U.S. Supreme Court: Post-Ginsburg Edition

And Durbin who never followed through on subpoenaing Leo from the Federalist Society, or Thomas' billionaire buddy Crow, and who was already turned down once by Chief Justice Roberts for a committee hearing , is going to try for a meeting with Roberts....

Biden, like Obama, is a fucking coward who is always obsessed with optics and being the nice guy. That shit doesn’t work today

Thomas and Alito should be out of a job by this point, how egregious does this shit need to be

The Wall Street Journal board editorial is fine with what he's doing:

We’ve discussed those flag cases in previous editorials as irrelevant to the Justice’s views on cases before the Court. But that didn’t stop the Democrats from asserting that the flags create “reasonable doubt as to his impartiality in certain proceedings, thereby requiring his disqualification” from cases involving Donald Trump.

I was paywalled from more of this

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s husband is representing Fox Corporation — Fox News’ parent company — in a defamation lawsuit, according to court records reviewed by Rolling Stone.

new 2024 paywalled story

Coney Barrett tries to hide from the public whom her lawyer husband represents

2022 article - https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/29/justices-spouses-conflict-of-interest-disclosures-00059549

"A flag is simply a rectangle of cloth or fabric with a design on it - and we fail to see how a piece of fabric can pose a threat to the independence of the judiciary"

Try burning it and see what happens

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/29/supreme-court-alito-recuse-flag-jan-6/

Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. announced Wednesday that he will not recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases at the Supreme Court after Democratic lawmakers questioned whether he could be impartial following reports that an upside-down flag flew at his home in the weeks after the attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

In a letter to Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, Alito said that flag and a second, religious-themed flag were raised by his wife, without his knowledge, and the incidents do not meet the conditions for recusal outlined in the Supreme Court’s code of conduct.

Alito disclosed for the first time that he was not aware of the upside-down flag until it was called to his attention and that his wife initially resisted taking it down.

“As soon as I saw it, I asked my wife to take it down, but for several days, she refused,” Alito wrote in the letter to Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

Alito said in the letter that the second flag was also raised by his wife, Martha-Ann Alito.

“My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not,” he wrote.

Cucked by his wife in a flag beef

His full letter is linked in the article. He doesn't address the argument of many legal ethics scholars that his wife's free speech has to take a back seat when it impedes the appearance of impartiality for him

“My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not,” he wrote.

I read this and could see him in my imagination, making his customary frowning "I am filled with disgust" face.

https://i.imgur.com/X3dyJk4.gif

"I, for one, will only ever fly my freak flag"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_guy

"My wife's reasons for flying the flag are not relevant for present purposes..."

What a joke.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/29/opinion/alito-thomas-recuse-trump-jan-6.html

Representative Jamie Raskin argues : The U.S. Department of Justice — including the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, an appointed U.S. special counsel and the solicitor general, all of whom were involved in different ways in the criminal prosecutions underlying these cases and are opposing Mr. Trump’s constitutional and statutory claims — can petition the other seven justices to require Justices Alito and Thomas to recuse themselves not as a matter of grace but as a matter of law.

It seems unlikely that will happen. It also seems unlikely that Schumer and Durbin will hold a hearing anyway, or get the Senate to vote on a new enforceable ethics code and creating an office at the Supreme Court to handle ethics complaints .

https://bsky.app/profile/jbouie.bsky.social/post/3ktox3z4dgh27

just read "“My wife is fond of flags. I am not.” for the first time

there are two kinds of people. people who have read that and

she has an extreme flag fetish, please don't yuck her yum

any constitutional scholar will tell you that congressional kink shaming is a violation of the 1st amendment

Buddy, she wont even let ME fuck it

Supreme Court Opinion released today per Slate's Mark Stern-

The Supreme Court's third AND FINAL decision of the day is Thornell v. Jones. In a 6–3 opinion, Alito holds that the 9th Circuit was wrong to find that a man condemned to death suffered ineffective assistance of council. All three liberals dissent

(AP) — Chief Justice Roberts rejects request by Democratic senators to discuss Supreme Court ethics and Alito flag controversy.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/chief-justice-john-roberts-declines-meet-democrats-ethics-concerns-rcna154718

Roberts cited separation of powers earlier when rejecting a request to come to a committee hearing , and now he cites that again for a meeting with Senators Durbin and Whitehouse

Glad that's settled.

did someone say crooked corrupt and conflicted judges?

Separation of powers means stop asking us to talk to you so we can get on with overturning your laws

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/31/mike-johnson-trump-supreme-court?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_source=twitter

Speaker of the House Johnson says on Fox News that he knows many of the Supreme Court Justices personally, as part of a discussion of how to get the Trump verdict overthrown

very legal, very cool

brb, gotta tell my wife to stop taking a giant patriotic shit in mike johnson's mouth

On the sloppiness of some of Alito's recent decisions:
https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2024/06/the-man-who-would-be-a-very-sloppy-king

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/judges-luxury-travel-mask-mandate_n_665e065be4b0a8b68eea43fa

https://punchbowl.news/article/supreme-court/democrats-supreme-court-miss/

More details on Congressional Dems attempts re Supreme Court ethics issues

https://punchbowl.news/article/supreme-court/raskin-ocasio-cortez-holding-roundtable-supreme-court-ethics/

House Dems seeing what they can do re Supreme Court

https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-justices-disclose-bali-hotel-stay-beyonc-tickets-book-deals-2024-06-07/

Alito asks for 90 day extension on reporting as he does every year. Thomas now finally reporting Bali trip from years ago that I think billionaire Harlan Crow funded. Also article noted that due to security concerns Thomas is either saying he’s no longer traveling or no longer reporting he’s traveling. I need to re-read that! Justice Jackson got 4 pricey Beyonce tickets and some artwork. Kavanaugh is writing a book. Elsewhere I saw that Thomas has received countless more millions in gifts over the last 20 years than any Justice. He has reported only half of it.

Pro Publica on what Thomas acknowledged with new filing and what he did not.

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-gift-disclosures-harlan-crow

Justice Jackson's artwork is from awesome musician and artist Lonnie Holley (and now I remember that when I saw him perform in DC last year he mentioned going to the Supreme Court).

poor Abe Fortas!

I assume the calls for her to recuse from all further cases are incoming

From Pro Publica :

Thomas did not mention the flight to Indonesia or the yacht trip in his new filing

X-post - don’t know a lot about Abe Fortas but yeah that history is interesting.

amazing to think this may be real:

EXCLUSIVE UNDERCOVER AUDIO:
Martha-Ann Alito Unfurled

"I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month." pic.twitter.com/okNsW7SPlu

— Lauren Windsor (@lawindsor) June 10, 2024

It is real:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/supreme-court-martha-ann-alito-pride-flags-left-media-1235037338/

can't a helicopter land in their house

"Look at me. I’m German, from Germany. my heritage is German. If you come after me, I’m going to give it back to you. And there will be a way - it doesn’t have to be now, but there will be a way they will know. Don’t worry about it"

That Rolling Stone article is behind a paywall for me. One thing I'm wondering about is when that audio was recorded

She has more

EXCLUSIVE UNDERCOVER AUDIO:
Sam Alito x John Roberts x The Undercurrent 🧵

1/ Justice Alito admits lack of impartiality with the Left, says: “One side or the other is going to win.” pic.twitter.com/b5nmxToZ9z

— Lauren Windsor (@lawindsor) June 10, 2024

It was recorded last week, at a Supreme Court Historical Society dinner. xp

I wish this could amount to something, anything, you know?

Asked how the country can become less polarized, Alito responded: “I wish I knew. I don’t know. It’s easy to blame the media, but I do blame them because they do nothing but criticize us. And so they have really eroded trust in the court. … “

Yes, it’s the media’s fault that Clarence Thomas is gorging at the trough of free stuff while the court delays a Trump trial by slow walking a decision on presidential immunity. I blame Rolling Stone.

It’s not surprising at all but always a bit depressing to be reminded just how dumb our ruling castes are. Just fucking idiots.