Monday, June 29, 2020

The Supremes in June

A rainbow of flamingos
Spoiler Alert: I am going to venture into a minefield of political musings, something I rarely, if ever, do on my blog. But this has been quite a month of incredible rulings made by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). It started off in the middle of the month with a ruling that makes it illegal to fire someone because of being gay or transgender. Not only that, but the argument supporting the ruling was written by Neil Gorsuch, a conservative. (Read this CNN Opinion article about it.)

And then SCOTUS disallowed the Administration from throwing out DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals) as currently written. But it held out hope for the administration to fix it and then re-submit it, which would then allow for the immediate deportation of all 7 million DACA recipients. (Article from The Hill about this one.) For now, though, they are safe from deportation.

And, today, SCOTUS ruled that Louisiana's abortion law is unconstitutional. They pointed out that many hospitals in the region are religiously affiliated or conservative and don't allow abortions to take place in their facilities in any event, which severely limits the number of doctors who can carry out the procedure.
The law required that doctors providing abortions have admitting privileges to nearby hospitals, which the justices said led to an undue burden on women. Chief Justice John Roberts joined liberal justices in the 5-4 decision in a blow to anti-abortion groups. The court struck down a similar policy in Texas in 2016, the opinion noted.
There is one more bombshell ruling still to come, and that is whether or not Congress has a right to get ahold of Trump's tax returns. Although it seems to be mostly related to our current president, it will also establish the boundaries between the executive branch and Congress that are not at all clear at the present time.
The court is expected to determine the scope of congressional power to issue subpoenas in furtherance of its legislative function, and whether the President has "absolute immunity" from even being investigated criminally while in office. 
I'm not sure when this ruling will be given, but I am hoping it will show that we voters should definitely be given that information. But hey, three out of four isn't bad. I know I may be upsetting some of my long-time readers with this post, but I simply couldn't resist writing this after today's ruling.
:-)

18 comments:

  1. I am thrilled with these Supreme Court decisions. Some good news month all the craziness we are experiencing.

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  2. I have been watching from afar - and have cheered these rulings. I do hope the fourth request is granted as well.
    Stay well, stay safe.

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  3. Sometimes it all gets too much... and we need to vent!

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  4. I was surprised with the rulings considering the conservative justices on the court now. Such a surprise is always welcome.

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  5. I think you should NOT worry yourself about what others think. This is your blog...say what you will. You're American & a voting citizen!

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  6. I too am very pleased with these rulings. I noted that Chief Justice Roberts made his ruling based on legal precedence and not on the moral issue of abortion. That's his job and I'm glad he is doing his job.

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  7. At least they are doing some work which is more than most politicians are doing:( I do not agree with their decisions...but that is just me:)

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  8. Considering the fact that it was a Republican who appointed him, I’ve been rather surprised that John Roberts is ruling by the merits of the case before the court and not by political affiliation. It’s a pleasant surprise. Kavanaugh and Thomas on the other hand is showing just why we didn’t want them on the court.

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  9. Good. I find it hard to figure out why interpreting law is so mixed with politics in the USA.

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  10. I was happy to hear some good news for once! :)

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  11. To be honest I haven't followed these decisions that closely. But what I hope it means is that justices, once they're on the court, put politics aside and make judgments based on legal, moral and human grounds.

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  12. I was delighted and a bit surprised with these decisions. It has given me hope when there has been little. Let's keep it going.

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  13. I don't agree with some of your comments re the Supreme Court, but, hey, it's a free country and you are entitled to your opinions.

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  14. I don't love the horrors of political life these days. But I love someone's pride with all the flamingos. I have two pink ones. Inside my house.

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  15. Fully on the left and supporting posts like this. I pray that SCOTUS doesn't defer the tax ruling until fall, or 'give' this one to Trump to make up for the other three.

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  16. I too am pleased by all the SCOTUS rulings. Roberts seems determined to make certain "his" court is seen as truly on the side of law and precedent -- something that was going asunder until just recently.

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  17. Three out of four is great! Trump and his admin have so damaged the country that another 4 with him would be the end of democracy.

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