The Supreme Court thread

[Rewind]

Retrumplicans are opposed to everything Biden and the Democrats want to do – and the pro-Trump, right-wing Supreme Court is opposed to almost everything Biden and the Democrats want to do.

Conservative Supreme Court once again looms as threat to Biden agenda in 2023
The court is set to rule in a series of high-profile cases in the next six months, including Biden's bid to revive his student loan forgiveness plan.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...2023-rcna61467

[Rewind]

While campaigning in 2015-16, Donald Trump vowed to put coal miners back to work. Trump didn't care about clean air, clean water, pollution or climate change – and he still doesn't. The Supreme Court, which Trump stacked with right-wing, pro-Trump Justices, doesn't care either.

Trump rolled back decades of clean water protections. The Supreme Court just went even further.
The ruling will have "significant repercussions for water quality and flood control" across the U.S., conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh warned in his dissent.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/supre...b091b09c2cdf13

[Rewind]

One of the dissenting votes came from Clarence Thomas, possibly because the Native American tribes have never given him gifts and treated him to luxury cruises the way right-wing billionaire Harlan Crow has done.

Supreme Court rejects challenges to law that governs tribal adoptions
CNN, Jun 14 2023 12:40 PM EDT

The Supreme Court today left intact a decades-old law that prioritizes the placement of Native American children with Native families or tribes in child custody proceedings, rejecting challenges brought by several adoptive parents.

The law was passed in 1978 to protect tribal sovereignty after Congress documented the alarmingly high number of children with Native American ancestry being placed with non-Native families or institutions in state child welfare and private adoption proceedings. The 7-2 decision backs the law passed in the wake of decades of hostility on the part of the federal government when it comes to child custody issues and traditional values of Indian tribes.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/15/polit...urt/index.html

[Rewind]

This decision is a victory for voting-rights advocates and a setback for the Retrumplicans who seek to rig elections in favor.of Retrumplicans.

Supreme Court rules against giving state legislatures unchecked control over federal elections
The Justices rejected the "independent state legislature" theory, which was cited by Trump supporters during the 2020 election. The theory would have restricted the power of state courts to review certain election laws.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...pute-rcna68630

[Rewind]

The right-wing Justices on the Supreme Court had no objection to Donald Trump giving huge tax cuts to banks, big corporations and the wealthiest Americans – but they will not allow Joe Biden to forgive student loan debt.

Supreme Court overturns Joe Biden's student loan debt forgiveness plan
The decision will force the 26 million Americans who applied for forgiveness to pay their loans in full.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/supre...b045ce24870c22

[Rewind]

The Supreme Court yesterday struck down affirmative action programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, ruling that the consideration of race in the admissions process violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. Kamala Harris called the ruling "a step backward for our nation. It rolls back long-established precedent and will make it more difficult for students from underrepresented backgrounds to have access to opportunities that will help them fulfill their full potential. By making our schools less diverse, this ruling will harm the educational experience for all students."

Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling leaves colleges looking for new ways to promote diversity

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-c...2433e858be4d59

[Rewind]

Retrumplicans don't believe social media companies should have the right to ban users who post hate speech, threats, lies and baseless conspiracy theories. After all, the majority of those people are Trump supporters!

Supreme Court to weigh GOP-backed social media 'censorship' laws
Texas and Florida both enacted laws that would place new restrictions on the ability of social media companies to decide what user content they wish to publish.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...laws-rcna66522

[Rewind]

The Justices declared that they will faithfully adhere to all the standards of the new ethics code. They also declared that they expect the fox to faithfully guard the henhouse.

Supreme Court adopts first-ever code of ethics
NPR, Nov 13 2023 4:56 PM ET

The U.S. Supreme Court has adopted its first-ever ethics code, bowing to pressure from Congress and the public. All nine justices signed onto the new code, which was instantly criticized for lack of an enforcement mechanism. In an unsigned statement, the Justices said though there has been no formal code, they have long abided by certain standards.

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/13/12127...rt-ethics-code

[Rewind]

A payday loan is a short-term loan for a small amount, typically $500 or less, which the borrower will repay when he gets his next paycheck. At least that's the idea. The California Department of Justice website says, "The average annual percentage rate for payday loans is 372%. This is a much higher rate than most other loans or credit cards. Payday lenders often don’t consider whether you can repay the loan – because they are able to just cash your check or access your checking account. This means you may not have enough money left to pay for other expenses, forcing you to take out another loan." I get the feeling the payday lenders would like to be able to raise the APR to 5000%.

Supreme Court rejects payday lender effort to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The justices did not buy the industry’s argument that the consumer financial regulator’s funding mechanism was unconstitutional.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/scotu...b09dcb78307896

[Rewind]

Donald Trump stacked the Supreme Court with right-wing, pro-Trump Justices who have made several decisions favoring Trump. On July 1, the Court ruled 6-3 that the President of the United States – specifically, Donald Trump – is immune from criminal prosecution for his "official acts." They ensured that Trump remains above the law and can't be prosecuted for, e.g., using the Department of Justice to try to overturn an election and urging his Vice President to overturn an election. The "Chief Trump Loyalist" on the Supreme Court is John Roberts.

Supreme Court leak exposes chief justice meddling in Trump's cases
Daily Mail, Sep 13 2024

Chief Justice John Roberts strong-armed his fellow Supreme Court judges into allowing him the key role in cases involving Donald Trump, leaked memos reveal. The conservative judge took the lead in March’s case on whether states could remove the former President from their ballots over his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Roberts demanded a unanimous decision from the bench, according to memos leaked to the New York Times.

Roberts also took charge of the case concerning prosecution of the January 6 rioters from Justice Samuel Alito after his fellow conservative was embroiled in a row about his wife flying the Stars and Stripes upside down from their home.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...es/ar-AA1qCAbf