As the stalemate nears the record for the longest #shutdown in US history — one set during Trump’s first term — he has continued to seem unbothered by the fallout, casting the log jam as one easily resolved.

“It’s their fault,” #Trump said of #Democrats [despite the fact that #Republicans control the #House, the #Senate, the presidency & #SCOTUS] as he traveled to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club & estate, on Friday. “Everything is their fault. It’s so easily solved.”

#POS #plutocracy #oligarchy

It is the #Pentagon’s latest step to drive #transgender troops out of the #ArmedFrces following an executive order from #Trump. He & #Defense Secy #PeteHegseth have targeted #diversity, #equity & #inclusion efforts in what they say is an effort to make the #military more lethal.

The admin’s policies have faced pushback in courts as #trans troops & supporters say they have proven their worth to the military, but #SCOTUS in May allowed the ban to be enforced while legal challenges proceed.

#law

Finally, a brief by three Cato Institute researchers refutes the extralegal doomsaying the admin uses, perhaps to compensate for the weakness of its legal arguments. But synthetic catastrophizing is unlikely to sway the justices.

https://www.cato.org/news-releases/cato-scholars-file-amicus-briefs-ahead-supreme-court-case-presidential-tariff-powers

#law #Constitution #SeparationOfPowers #SCOTUS #Trump #tariffs

A bipartisan group of legal scholars & fmr govt officials argues that #Congress never intended the #IEEPA as a “backdoor” for turning the taxing power into “an executive instrument” that allows presidents to restructure the #economy. In the IEEPA, Congress avoided standardless, open-ended delegation of power by using 7 different verbs, but not “tax” or its synonyms, in empowering the president to do things.

https://libertyjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Stamped-Motion-and-Brief.pdf

#law #Constitution #SeparationOfPowers #SCOTUS #Trump #tariffs

A brief from a broad spectrum of economists argues: Even if the #IEEPA permits imposing tariffs (it’s never been so used), #tariffs would not “deal with” (IEEPA lang) #trade deficits. Besides, over the past 50yrs, in any given year, most countries have run trade deficits, as the #US did for all but 3 yrs between 1800 & 1870, while it was industrializing. Furthermore, the effects of higher tariffs on trade balance are generally “small & insignificant.”
https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-1287/380468/20251024103703664_24-1287%2025-250%20ac%20Economists.pdf
#law #SCOTUS #Trump

The IEEPA was written to provide presidents with “a temporary boost in power” (Brennan), while preventing the use of seismic emergency powers, allegedly implied by Congress, to address chronic conditions. Otherwise, as a justice wrote in 1952, “emergency powers would tend to kindle emergencies.” Besides, as a percentage of GDP, the overall U.S. trade imbalance is significantly less than 20 years ago (Brennan).

#law #Constitution #SeparationOfPowers #SCOTUS #Trump #tariffs

Brennan, too, says, in effect, that if Congress can address a condition, it is not an emergency. Emergencies are sudden, acute, unforeseen, extraordinary, dangerous and require instant action. The president sabotages his case by saying today’s “emergency” is a “persistent” condition — 50 years of trade deficits. They have coincided with soaring U.S. prosperity.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-1287/380554/20251024143107582_IEEPA%20SCOTUS%20Brief%20-%20BCJ%20Final.pdf

#law #Constitution #SeparationOfPowers #SCOTUS #Trump #tariffs

(Neither does the National Emergencies Act of 1976, which also is invoked by his defenders.)

Goldwater cites numerous instances of judicial review of claims of emergencies. Judicial review of an executive’s assertion that an emergency exists is comparable to review of a legislature’s assertion that a particular piece of legislation is constitutional.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-1287/380571/20251024144426755_Goldwater%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf

#law #Constitution #SeparationOfPowers #SCOTUS #Trump #tariffs

#PresidentialPower & #SCOTUS’ own stature ride on this case

Decorum might dissolve during oral arguments on Wednesday in the Supreme Court. The justices might guffaw when #Trump admin lawyers say: The president’s #tariffs should be exempt from judicial review because they respond to an “emergency,” emergencies, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder, & presidents alone are our designated beholders.

#law #Constitution #SeparationOfPowers
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/10/31/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-congress-constitution/

In its order seeking additional briefing Wednesday, #SCOTUS asked “whether the term ‘regular forces’ refers to the regular forces of the United States military, &, if so, how that interpretation affects the operation” of the #law.

The justices set deadlines for the briefs that last through Nov 17, & the high court is unlikely to rule in the meantime.

That means #Trump’s deployment of #NationalGuard troops in #Illinois — already blocked for 20 days — will likely be blocked for at least 19 more.

Perry’s order was originally temporary & set to expire after 2 wks. However, #DOJ lawyers agreed last wk to let it stand until her final judgment, & pending #SCOTUS’ review.
Litigation over #NationalGuard deployment in #Illinois, #Oregon & #California has centered on federal #law that allows the president to call into federal service members of any state’s Guard if there is an invasion or rebellion—or if the president is “unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.”

Trump’s deployment of #NationalGuard troops within #Illinois will likely remain on hold through mid-November after #SCOTUS sought more information from lawyers Wednesday.

The request ended 12 days of silence from the justices. The #Trump admin asked the high court on Oct 17 to undo an order from US District Judge April Perry that’s blocked the troop deployment since Oct 9.

#Chicago #law #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #Authoritarianism #fascism #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct

After 12 days of silence about the deployment of troops in #Illinois, #SCOTUS justices are now asking “whether the term ‘regular forces’ refers to the regular forces of the #UnitedStates #military, &, if so, how that interpretation affects the operation” of the #law.

#Trump #Chicago #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #AbuseOfPower #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #Dictatorship #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2025/10/29/as-supreme-court-requests-more-information-national-guard-deployment-remains-on-hold

No ruling imminent as #SupremeCourt asks for more briefs in #Trump #Illinois #NationalGuard deployment case

#SCOTUS on Wednesday asked for more briefing in the ongoing fight over Trump’s ability to deploy National Guard troops to Illinois, signaling that the court’s highly anticipated ruling is still weeks away.

#Chicago #law #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #fascism #Tyranny #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/29/no-ruling-supreme-court-national-guard/

#Constitution #USPol #Quote

"I'm intentionally limiting the amount of #personal information in my bio. To be clear, even though there have been changes to the #Constitution over time, some of which I don't agree with, the process established by the Constitution is still the proper way to go about governing as long as the same rules are equally applied and done without #bias or #prejudice. That said, once a governing body (like #SCOTUS of #Congress) has become #corrupt, it is up to citizens to effectuate necessary #change."

💬 We the People #Quotes from #Bio currently + hashtags I've added to some words
@PattyHanson

#SCOTUS will consider whether people who regularly smoke #marijuana can legally own #guns, the latest firearm case to come before the court since its 2022 decision expanding gun rights.

The #Trump admin asked SCOTUS to revive a case against a TX man charged with a felony because he allegedly had a gun in his home & acknowledged being a regular pot user. #DOJ appealed a lower court largely struck down a #law that bars people who use any illegal drugs from having guns.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-marijuana-guns-e86c342bf248c7822722ad027980b72b?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-20-Breaking+News

In the dispute over the #NationalGuard, US District Judge April Perry said she found no substantial evidence that a “danger of rebellion” is brewing in #Illinois during the #Trump #immigration crackdown.

#Chicago #law #SCOTUS #ActivistCourt #immigration #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #DueProcess #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct #MartialLaw #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #Sturmabteilung #WhiteSupremacy

The conservative-dominated court has handed #Trump repeated victories in emergency appeals since he took office in January, after lower courts have ruled against him & often over the objection of the 3 liberal justices. #SCOTUS has allowed Trump to ban #transgender people from the #military, claw back billions of dollars of congressionally approved federal #spending, move aggressively against #immigrants & fire leaders of #independent #FederalAgencies.
#law #ActivistCourt #NationalGuard #Chicago

The #Trump admin asked #SCOTUS to allow the deployment of the #NationalGuard in #Chicago, escalating Trump’s conflict with Democratic governors over using the #military on US soil.

The emergency appeal to the court came after a judge prevented, for at least 2 weeks, the deployment of Guard members from #Illinois & #Texas to assist #immigration enforcement. A federal appeals court refused to put the judge’s order on hold.

#law #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-national-guard-trump-913ecce44b6bcc5d0cba1b252dfd34ce?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-17-Breaking+News

“The Supreme Court appeared poised on Wednesday to upend a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a move that could gut a pillar of landmark civil rights legislation and prohibit lawmakers from using race as a factor in drawing voting maps.”

#SCOTUS #VotingRightsAct #Racism #Fascism #Protest #USPol
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/15/us/supreme-court-voting-rights

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Map of what could happen in the southern red states w/o the VRA:

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Police officer outside the SC:

@Nonilex

"“The #Constitution does not tolerate this system of of government-mandated racial balancing,” Aguiñaga said."

It should be pointed out that conservatives' beloved #Constitution did not include anyone but white male Anglo-Saxon Christians as citizens in the first place

A minor detail that conservatives always seem to miss

#SCOTUS #Law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

#SCOTUS is hearing arguments Wednesday over a core provision of the #VotingRightsAct that is designed to protect racial minorities.

Lawyers for #Louisiana & the #Trump admin [the first admin ever to challenge the law] will try to persuade the justices to wipe away the state’s 2nd majority Black congressional district & make it much harder, if not impossible, to take account of #race in #redistricting.

#law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
https://apnews.com/live/supreme-court-voting-rights-arguments-updates?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-15-Live+updates

Roberts & #Kavanaugh are the ones to watch

Along with the three liberal justices, #JohnRoberts & Brett Kavanaugh were part of a surprising decision two years ago that required #Alabama to redraw its congressional districts to benefit Black voters and led to the new map in #Louisiana as well.

The outcome likely will be different if either justice votes differently this time around.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

4 lawyers will present arguments to the court

But only one is defending the #Louisiana congressional map with 2 majority #Black districts.

That will be #CivilRights lawyer Janai Nelson, representing the Black voters who sued when the state initially produced a map with just one majority Black district.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

The other lawyers are the #Trump administration’s deputy solicitor general, Hashim Mooppan, #Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga & Edward Greim, the lawyer for the #white voters who sued over the map with 2 majority #Black districts.

Louisiana switched sides after the court ordered new arguments.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Arguments underway in #SCOTUS #VotingRightsAct case

#JohnRoberts first called on Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to present her argument. Nelson is representing Press Robinson & other #Black #Louisiana voters.

Nelson argues her opponents “seek stagging reversal of precedent that would throw maps across the country into chaos.”

#law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

#ClarenceThomas has been questioning section 2 almost since he joined the court in 1991

The questioning begins with Thomas. His long-held view that drawing districts with #race in mind violates the #Constitution. Until now, that view has never commanded a majority of the court.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Early debates center on 1986 Gingles ruling

Justices questioned Nelson on the “Gingles test,” which dates from a 1986 court ruling resulting in the invalidation of North Carolina legislative districts & yielded more single-member districts in state legislatures.

“You look at how different races of voters vote & whether they vote in a way that is polarized,” Nelson said, responding to a question about considering partisan & race in drawing districts.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #WhiteSupremacy

“We’re talking about racially polarized voting that is above 84%, which is more than what this court found in Thornburg v. Gingles in 1986,” Nelson said.

A bit of political/legal jargon repeatedly came up early in Wednesday’s voting rights oral arguments.

“Packing & cracking” refers to a practice by the party in power, which tries to pack Black voters into condensed areas, then divide them.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

When it comes to redrawing districts in #Louisiana, the argument by plaintiffs is that #Republicans are seeking to condense the #Black vote then dilute it by dividing them among districts.

Justice Jackson brings up a 2023 case from #Alabama where #SCOTUS upheld the #VotingRightsAct.

Nelson’s argument seems to suggest, “We not revisit the determination that we made just 2 years ago,” Jackson said.

“That is absolutely correct,” Nelson responded.

#law #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

#Kavanaugh, one of the key justices to watch in this case, questions whether there might be a point where the country no longer needs to take #race into account in drawing voting districts.

“The issue, as you know, is that this court’s cases, in a variety of contexts, has said that race-based remedies are permissible for a period of time … but that they should not be indefinite & should have an end point,” he said.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

In a back-and-forth with Nelson about time limits, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said that the #VotingRightsAct section in question, “doesn’t need a time limit, because it’s not doing any work other than just pointing us to the direction of where we might need to do something.”

Nelson said it would be “reckless” to determine, “somehow if Section 2 is no longer needed simply because it has been so successful in rooting out racial discrimination in voting.”

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA

Asked by Justice #Sotomayor to delineate differences between the current case & a 2023 decision that dealt with affirmative action, Nelson argued that the prior case “involved the diversity rationale involving an admissions process with a university, not a statute.”

In 2023, #SCOTUS struck down #AffirmativeAction in college admissions, declaring race cannot be a factor & forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.

#law #VotingRights

The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions plans at Harvard & the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private & public colleges, respectively.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Now the justices will hear from J. Benjamin Aguiñaga, #Louisiana’s solicitor general. The state is no longer defending the disputed map.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

#Gorsuch appeared skeptical of Nelson’s argument, pressing her on how & when race can be used in the drawing of maps. His questions cut to the heart of the questions the justices are considering today.
“You’re saying sometimes acceptable for a federal district court to order a map that intentionally discriminates on the basis of race?” he asked. The #Louisiana maps at issue today weren’t drawn by a judge, but courts can order maps re-drawn under the #VRA.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #CivilRights

Nelson pushed back. It’s not #discrimination for states to keep race in mind as they draw voting districts to comply with the #VRA & ensure representation for minority votes, she argued.

Under questioning from Justice Elena #Kagan, Nelson describes as “catastrophic” the impact of Secton 2 of the #VotingRightsAct ceasing to prevent vote dissolution, including in legislative districts beyond #Congress.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

“We only have the diversity that we see across the South, for example, because of litigation that forced the creation of opportunity districts under the #VotingRightsAct,” Nelson said.

“It is an intervention that has been crucial to diversifying leadership & providing an ability of minority voters to have an equal opportunity to participate in the process, she adds.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Then an important caveat: “But it also isn’t a permanent remedy. It corrects itself over time, & it’s only triggered when those extreme conditions exist.”

Benjamin Aguiñaga is now arguing for the state. He’s the state’s solicitor general and is considered a rising star in conservative legal circles. He’s defending the states position that could bring major changes to the #VotingRightsAct.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

“The #Constitution does not tolerate this system of of government-mandated racial balancing,” Aguiñaga said. “I respectfully but firmly resist the premise that this comes to the court on a finding of specific discrimination by the state.”

Questioning Aguiñaga about the role of race in #redistricting, #Sotomayor says it’s always a factor.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Come on, SCOTUS! Defend the fucking Constitution!

Trump Cuts Funding to 16 Blue States That Didn’t Vote for Him
https://newrepublic.com/post/201223/trump-cuts-energy-funding-16-blue-states-democrats-shutdown

#SCOTUS #SupremeCorruption #GOPTraitors #GOPSedition #JohnRoberts #StopTheSupremeCourt #VoteBlueToUnfuckTheCourts #USPol

Shadow Docket ruling lets Lisa Cook keep Federal Reserve seat until argued in court in January.
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-federal-reserve-lisa-cook-5a48941a9e30017b0ed3e5837492d288
#SCOTUS #FederalReserve #Economy #Trump #LisaCook

If it wasn't clear before, Friday's SCOTUS ruling shows that the Roberts Court is ignoring the US Constitution.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/supreme-court-newest-decision-could-233108170.html
#SCOTUS #Impoundment #Trump #JohnRoberts #Law

Anderson!
Let's not forget that SCOTUS, the Roberts court, has modified the definition of bribery for its own purposes.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/border-czar-139574460?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_fan&utm_content=web_share
#TomHoman #Money #Bribery #SCOTUS #Trump #FBI

The rulings of the Supreme Court are eroding the legitimacy that Americans once felt for their government.

In this article about a failed ICE action:

"We are standing firm for what the Constitution actually says at this point, not what our Supreme Court is saying it means, because I am watching the erosion of the rule of law every single day.”

The rulings of the Supreme Court seem to be leading the USA into civil war.

@LukefromDC
#SCOTUS #USA #Legitimacy #Trump

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This is a political cartoon with a purple background. The top of the image has the text "USA Supreme Court" and the bottom has the text "Justice Failing". The main image shows a cartoon figure of a man in a graduation cap and gown, with a stern expression. He is holding a large scale across his shoulders. The scale is imbalanced. The side on the viewer's left is heavily weighted down by a brown money bag with a dollar sign on it. The side on the viewer's right is tilted upwards, holding a rolled-up scroll, which is often used to symbolize law or a diploma. The imbalance of the scale suggests that money is outweighing justice.