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Friends — wow, it’s been a while!
I’m sure you’ve caught wind of the latest in Clarence Thomas’ seemingly never-ending stream of ethics scandals (we’ll get to that later).
And in all that chaos, it might be easy to forget that we also just endured a banner end of term season from the conservative extremists on this stolen and illegitimate Supreme Court. Here's a quick refresher: they rolled back protections for LGBTQ+ people, barred the use of affirmative action policies in higher education, and blocked more than 40 million borrowers from getting much-needed relief for their student loans.
And as if that wasn’t bad enough, even in cases where longstanding voting rights prevailed, we saw the right-wing justices invite new challenges to further threaten our democracy in the future.
While we can only dream of taking all-expenses-paid vacation as luxurious as the one Thomas may or may not be on right now, our team at Take Back the Court are still here at home, working hard to shine a spotlight on the corruption and misconduct that is degrading the Court’s legitimacy one scandal at a time. |
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Court Chatter |
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Vox | The importance of staying angry at the Supreme Court
"...disparagement of the justices and their decisions is one of the most powerful weapons ordinary Americans can wield against the nation’s nine justices. Indeed, if there is one lesson to be drawn from this Court’s recently completed term, it is to never underestimate the power of holding a grudge against the Supreme Court.”
NYT | Look at What John Roberts and His Court Have Wrought Over 18 Years
"By the time the sun set on June 30, the term’s final day, every goal on the conservative wish list had been achieved. All of it. To miss that remarkable fact is to miss the story of the Roberts court."
Teen Vogue | The Conservative Supreme Court’s Decisions Restrict Young Americans’ Rights and Freedoms
“The right-wing Boomers who dominate the Supreme Court would like young people to get off America’s lawn, please, and thank you, and they’re using their vast, unchecked power to fence off our future.”
Washington Post | No, Justice Alito. Congress should not butt out on Supreme Court ethics.
"I’m all for justices speaking and writing publicly. They should explain themselves and the court’s operations more, not less. But there is something unseemly and unsettling about Alito’s repeated use of the Journal — part therapy couch, part bullhorn. ‘Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court’s Plain-Spoken Defender,’ the Journal interview is headlined. Imagine the conservative reaction if one of the liberal justices were to use a similarly ideologically aligned publication to repeatedly promote her views and defend her behavior." |
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On the Docket: Gun Safety Protections, the CFPB, and — You Guessed It — Voting Rights |
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It feels like yesterday that we wrapped up another difficult Supreme Court decision season. But already, we’re starting to see the Court add new cases to its October calendar — and the lineup isn’t pretty. Here are just a few highlights: |
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WHAT: United States v. Rahimi. This case threatens a gun safety rule barring people who are subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. This case could put the lives of countless intimate partner violence survivors at risk. WHEN: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this fall. |
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WHAT: Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of NAACP. The Roberts Court has spent the last decade systematically dismantling voting rights and disenfranchising people of color. In this case, the Court will decide whether South Carolina can “pack and crack” Black voters so that their voting power is concentrated into only one congressional district.
WHEN: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday, October 11. |
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WHAT: CFPB v. Community Financial Services Assn. This case threatens the very existence of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau — the sole agency whose central responsibility is ensuring consumers aren’t exploited by the multi-trillion dollar financial services industry, including predatory payday lenders. WHEN: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday, October 3. |
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Let the Record Show: Corruption at the Court Just Keeps Getting Worse |
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The Court isn’t in session right now, but that doesn’t mean these summer months haven’t been overflowing with Supreme Court news — especially surrounding Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito and their ethical lapses.
It’s hard to choose where to begin, here; planes, yachts, and luxury R.V.s are all among the list of gifts reportedly lavished upon Thomas during his time as a Supreme Court justice from wealthy benefactors hoping to stay in his close orbit.
In case you missed them, here are a few recent highlights:
It’s obvious that Thomas and Alito are never going to hold themselves accountable — and that Justice Roberts has no interest in doing so, either.
So it’s imperative that Congress takes this moment to step up to the plate and rein in this rogue Court.
Senators on the Judiciary Committee should subpoena the justices and call for hearings. And our champions in both houses of Congress must be louder than ever in their calls for expanding the Court. Without rebalancing the bench with four new justices, this ethics disaster won’t stop getting worse. |
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If you enjoyed this edition of Full Court Press, I hope you’ll consider chipping in to support our work to expand the Supreme Court to put power back where it belongs – with the people. |
