Free Republic

"...It is perfectly ordinary and appropriate for the justices to write an opinion explaining the various reasons why they are rejecting Texas’ request. Indeed, the minority of justices who think that the court is required to accept original actions like Texas’ may well write short opinions of their own or note that they think the case was properly filed. So there is nothing overreaching if a majority of the court explains why the case is meritless." "The justices’ decision whether to do that needs to account for this extraordinary, dangerous moment for our democracy. President Donald Trump, other supportive Republicans,...

In a highly unusual move, lawyer Tom Goldstein asked the US Supreme Court on Friday evening to declare Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as the acting attorney general, instead of Matthew Whitaker who currently holds the job. Goldstein also represented Maryland's Attorney General in a similar court filing at the district court level earlier this week. Goldstein's motion was filed in connection with a gun rights case that is before the Supreme Court as a petition for a writ of certiorari, meaning the nine Justices will meet in conference at a date still to be determined to decide whether to...

Justice Clarence Thomas’s influence was on full display in the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to strike down a key campaign finance restriction.  And it’s just one in a string of cases in which Thomas could be dragging the court toward his way of thinking. Chief Justice John Roberts penned Wednesday’s plurality decision, which eliminates the limit on the total dollar amount an individual may give to political candidates and committees.But Thomas, seen by many as the court’s most conservative justice, wrote a concurring opinion that both represented the decisive vote in the 5-4 decision, and beckoned the justices to go further.Thomas...