When former President Donald Trump launched his post-election assault on democracy, he did not start with violence; he started with courts. Before he begged for an election official to “find the votes,” he hoped to find a judge — any judge — who would legitimize his effort. Fortunately, without exception, the judiciary did its job and protected democracy.
That is why so many of us who care about the future of democracy were alarmed when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to consider Moore v. Harper, a case that could shake the foundations of federalism and judicial review. |
On its face, Moore is a straightforward redistricting case. But, as I explain in my latest, “A Dangerous Theory Will Have Its Day in the U.S. Supreme Court,” what makes Moore so potentially dangerous is the fact that Republicans are advancing a radical legal theory — the independent state legislature (ISL) theory — that would limit state courts’ ability to interpret their own state’s laws and apply their state’s constitutions to federal elections.
The stakes during SCOTUS’ next term couldn’t be higher — there is no legal theory that is more connected to Trumpism and the failed Jan. 6 coup than ISL.
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Let’s keep up the fight, Marc |
