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Friends, unfortunately we’ve reached the beginning of another Supreme Court term.
The right-wing Court is picking up right where it left off — gearing up to undermine our democracy and roll back decades of progress — but there is reason for hope.
Following the earth-shattering term we just had, there has been a change in the conversation around the Court: major media outlets are covering the fading legitimacy of the Court, and a majority of Americans now support increasing the number of justices to rein in this out of control institution. |
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As the Court becomes more and more disconnected from the working people, an increasing number of Americans want to see it reformed. One thing is clear to me: the work to add four new justices to the Court to protect our rights and freedoms has never been more urgent. |
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Court Chatter |
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NYT | The Supreme Court Isn’t Listening, and It’s No Secret Why
“Over the past several years, the court has been transformed into a judicial arm of the Republican Party. This project was taking shape more quietly for decades, but it shifted into high gear in 2016…Within four years, the court had a 6-to-3 right-wing supermajority, supercharging the Republican appointees’ efforts to discard the traditions and processes that have allowed the court to appear fair and nonpartisan. As a result, the court’s legitimacy has been squandered in the service of partisan victories.”
Democracy Docket | Arizona Court Decision Is Canary in the Coal Mine for U.S. Democracy“The ISL theory should be laughed out of court. In a bygone era, it would have been. But at the state level, as in Arizona, Republicans have manipulated the size of the state Supreme Court to advance their assault on democracy. Supporters of democracy have a simple choice: They can expand the U.S. Supreme Court, restoring its balance and legitimacy by bringing it in line with the will of the American people, or they can surrender.”
DailyKos | They overturned Roe and, amid the chaos, gutted 12 more rights and freedoms you might have missed“These 12 decisions demonstrate why the legitimacy of the court is in question. It’s not ‘simply because people disagree with an opinion,’ as Chief Justice John Roberts whined earlier this month. It’s because the radical, extreme majority has been dismantling core tenets of the Constitution and settled law, undermining the will of the majority of Americans, throwing out decades—even centuries—of precedent, and demonstrating that it is an existential threat to the rule of law.”
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On the Docket |
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As all eyes are focused on election day and what the future of our democracy will look like, the right-wing majority on the Court is gearing up to erase decades of civil rights progress — potentially doing away with another provision of the Voting Rights Act and affirmative action programs in higher education. |
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Merrill v. Milligan The right-wing Court may green light blatantly racially gerrymandered congressional maps in Alabama. This case could effectively nullify the VRA’s protections against racial gerrymandering and dilute the power of Black voters and other racial minorities. |
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Students for Fair Admissions v. University of NC; Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College These two cases aim to undo decades of progress in equitable education by eliminating affirmative action policies in colleges and universities. Despite these policies’ proven history of helping to build diverse learning environments that benefit everyone, the Court is stacked with anti-affirmative action zealots that seem ready to strike them down. |
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The Supreme Court isn’t going to stop its efforts to impose an unpopular, regressive, white supremacist agenda. If we want to protect our rights and freedoms, there is no choice: we must expand the Court. |
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Let the Record Show |
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We’ve laid out 14 specific instances where experts warned the Court and provided evidence of the devastation the justices would unleash by overturning the constitutional right to an abortion.
These warnings have already become a reality for many Americans within months of the Court’s devastating and harmful decision in Dobbs. The right-wing justices knew exactly what would happen if they overturned the constitutional right to abortion, and they did it anyway.
Court watchers have already shifted their attention to a new Supreme Court term — but we cannot let the media or our elected leaders forget the devastating term we just had.
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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. |
