the top-two primary largely fell into one of three categories: increased participation by the state’s growing number of independent voters, a decrease… Continue reading

My Cheap Speech Book Included in NY Times Roundup of the Four Best Books to Read on Disinformation: “Misdirection, Fake News and Lies: The Best Books to Read on Disinformation”

June 9, 2022, 10:22 amcheap speechRick Hasen

Richard Stengel for the NY Times: The rise in disinformation aided by automatic bots, false personas and troll farms is leading some thinkers to conclude that the marketplace of ideas — the foundation of modern First Amendment law… Continue reading