I submit this as a complement to TaMara’s Not Serious People thread.
Plaintiffs should not be able to hand-pick individual judges to overturn laws they dislike.@SenSchumer, @SenWhitehouse, and I are leading a bill to codify the Judicial Conference’s new policy to curtail judge shopping in our federal courts and assign major cases at random.
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) April 11, 2024
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Judge Shopping (verb): manipulating the justice system by filing a lawsuit in a district where your preferred judge will likely hear the case and rule in your favor.
When right-wing interests cherry-pick judges, they cherry-pick your freedoms.
This practice has got to end. https://t.co/iBQQgkmpHc
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) April 11, 2024
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For more on the Supreme Court’s phony fact-finding and what we can do about it, check out my latest law review article here: https://t.co/uHDBjgW7zU
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) April 10, 2024
This is how it’s done.
Open thread.
Baud
👍
TBone
ADORE. This is what kindles my aspiration to stay in the fight!
New Deal democrat
All well and good, but let me make my usual reminder that for any significant judicial reform, you need a trifecta of House, Senate, and Presidency all in Democratic Party hands; and also a majority of Senators willing to nuke the GOP filibuster.
In other words, don’t hold your breath.
Anonymous At Work
Democrats, if they gain a trifecta, should enlarge SCOTUS and enlarge the various Appellate Courts, in response to long-standing and bipartisan complaints about delays and the use of judicial legislative opinions citing “judicial economy” as a reason to deny claims. They should also pass legislation to require all nationwide injunctions to go through the DC Circuit only. It would consolidate case type, increase visibility of pending matters, and destroy judge-shopping for nationwide injunctions.
TBone
@New Deal democrat: facepalm. WTF, over. Progress isn’t bestowed under a pillow by the tooth fairy.
TaMara
@TBone: Keep this in your quiver…
Works for all occasions.
TaMara
@WaterGirl Love it!
TBone
@TaMara: 😘 you are in syncopation with my spirit animal
Geminid
Vice President Kamala Harris is one of my favorite serious people, and it sounds like she intends to put a serious whupping on Donald Trump in Tucson today.
This Arizona appearance was originally going to be about student debt relief, but then Arizona’s Supreme Court made its notorious decision reinstating a Civil War-era abortion ban. So now Harris has changed the subject and terms of her remarks. According to the NYT:
TBone
@Geminid: Kris Mayes (AZ Atty Gen) is being shown on MSNBC right now as an amplifier to VP Harris’s visit announcement. They’re going hard on this, as we all should 💙
TBone
House just reauthorized FISA
Baud
@TBone: Stand alone bill?
Anonymous At Work
@TBone: The one pulled yesterday (with very mild reforms, like Midwestern ‘mild chili’) or a revised version with further reforms?
Urza
Not to be a downer, but its not just Manchin and Sinema that were against filibuster and court reform. There will be new preening peacocks given the chance, and they obviously don’t care about saving democracy if it means they don’t have reporters talking to them daily.
Tony Jay
Being able to send all of your legal fuckery to a judge who is only in that post because the Right put them there for that exact reason is just as dangerous as being to appoint your own Police officers to jurisdictions where you want to be able to get away with crimes.
Now that I write down, that doesn’t actually seem too far from the truth.
Anonymous At Work
@Urza: There were a few oldsters behind the Preening Duo this go-around. There will be fewer next term, regardless. Things tend to advance “one funeral at a time,” per Planck.
Baud
@Urza: I worry about that with abortion and voting rights, if we have a trifecta. I think we should ditch the filibuster completely, but we need to pass those two bills and we need to ditch the filibuster to do so.
TBone
I don’t know about the particulars of what just passed re: FISA, I only saw a TV blurb in passing. We’ll see soon…
Baud
@TBone:
Looks like it’s only FISA.
House votes to renew FISA spying tool after earlier Republican revolt (nbcnews.com)
UncleEbeneezer
America is less polarized by race – but more polarized about race- The pro-GOP shift among people of color is making racial attitudes more important to politics, not less:
TBone
Marcy Kaptur live on C-Span tearing Pooty a new one! She’s GREAT today. A WOMAN is standing up to Pooty and Rethugs AND SHE IS FEARLESS 🔥
She had visual assistance poster boards. Pooty bloody hands, etc.
Now some yokel is blathering about Christ in Florida and their worthy Xtian lifestyle. I feel dirty again.
Geminid
@TBone: That frees up Speaker Johnson to fly to Florida and confer with foreign intelligence asset Donald Trump, at Mar-a-Loco. They have lots to talk about, including the Ukraine aid package. Not to mention appliances.
Eolirin
@Baud: We had 48 Senators on the record willing to suspend the filibuster for voting rights legislation iirc. We should have 49 now. If Gallego replaces Sinema and we don’t lose anyone, we’ll see if any of those yes votes were made out of convenience since the vote was going to fail.
Baud
@Geminid: Trump can talk about grabbing them by the hoohas.
Baud
@Eolirin: Agreed. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I’m most worried about Tester and Angus King in Maine. Still, I hope to god Tester wins.
TBone
@Geminid: 😆 MTG will be so jealous!
Eolirin
@Baud: I believe King was at least willing to consider suspending the filibuster on abortion rights as well. I don’t know where Tester is on that one.
This cycle is also going to be a big test on how much ground organization and competently run campaign infrastructure matters as well. We’re going to have very big advantages there, with Trump effectively shredding the party infrastructure. They’ll still have the churches as a parallel GOTV organization, so we’ll also see how strong of a force that continues to be.
Cruz and Scott are potentially vulnerable if we can over perform by a few percentage points. Having a few extra senators will help a lot.
Baud
@Eolirin: Yes! Mo’ Dems = mo’ good.
cain
@Baud: I suspect the “deep state” has gone after republicans to make sure that they are on the fisa thing.
GOP has traditionally been about foreign policy warhawks etc – but of course, that’s all changed.
Shalimar
As I have pointed out before, the judge shopping for Kacsmaryk only works because the 5th Circuit confirms the rulings. The appeals court is full of radicals too.
TBone
@UncleEbeneezer: on that note
https://twitter.com/ButtaFly1010/status/1778770321891348767
Captain C
@Baud: Given how enthusiastically the Republicans supported this sort of spying when it was being used against their enemies, this seems like a Leopard Eating Faces moment for them, especially since a nontrivial percentage of that party are openly acting like criminals and traitors these days.
RaflW
@New Deal democrat: You introduce the bill. You hold hearings. You get the D.C. pearl-clutchers to at least stop hyperventilating about overreach into the courts, etc.
It is laying the groundwork for next year, or 2027, or whenever it can get passed. Part of the reason the GOP is endlessly being pantsed in budget negotiations, etc, is exactly because of the downstairs thread.
They’re busy ‘writing’ bullshit bills like the HOOHA Act, so they have no idea how to markup and move a real bill, nor how to get it past the non-Congressional gatekeepers/special interests.
TBone
@RaflW: no no no! The tooth fairy brings us everything we want or I’m not voting!
TBone
I don’t need a snark tag for that here, right?
TBone
Almost missed this one
https://crooksandliars.com/2024/04/trump-lawyer-leaves-team-expected-testify
Anonymous At Work
@TBone: Was he still representing TFG after all this time until just NOW? Lawyers on retainer have to do work for the retainer or return it, not hire their own attorneys with the money.
raven
@Anonymous At Work:
However, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Corcoran “remains on the legal team and is continuing to help fighting the Biden Trial witch-hunts,” adding, “Any assertion otherwise is fake news peddled by uninformed sources and untruthful reporting that seeks to leak disinformation and misinformation.”
rikyrah
Senator Whitehouse is so on point. He has found his wheelhouse.
Leto
I read this in the Washington Post the other day:
Leo rejects Senate subpoena from panel probing gifts to Supreme Court justices
The conservative judicial activist called the move ‘politically motivated,’ and the committee chair said Leo had left them ‘no other choice’ but to move forward with the compulsory process
Like every other conservative, he doesn’t believe he needs to follow the rules because he assumes that all the dirtbags he’s installed across the judiciary will back him up. He needs to be disabused of that thought. The entire scheme needs to be dismantled.
TBone
@Leto: I saw that too and thought of Navarro. Who is incarcerated. Wheels of justice, please grind him up!
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/19/politics/peter-navarro-jail-contempt-of-congress/index.html
Captain C
@TBone: Judge Cannon: “He’s not allowed to testify, for in this case, criming with TIFG counts as attorney-client privilege. I am not a FedSoc crank!!!!”
TBone
@raven: consider the source of that “statement.” 🤡
TBone
@Captain C: grrrrrrrrrr Jack Smith please please please prevail over that buffoonery!
RaflW
@Leto: Leonard Leo complaining about ‘dark money’ is of course 1000% chutzpah. Drag his ass into a hearing room.
JML
@Leto: I am thrilled with this news. Leo defying a subpoena is perfect grounds to a) throw is corrupt ass in the clink, and b) really turn up the investigative heat.
“he’s already broken the law once, how many more has he broken? the people have a right to know.”
I’m also quite sure he won’t hold up if he’s actually jailed. clowns like him think they’re tough, but they soft AF.
Frankensteinbeck
@Leto:
…he’s too good for them. “Do you know who I am???” is a cry that echoes up and down their movement, right down to the street level where their status is “I’m white!”
I will absolutely never forget, not just Kavanaugh’s freakout, but the way the whole Republican congress were frothing at the mouth infuriated that Democrats would dare suggest that rape is a disqualifier for a Supreme Court position. They weren’t pushing back, they were offended. Even the women.
wjca
And just maybe, once the investigation gets rolling, the whole Federalist Society will implode. Hey, a guy can dream….
Geminid
@Geminid: Some more info on Vice President Harris’s Tucson appearance: it will be a private event, livestreamed on a campaign social media platform. Starting time is 2:30 p.m. local time, or 5:30 Eastern.
Besides Harris, Tucson Mayor Regina Moreno, will appear; also, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Rep. Ruben Gallego, Arizona’s next U.S. Senator. Doug Emhoff was already in Tucson yesterday and he will be part of today’s campaign event as well.
TBone
@wjca: 👍 go forth confidently in the direction of your dreams…
TBone
LEST WE FORGET
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ginni-thomas-consulting-payments-washington-post_n_645457d9e4b0452cee9c86fb
patrick II
Supposedly judge connor was picked at random. Do you suppose that she really was?
WaterGirl
@patrick II: Connor? Or Cannon?
trollhattan
Assholes never take the day off.
Dollars to donuts this goes before that crazy asshole Judge Benitez who declared the AR-15 to be just like a Swiss Army Knife. Reload!
trollhattan
@WaterGirl: I happen to know a Connor will fit in a Cannon. Saw it at the circus.
Suzanne
O/T, but fuck it.
Edward Luce, on Xhitter:
prostratedragon
forbes.com analyst says, run, now! from djt stock
Baud
@Suzanne: Agreed, but I think folks here recognized that a long time ago. Still, always glad to see others get it.
@prostratedragon: A little late for that advice, no?
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@TBone:
It’s appalling to me that somebody like her not just flaunts the rules but basically breaks them and yet, no repercussions.
prostratedragon
@Urza: Has the Senate addressed the judge-shopping issue recently? I know that apart from SM, other opponents of a blanket filibuster repeal said they could agree to carve out some issues such as voting rights. In fact on that specific matter istr it did come down to just those two.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@prostratedragon:
Well of course.
[ETA I wonder what Devin Nunes’ cow thinks of it.]
prostratedragon
@Baud: Was my first thought. Wonder if he’s found enough borrowable shares to go short? Rare to see such a naked statement.
lowtechcyclist
@prostratedragon:
If someone needs a forbes.com analyst to tell them that, they’ll just fall for the next con that comes along. No use trying to save them.
sdhays
@patrick II: My understanding is that Cannon, if that’s who you mean, is alone in her own sub-district in Florida which just so happens to cover Mar-a-Lardo. So filing charges there was going to go to her unless she recused or there was some other intervention.
One suspects that if Jack Smith knew how compromised she was, he would have kept the court action in DC.
WaterGirl
Reminder: If you’re interested in the Einstein zoom on Wednesday evening (4/17) at 8 pm Eastern, and you haven’t already RSVP’d, please send me an email message.
David 🏀Caitlin Clark🏀 Koch
@prostratedragon: the financial situation has developed not necessarily to Dump’s advantage
lowtechcyclist
@prostratedragon:
My recollection is that Virginia’s Mark Warner was kinda vague about what exceptions, if any, he’d support. ETA: I’ll bet Geminid can quote chapter and verse on what he’s said.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist: I don’t know what he’s said, but I’d be surprised to see him as the lone holdout.
Captain C
@JML:
I would love it if he had to share a cell with TIFG for 23 hours a day.
StringOnAStick
So I decided to email Speaker Johnson today, but unless you have an zip code that is in his district, you can’t get his email form. Clever, these fascists.
Geminid
@lowtechcyclist: Not really. I do not pay close attention to this particular question, mainly because it will be resolved on a case by case basis starting 9 months from now at the earliest. That’s assuming Democrats have 50 or more Senators in the next Congress.
In the meantime, I’m not trying to suss out whether Senator Warner is gonna let us down on filibuster reform. If and when that becomes a real prospect we’ll hear about him plenty.
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
Well, I was thinking of him in addition to Angus King and possibly Jon Tester, who have been mentioned already in this thread.
lowtechcyclist
@Geminid:
I totally understand.
TBone
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: they think they aren’t merely “above the law” – in their own minds, they are the law. We need to disabuse them of both notions.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist: Yeah, maybe. I guess it’ll depend on how many Senators we end up with.
TBone
@StringOnAStick: I recently overcame that same hurdle with my State reps by looking up an address in their district (real estate for sale) and using that with a local area coded phone number. In other words, I lied. But I got over the hurdle. So fucking ridiculous.
Geminid
@lowtechcyclist: Winning the Senate again could create all kinds of problems for Democrats, and I am looking forward to each and every one of them!
Another Scott
@StringOnAStick: It’s pretty standard in the Congressional web forms.
https://ziplook.house.gov/htbin/findrep_house?ZIP=70750
One can do things like use the post office address, if one really wanted to, on the web form. (Dunno if they check for that.) The +4 in the zip code could be a little annoying, but the USPS will give you that for any address or PO box.
A post card might be easier. ;-)
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Geminid: Heh. Fingers crossed.
sdhays
@Baud: That’s my expectation. I get the feeling he doesn’t want to get rid of the filibuster, but he also knows his career is probably over if he’s the one who tips the balance to “no” on “must pass” legislation like voting rights and abortion rights.
In other words, I’m assuming he’s “gettable”.
Odie Hugh Manatee
What Republicans like is activist judges. Or at least the ones that are conservative activists. All I heard for years was “activist liberal judges” when what they really wanted was their own activist judges. Between the SCROTUS payola scandals, court shopping, TFG doing whatever he wants, Moscow Mitch stealing appointments from Democratic presidents or numerous other issues and I have to say that lady justice isn’r blind but also deaf and dumb.
I think men chose a woman to depict justice because they’ve been pushing women around for centuries.
karen marie
@prostratedragon: I watched the Nunes video. What a maroon!
His big plan is to allow video content that’s been banned by other sites. Yeah, that’ll bring in advertisers. I hope he tries it.
Paul in KY
@Urza: I am sure there were/are at least 2 more Democratic senators agin it, who were happy to let Manchin & Simienenenea vocalize that opposition.
karen marie
@StringOnAStick: You already got the suggestion I made.
It is infuriating though that only people in the speaker’s district can send an emaii.
TBone
@Anonymous At Work: I am intimately familiar with how retainers work, as part of my former job(s) were to input every minute detail of every moment (yes, moment!) “spent” working on a case into one of the various computer billing systems devised for and sold exclusively to attorneys for that purpose. In some cases, I was instructed to eavesdrop on every phone call to see who/what/when the attorney was doing because he didn’t want to waste his own time on the few seconds it would have taken him to log his own time into the computeruzed billing system that had a stopwatch timer he could have just clicked on. Padding is not uncommon.
I know your point was that the money isn’t supposed to be used until legal service is rendered and NOT to pay for additional representation when you’re caught criming but generally nobody sees the nuts and bolts of these operations.
Paul in KY
@StringOnAStick: Curses! How would one ever find the zip codes for the sad district Speaker Pornhub ‘represents’?
They have out foxed us again…
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
I’m assuming 50 for purposes of this discussion. Picking up a 51st Senator in Florida or Texas still seems like a long shot, and of course if we wind up with 49 or less, it’s a moot point.
prostratedragon
@karen marie: Hunh, guess it never occured to him to wonder why they were banned.😶
Geminid
@sdhays: Mark Warner is likely serving his last term. I expect him to retire, like his friend across the Potomac, Ben Cardin. Rep. Jennifer McClellan will probably replace Warner.
From what I’ve seen, Warner would be on board for filibuster carveouts for a very few critical bills, like voting rights and women’s health rights. He would not go for abolishing the filibuster outright, but I think he’d be one of many in that respect.
UncleEbeneezer
@sdhays: The main reason that Smith filed in Florida is because many of the crimes only occurred when he was officially no longer President. And when that happened, Trump (and the documents) were both in MAL. Elie Honig explains:
Martin
@UncleEbeneezer: Worth adding that USSC was at that moment examining a case that involved the question of if a trial is determined to have been filed in the wrong venue if that invokes jeopardy. Smith had a real considering that if he filed in DC and the case progresses and is then found to be the wrong venue (maybe because the charges for what happened in DC are either dropped or acquitted leaving only the Florida activities) that he would be unable to retry the case because of jeopardy.
Precedent was that so long as it didn’t make it to jury before the determination, the case could be retried, but USSC took up this new case which challenged that, and as it turns out USSC held that precedent, but in that moment it wasn’t clear why USSC took that case and if they’d be inclined to attach jeopardy at an earlier time.
So the safe move was to file in the district where the most serious and easy to prove elements of the case reside.
Jackie
@StringOnAStick: I just use the home town’s zip code that they’re from 😉 They seldom ask for an actual mailing address.
Geminid
@Paul in KY: If you are in a Republican district, you could always email your Representative and instruct him to tell his buddy Mike Johnson to put the Ukraine bill on the House floor. Maybe send friendly follow-ups: “Have you told your buddy Mike Johnson to put that dam’ Ukraine bill on the floor yet?”
Or maybe be more politic, but still make the point. There are a lot of Republican Representives, I think, who have been straddling the fence on this issue with their fingers in the air. Those that want to know which way the wind is blowing will look to constituent communications for a wind gauge.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Captain C: unfortunately Leo’s just the kinda guy who might love it too. Those creeps like to hang out together