I remember seeing this movie with my mom at her urging because, at the time, she thought I could make a good lawyer someday (because I was an argumentative child) and hoped I’d be inspired by it. She was wrong about my vocational aptitude, but I do remember finding the film vaguely inspiring.
I haven’t seen it again in the intervening decades and have no idea how it holds up. I do recall the real-world version of the Supreme Court being a more widely respected institution back then than it is today.
The words “First Monday in October” have a different connotation with the Fed Soc Six supermajority in place. Now I hear them with a feeling of dread, wondering which fundamental rights they will rip away or how they’ll degrade life by empowering polluters, gun merchants, corporate parasites, etc.
Public Notice highlighted four cases to watch this term. Here’s a quick summary of what’s at issue in each:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America: Payday lenders, which exist to fleece the poor, are arguing that the way the CFPB is funded is unconstitutional. (JFC, for real?) Conservatives’ ceaseless efforts to undermine and/or destroy the CFPB are an unintentional tribute to the clarity of its creator’s vision. Thanks, Senator Warren!
United States v. Rahimi: This case will decide if violent domestic abusers retain their right to a firearm. That this is even a fucking question is further proof that the modern conservative interpretation of the Second Amendment is a murder-suicide pact.
Moore v. US: The article says this case is about “tax law applying to ‘unrealized’ income.” It’s exactly the type of case the Fed Soc was founded to ensure is adjudicated in favor of its mega-rich donors. But as the article notes, this particular case is also a Sam Alito flex. Alito granted a softball interview to the conservative attorney and legal writer who originally requested that the court take up the case. Alito then declined to recuse, carefully reasoning “because shut up, that’s why.”
Moody v. NetChoice/NetChoice v. Paxton: These matters should have been laughed out of a lower court because Moody (hack AG to DeSantis) and Paxton (indicted crook who recently beat an impeachment to retain his seat as TX AG — for now) are defending laws that were passed to address a phantom harm: that conservatives are “silenced” on social media platforms like ex-Twitter. As fucking if!
It’ll be interesting to see what fuckery the court gets up to this term, in the same sense that it would be “interesting” to watch helplessly on a Ring app while six thieves kick in your door and steal your shit. But at least we’ll have the consolation of eloquent dissents to read.
We have a lot of lawyer types around here — please chime in with what you’re focusing on in this SCOTUS term, if you care to. Otherwise, open thread!
Jackie
Is it snowing in Florida, BC? Clarence Thomas has recused himself!!!
Villago Delenda Est
Holy Flurking Schnitt! Clarence Thomas recused himself?
Betty Cracker
@Jackie: Whoa, no shit?!? Hooray for ProPublica! Sometimes working the refs works too. Kudos to Senator Whitehouse and all the Dems who’ve raised hell about the corrupt court.
SiubhanDuinne
@Jackie:
I wish he’d recuse himself right into an active volcano.
Alison Rose
@SiubhanDuinne: I snorted.
Also too:
I got told the same thing as a young kid, for the same reason. Then I got a little older and it was obvious I’d never be able to rein in my cursing enough for court. Also, all that school? Nah.
Alison Rose
LOL the photo on the NYT front page from TIFG’s fraud trial. He looks like such a mad little boy.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: It is shocking, at least at first glance.
To me, this is the Supreme Court justices desperately trying to hold actual ethics rules at bay. “See, Mommy, I learned my lesson, I’ll be good!”
raven
@Alison Rose: I guess his “remarks” about the states attorney and judge were doozies.
swiftfox
More important than three of the above is Loper Bright v Raimondo, a retest of the 1984 Chevron v NRCC case giving federal agencies the authority to do their job.
WaterGirl
@Alison Rose: Wow, no kidding, He looks like a mad little boy – absolutely furious, in fact – who is about to hold his breath until he turns blue.
I really wonder if Trump is capable of keeping quiet and behaving in court. I know I sometimes reference someone’s head exploding, but I don’t mean it literally.
Here, I actually wonder if he will be unable to contain himself and longer and will explode with some inappropriate outburst.
I mean, it’s hard to learn – especially for the first time at 78 years old – that there are consequences.
WaterGirl
@raven: I must have missed that. Is there a link?
Jackie
@Alison Rose: Did you notice he and his Diet Coke fetcher are dressed in tweenkie-twin outfits? Navy blue suits and royal blue ties. I wonder why they ditched the red tie uniform?🤔
Frankensteinbeck
@WaterGirl:
I can certainly see “I do not give the slightest god damn about this Eastward guy and neither does my wife, so this is a good meaningless gesture to make proving how ethical I am.”
JPL
@Frankensteinbeck: That was my impression. He won’t recluse himself when it comes to screwing the poor.
counterfactual
I wandered past my Dad’s Fox News, and they’re in full meltdown about the NY Fraud trial. “How long will the Trumps be prevented from running a business???” “Can’t they appeal the summary judgment before the trial????” “What will foreign entrepreneurs think about forming companies in New York???”
What part of “corporate death sentence” is hard to understand? No, you can’t appeal part of a trial while the trial is going on. Hopefully, “don’t try to do stupid fraud in New York.”
Scout211
I am waiting to see if SCOTUS hears the mifepristone case. Speculation is that they will agree to hear the case and will hold the hearings in the spring.
Link to article and 5th circuit ruling in August.
. . .
Thor Heyerdahl
@WaterGirl:
Kaffee: Did you order the Code Red?
Jessup: I did the job that—-
Kaffee: DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED?!
Jessup: YOU’RE GODDAMN RIGHT I DID!
MisterDancer
Well, it sure as hell is in Georgia! From MSNBC via Daily Kos:
I mean, criticizing him makes some sense, given how much the GA GOP seems to dislike Trump, overall.
But it’s still a hell of a thing to see.
cain
Eventually someone is going to bring into question that the current iteration of the entire govt is unconstitutional and not what the framers has in mind.
Leto
While not at SCOTUS level this will be in the courts, and Disney PR is already trying to make this the next McDonalds hot coffee incident.
Disney ride caused serious ‘gynecologic injuries’ for woman after waterslide ‘wedgie’ during 30th birthday celebration: Lawsuit
Xavier
The Moore case seems to be more about whether unrealized income is income, not so much about whether its subject to tax law. If it’s not income, it probably shouldn’t be taxed.
Steeplejack
“I do recall the real-world version of the Supreme Court being a more widely respected institution back then than it is today.”
Y’think? Crackerian understatement. 😹
Frankensteinbeck
So did anybody hear that the reason the Trump NY Fraud case is going to a judge and not a jury is because Trump’s lawyers forgot to fill in the necessary form?
smith
I can hardly wait to see what Eastman and Ginni Thomas were emailing about. It could raise some real questions about when we can expect her indictment. At least, it would be irresponsible not to speculate.
Steeplejack
@Jackie:
Jeez, I might have to hate-watch Andrea Mitchell at noon to get the latest hot takes!
narya
Yeah, let’s see if he ever recuses himself when they’re going to HEAR a case. Magic 8 Ball says “not a chance.”
Steeplejack
Who is live-streaming Trump’s hearing?
Betty Cracker
@swiftfox: We talked about that case recently here. Not a lawyer, but it sure sounds like it could be highly consequential for everyone who breathes, drinks water, etc.
HumboldtBlue
@Steeplejack:
I just tried, it’s fucking impossible.
Alison Rose
@WaterGirl: I kind of hope he does blurt shit out and refuse to behave. HOLD HIS ASS IN CONTEMPT. PUT HIM IN THE CLINK.
Frankensteinbeck
@Alison Rose:
It’s valuable data on how he’ll behave in his criminal trials that he can’t skip.
Foghorn453
This case is about whether Purdue Pharmaceuticals can shield the Sacklers from liability during their bankruptcy
https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/313599/
hueyplong
@Alison Rose: I’m not sure there is much Trump can blurt out that would bother (rather than amuse) us. There is no jury for him to tamper with.
So I’m in favor of lots of blurting, the more offensive the better.
RaflW
Republicans, Federalist Soc., and movement conservatives have played the long game for 40+ years. We are at the jumping off point for the countervailing swing.
When I see things like the serial demolition of GOP nonsense in the “impeachment” hearing (scare quotes because it’s beyond a sham, it’s pure made-for-TV fiction) by young and feisty Democrats, I think: We can do it. We can recruit and support the cohort that will get this careening train back on track.
Yes the SCOTUS is wildly out of control. But a long-range plan to win back rights and a decent, caring society is entirely possible. We have to win some serious elections. We have to have enough of a majority in the House to start passing legislation. Significant legislation.
Part of why the Fed. Soc. strategy has worked is that Dems have relied too long on the administrative state and bending existing tools to fit new needs. There needs to be a broad strategy of getting back to the roots of Congressional power and using it much more proactively.
And we need to use the power of Congress to investigate Clarence Thomas. A concerted effort must be made to get this g.d. corruption to stick to him and to CJ Roberts. It is unconscionable that these bought men have such power. It should at the very least be plainly understood by average Americans that this is a nakedly corrupt Court and thus their rulings are suspect at best, and in several instances should be summarily reversed as soon as we can regain even the slimmest Court majority. (edit: @Betty Cracker et al,. Yes much more of this, please.)
Geminid
@MisterDancer: At age 29, Colton Moore is a young man in a hurry. When he was 25, Moore won a seat in Georgia’s lower house by beating the Republican incumbent.
Moore is also a fast talker, and came in first in a Georgia auctioneer competition when he was 21, and then placed in the national competition that same year.
Moore describes himself as an “Auctioneer and Cattleman.” His familily owns a trucking and heavy equipment company in northwest Georgia. I look for young Colton to challenge his notorious local Congresswoman in a primary later this decade.
HeleninEire
@Steeplejack: No one. The judge let the cameras roll for, like 2 minutes, and then ordered them turned off. He says he will not allow the opening statements to be televised.
Foghorn453
This case will decide whether Purdue Pharmaceuticals can shield the Sackler family from liability during bankruptcy
https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/313599/
RaflW
Further though on the Thomas recusal.
I’m gonna guess this was a politically smart, meaningless recusal. He gets surprised reactions like we’re having, on a case with incredibly narrow impact. And then gets to skate by recusing from the big deal issues like climate where the buyoff he’s received matters.
So, fuck him. I’m not really impressed so far. If he recuses where the Harlan Crow & other’s money is involved, then I’ll think we’ve gotten somewhere.
Steeplejack
@HumboldtBlue:
I have built up a bit of immunity, but so far it’s all Trump Trump Trump and his trial.
ETA: And now Mitchell says they’re going on to Kevin McCarthy after the break. Time to take off the hazmat suit and go over to HGTV or something. I’ll wait for Nicolle Wallace at 4:00.
RaflW
To SCOTUS news, this is interesting. Maybe the Court isn’t entirely libertarian all the time.
Jackie
@MisterDancer: Since he’s a MAGAt, I don’t have a problem with it!
jonas
@Villago Delenda Est: I was wondering what that herd of large pigs was doing flying past my bedroom window this morning…
Jackie
@Frankensteinbeck: I did!😂🤣😂🤣😂
Citizen Alan
@Foghorn453: Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. The larger issue is whether you can have a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan in which a portion of the plan payments are paid by a third party in exchange for that third party getting a release from liability for the actions of the debtor corporation. It’s just bad facts in this case because the third party here consists of some incredibly evil people.
Steeplejack
@HeleninEire:
Not talking about video, just someone at the hearing and publishing texts. I guess that’s live-blogging or live-tweeting. Sorry.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I just saw this on Cole’s twitter account. It’s a pic of Trump in the NY courtroom looking sullen. If you can bring yourself to click, you’ll enjoy it.
HeleninEire
@Steeplejack: Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports on Twitter
Alison Rose
@Dorothy A. Winsor: He posted it on FB too and I commented: “When Justice Stewart said “I know it when I see it” this was what he meant. Because it is definitely obscene how gleeful this image makes me.”
trollhattan
DemsReps in disarray.Now behold the power of this fully operational Dark Brandon.
trollhattan
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Without the gauze filter Trump certainly looks every year of his age. Lawyer person looks to be pondering her next appearance on “Real Housewives.”
lowtechcyclist
@jonas:
I was wondering what that herd of large pigs was doing flying past my bedroom window this morning…
Were there 30-50 of them? And you without an AR! ;-)
Jackie
@Dorothy A. Winsor: The realization that TIFG realizes he may ACTUALLY LOSE HIS EMPIRE! may finally be sinking into his thick head!
Barbara
@Foghorn453: @Citizen Alan:
It drives me crazy that so many people will not articulate the core issue — whether you can get the benefit of bankruptcy and have your debts extinguished even though you have not subjected yourself to the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court and put all your assets at risk (by declaring bankruptcy).
In this case, the Sacklers are seeking immunity not just for creditors in front of the bankruptcy court but potential creditors whose claims are only against them and not Purdue Pharma. I don’t see how the bankruptcy court has the authority to do that.
There are parallels where, let’s say, a parent company will contribute significant assets to a subsidiary’s bankruptcy settlement and ask for a release for its own liability with respect to creditors’ claims against the sub. Even this is sketchy on the grounds of authority, but typically, creditors voluntarily agree. In my view, if there is no agreement creditors should have the right to pursue claims against a non-bankrupt debtor. For any number of reasons I doubt that anyone would get far suing the Sacklers personally but it’s an outrageous abuse of bankruptcy to actually have your own liabilities extinguished when you are unwilling to place your assets at risk.
Steeplejack
@HeleninEire:
Thanks.
Cameron
The courtroom pic of Trump on the MSNBC website is amusing.
Steeplejack
@trollhattan:
First comment: “That’s possibly the first time in his life where he is right about something.”
HumboldtBlue
Only the best people…
Trump Attorney Screwup Means Trump Won’t Get Jury Trial in NY Fraud Case Due to an oversight, Trump’s attorneys failed to ask for a jury trial within the time allotted to them.
eclare
@Steeplejack:
Morning Joe said it would not be televised. I don’t know about reporters being allowed in to tweet, etc.
Ken
@HumboldtBlue: They can call it an oversight, but I prefer to imagine that Trump was late paying the attorney’s bill.
WaterGirl
@Frankensteinbeck: Yes. hahahahaha
edit: Did you hear that Trump is planning to testify in his NY trial?
p.a.
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Kinda the same face as his mug shot. Maybe it’ll freeze that way.
Jackie
Ya, ok, daddy… we believe you🙄🤪
Cameron
@HumboldtBlue: There’s a wonderful story on the same page about DeSantis laying into Trump for the yooge increase in the national debt on his watch. Hopefully they’ll destroy each other. Not that any of the other Republicans in the race are much better.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@RaflW: yeah, I was going to note that too. But taking that case would be a bigger step than all of the cases above, because it was a facial challenge to rent regulation that argued that ANY form of regulation that cut into profits was unconstitutional, which would be the equivalent of Lochner v New York which in 1905 struck down the government’s right to impose any regulations on commerce whatsoever.
Frankensteinbeck
@WaterGirl:
Mister “But I totally could have raped her and gotten away with it” Deposition wants to testify?
HumboldtBlue
Letitia James with an epic side-eye for Trump
Steeplejack
@eclare:
Thanks.
WaterGirl
@Ken: I do so hope that is true!
eclare
@HumboldtBlue:
Up there with Michelle’s on TIFG’s inauguration day.
WaterGirl
@Frankensteinbeck: It’s hard to believe, but I saw it in print.
edit: it could be bluster on Trump’s part. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Dorothy A. Winsor
NBC is providing live update on the Trump’s trial today. They just broke for lunch.
Chris T.
@Xavier:
I got hit by this once. I had to pay taxes on a privately held startup-company stock, unsellable (at the time, and eventually in the future it went to a penny a share) but via BOD re-evaluations, had produced some “unrealized” gain that pushed me (slightly) into the AMT system, I think. That was … very painful, which is when I started having a CPA do my taxes.
It’s very awkward having to pay taxes on money you didn’t actually get. Of course, it’s made up for by not having to pay taxes on other money you did get, except that the two events don’t happen at the same time (if ever). The whole system is screwy.
Frankensteinbeck
@WaterGirl:
The man who thought that would be fine to put in a deposition in a rape (civil) trial and who released a transcript of himself using Presidential power to pressure a foreign state to incriminate his political enemies, then kept telling people it was ‘perfect’, could decide any god damn thing is good for him.
Bill Arnold
@Scout211:
The Supreme Court has no business ruling on “moral injury”, IMO.[1]
Seriously; in a mixed society, there are many conflicting ethical calculuses. Christian Supremacists must not be considered to have higher standing than others.
[1] Maybe the original Jonathan Shay version: “betrayal of ‘what’s right’ in a high-stakes situation by someone who holds power.” But that is different.
Leto
@Cameron: I’ll let my enemies do all the work for me; I invested heavily in popcorn and lawn chair futures.
HumboldtBlue
@eclare:
Yes!
rikyrah
Dolt45’s trial is being heard by THE JUDGE and NOT A JURY..
Because, his lawyers didn’t file the paperwork for a jury trial.
You can’t make this shyt up.
BWA HA HA AH AH AH AHA HA HA HA HA HA
rikyrah
Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) posted at 8:15 AM on Mon, Oct 02, 2023:
1. Buried in North Carolina’s 600+ page budget is a little-noticed provision that creates a secret police force, controlled by Republicans, with extraordinary powers
2. The budget grants the Gov Ops Committee the right to seize “any document or system of record” from anyone who works in or w/state & local government
This includes contractors or any entity that directly or indirectly receives state funds, including charities and colleges
3. It gets worse. Gov Ops staff will be authorized to enter “any building or facility” owned or leased by a state or non-state entity without a judicial warrant.
This includes private homes, if it includes a home office of a contractor
4. Alarmingly, public employees under investigation will be required to keep all communication and requests “confidential.” They cannot alert their supervisor of the investigation nor consult with legal counsel.
Those who refuse to cooperate face jail time and fines of up to 1K
5. Gov Ops is dominated by Republicans and pursues partisan investigations. It is co-chaired by Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R).
Gov Ops launched an inquiry into diversity training programs at the University of North Carolina earlier this year.
6. Berger and Moore claim this is all about oversight and transparency. But a separate provision of the budget allows them to reject any public records requests concerning the operation of Gov Ops.
7. This is part of a broader effort to restrict public access to public records. The budget also repeals a law that required “communications regarding redistricting” be made publicly available when new legislative maps were adopted.
Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) posted at 8:30 AM on Mon, Oct 02, 2023:
8. North Carolina is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. In 2022, a gerrymandering trial exposed a top Republican redistricting official for using “secret maps to help draft the state’s redistricting plan.”
https://t.co/rj35cvXfwv
(https://x.com/JuddLegum/status/1708836797659185358?t=CMm-e3p25VNxdJK43UYrtA&s=03)
Paul in KY
@WaterGirl: I think they would have to drug him up a bit for him to stay silent when the prosecution is giving a factual presentation on the kind of person he is and what he has done.
JoyceH
Something I don’t understand. The fraud trial is about Trump overvaluing his holding to lenders, and that’s something Michael Cohen has been saying for years. But Cohen has also repeatedly said that Trump also undervalued those properties for taxes. Why is only the overvalues being charged? The undervalues is tax cheating, which sounds more significant to me.
rikyrah
@Scout211:
PHUCK OUTTA HERE
Shalimar
@Steeplejack: I was listening to Andrea Mitchell. She had a reporter from the Trump civil case describe a “staredown” (Mitchell’s word) between Trump and James as he walked by her at the beginning of a break. According to the reporter, he was staring at her trying to look defiant and she looked ahead without even acknowledging him. That sounds more like someone politely ignoring a misbehaving child than any kind of confrontation.
Frankensteinbeck
@JoyceH:
IANAL, but I strongly suspect it’s because it’s the IRS’s job to look into that, not the New York DA.
JoyceH
@Frankensteinbeck: there’s always state taxes.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: That’s horrifying. But it doesn’t say whether the budget has already passed, or if it’s a proposed budget. Do you know?
WaterGirl
@Paul in KY: Agree. If I didn’t mention keeping him drugged in my comment, that was an oversight. I had that very thought as I was typing. Better living through pharmaceuticals.
WaterGirl
@JoyceH: I hadn’t seen that it was only about one aspect of that. I assumed that it was about both.
Baud
@Xavier:
Unrealized income rarely is taxed, but many wealth tax proposals seek to tax such income.
Sean
Kind of wild, but my childhood (and oldest) friend is arguing on behalf of Rahimi in that domestic abuse/firearms case, as his federal public defender.
He and I used to be on our high school debate team in small town Texas, and before that we were getting beaned by wild pitches in youth baseball and trying to one up each other on who had the most injuries from said pitches. (We were bad at baseball).
I’ve told him that I hope he loses the case, and I think given the choice, he wouldn’t be arguing on behalf of Rahimi, but everyone deserves a full and robust defense and all that. It’s really weird to know someone arguing a case like this in the way I know him.
Geminid
@rikyrah: A couple weeks ago I heard on WBT (Charlotte) that Nofth Carolina’s Republican majority had also taken an ax to their Freedom of Information law.
All this makes next year’s Governor’s race a very crucial one. Last I saw, the Democratic candidate had a small lead in the polls, but of course it’s still early.
JWR
@Shalimar:
Here’s how the NBC live feed described it:
scav
There are a lot of religions that have a fundamental proscription against alcohol. That’ll sure free up the waiting times in ER if all the intoxicated are shunted off for fear some doctors might suffer moral cooties by touching the drunks impure bodies. “Lips that touch alcohol shall never be revived.” “Eek! He’s wearing mixed fibers! To the morgue with him!”
trollhattan
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Bailiff turning away mystery order of one-hundred “Free hamberders for everybody” being delivered to courtroom.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
this made me chuckle
Photographers in the courtroom but no film or sound? Seems like the wrong direction to me
geg6
@Alison Rose:
Have you caught the report that Cheetolini is having a bench trial only because his lawyer (Alina Hanna) never checked the box requesting a jury trial? And this is the judge he’s putting the gate of his companies in? You know, the one he’s been excoriating online for months? 🤣🤣🤣
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That courtroom is so white. Did Trump ask for that?
Steeplejack
@Shalimar:
Andrea bringing the spicy drama! Glad I switched to Help! I Wrecked My House (HGTV, not C-SPAN).
Roger Moore
@JoyceH:
In most places, nobody has the power to undervalue their property for tax purposes unilaterally. There’s always someone like a tax assessor who is in charge of producing what the government thinks a property is worth, and there are formal dispute resolution procedures if someone thinks the assessor has overvalued their property. The values you get from that process are what taxes are based on. If Trump has done something legally wrong by using those processes, it would have to be from illegally manipulating the process, e.g. by bribing the assessor, which would be difficult to prove. In contrast, showing Trump overvalued his properties for purposes of taking out loans is mostly a paper process. You show what an impartial assessment said the property is worth and then that the value Trump used for his loans was unreasonably higher.
Jackie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: That photo captures it perfectly! The Cheshire cat vs I’m never going to see one dollar…
HumboldtBlue
Watch out everyone, Donald Trump is mad, BIGLY MAD!!!!
Alison Rose
@JWR: I’m sure she was shaking in her shoes.
Scout211
I’ve read this claim a couple of times here, but no one is providing a link. Call me skeptical, but I am not going to believe this until I see some actual news stories with actual facts.
Xavier
@Baud: Yeah, property tax is definitely a tax on, I guess, imputed income, which is part of the national income calculation. It’s a bit of a weird situation, which is why we get property tax freezes, especially for retirees and such.
catclub
@Baud:
I would say that ‘unrealized income’ is NOT income.
catclub
@Xavier:
NO. Property tax is a tax on property, which is not the same as income.
Roger Moore
@Xavier:
Property tax is a state and local thing, so what the federal constitution says about the limits on the federal government don’t really apply. If a state says it’s OK to tax property, the USSC will stay out of it.
Alison Rose
@Scout211:
Linky
Rusty
@JoyceH: His entities are being sued under a NY state law against fraud. The overvaluation was for purposes of securing loans wherein the lender would be secured against loss if they weren’t paid back. If you think a property is worth $100M then you don’t mind lending someone $30M. If the property is only worth $18M, then you wouldn’t lend them $30M based on that. This is the basis of the case. Trump already lost the case in summary judgement (there was no factual dispute that the property was worth $100M when it was only worth $18M). This part of the trial is to figure out the penalty and winding up of the entities now that they no longer have NY state business licenses.
HumboldtBlue
@Scout211:
Here ya go
Same link as comment #57
sdhays
@rikyrah: Wait, having a judge trial wasn’t intentional? They just f-ed up?
p.a.
@catclub: I totes enjoy my unrealized income while sitting in my unrealized palace sipping my unrealized 2013 Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru.
trollhattan
@Alison Rose:
Is Trump still confused that “my really good friend, the president of Turkey” is not the judge in his trial?
Leto
So I was reading one of the articles about Trumpov not having a jury, and this part popped out (highlight is mine):
I want all the glee that comes from his suffering, but then there are these little factoids that give me pause. While most of the Jan 6th defendants have gotten time, they’re not the Orange Skidmark. The cult will try to protect the leader as hard as they can, including throwing out all morals/ethics (which they already have).
Cameron
@sdhays: Only the best people…..
JWR
@Scout211:
I haven’t heard much about this publication, The Messenger, but here’s how they put it. And it’s TFG, so quite believable:
smith
I’m pretty sure the photographs were only allowed for a matter of minutes before the proceedings were underway.
Scout211
Thanks, all, for the links. Full service blog, for sure. :)
Okay, I now believe that the attorneys didn’t file for a jury trial but I still wonder if it was a mistake, an oversight or a decision made by the attorneys. I guess that is attorney-client privilege and we will never really know for sure. But if she really did screw up, I wonder why she wasn’t fired by Trump? I guess (my speculation here) is that he is always looking for a reason to appeal . . .
Baud
Is this the first Trump trial in NYC? May be intentional not to ask for a jury. New Yorkers know and hate Trump.
Cameron
@JWR: But it was the way he said it! The judge looked at me and said, “Sir,” and he had tears in his eyes, “Sir, nobody asked for a jury trial.”
Jackie
@HumboldtBlue: I think that was theatrics for his base. Did he manage it in one take?
HumboldtBlue
@Cameron:
Hahahahahaha
zhena gogolia
@HumboldtBlue: Oh, god, the way the reporters laugh at his “wit.” They’re bigger scum than he is.
H-Bob
@scav: It’s not only that ” “Lips that touch alcohol shall never be revived.” It’s also banning alcohol consumption for everyone so that a doctor wouldn’t be in the position of treating a patient who used alcohol.
geg6
@Scout211:
https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1708855856412987796
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
There’s a club. We’re not in it.
HumboldtBlue
@Jackie:
Oh, I think he’s bigly mad, this is an attack on his whole persona — the billionaire real estate baron — and he’s being exposed for being a fraud and all his claims about wealth are over-inflated bullshit, and it’s eating him alive.
@zhena gogolia:
Agreed.
Jackie
@Scout211: I know that’s the reason TIFG isn’t having a jury for today’s Civil hearing. Surely she didn’t get the required paperwork turned in on time TWICE?!?
JWR
@Scout211:
That’s what I thought, too. But IANAL, (heh, far from it), and so will defer to my betters roun’ these parts. ;)
Barbara
@JWR: Changing my comment because I realized that I am getting confused whether this is the civil suit or another criminal one? I am having trouble keeping track. Generally, courts hate jury trials in complicated cases even when you have a constitutional right to one, so you need to affirmatively opt in. But even a completely novice attorney should be able to deduce the need to make sure that they know they don’t want one before turning in the form.
ETA: Link says it is civil fraud. So it’s likely he won’t be able to pursue some kind of constitutional theory for why he shouldn’t be denied a jury trial notwithstanding he didn’t ask for one.
Baud
What will really be something is if his attorneys are late filing an appeal. There’s no escaping that error.
Alison Rose
@trollhattan: LOLOL!!
zhena gogolia
@Baud: One of them says, “What are you having for lunch?”
sdhays
@Baud: That’s what I assumed. Surely this was intentional. Perhaps a mistake (almost certainly since they should have known the facts were pretty damning, but you only need to confuse one juror – or do NY civil trials just require a majority?), but not just an accident.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Just one of the boys!
Alison Rose
@Baud: This is true. I can even remember as a kid, my mom’s parents railing about what a phony and a scumbag he was.
cain
@Steeplejack:
You sure he wasn’t quoting from Princess Bride?
Jackie
@HumboldtBlue: Oh I have no doubt he’s HUUUGLY furious! But, he’s playing to his base at the same time. Gotta keep the donations coming…
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Where is her hand in the second picture… ?
scav
@H-Bob: Oooo. Prohibition 2.0. Do we also have to universally ban all transfusions and blood donations to appease the Jehovah’s Witnesses? Muslim practice might impair further development of porcine-based treatments and organs for transplant. Will moral vegans put the kibosh on the cattle industry? Do Catholics still not recognize divorce? Pickiest morals define law!
smith
Here’s an encouraging bit of news: There were essentially no pro-TFG protesters outside the courthouse today. Sure, it’s NYC, but there were smallish crowds there at the time of his arraignment in the Bragg case, and after the E. Jean Carroll decision. Heck, there really wasn’t all that much action when he was arraigned in GA. Despite all those polls showing the Goobers still devoted to their once and future king, the energy seems to be draining away.
Alison Rose
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Please tell me that’s photoshopped because I do not want to contend with what it’s showing if it isn’t.
RevRick
I think it’s important to remember that the Supreme Court has long been a conservative/reactionary institution in our polity. It has barfed up such notable opinions as Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson, plus lesser known gems as Lochner (sacred right of contract {spit}), and Cruikshank ( which made a hash of the 14th Amendment). And that latter case featured a Court appointed by Civil War era Presidents!
It is far wiser, on our part, to see the post New Deal/Warren era Court as an aberration, rather than the rule.
The solution must be for Congress to exercise its Article 1 powers (and Article 3, Section 2), and take a shot across its bow, so to speak. The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.
Jackie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Ooooh somebody send that photo to Melania ASAP!
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Heh, where indeed? “My FAVORITE lawyer, believe me! She can really jerk my opponents around.”
And what’s the story with PaulLeeDicks?
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
She went to the Lauren Boebert School of Law.
smith
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: No surprise there — do you recall her professional attire when she made an appearance after TFG’s DC arraignment? It’s axiomatic in Trumpworld that a woman’s primary function is to serve as a sex object, regardless of any professional qualifications or responsibilities she may incidentally have.
JWR
@Barbara:
Egg-cellent! And I know this has been discussed here before, but what sort of lawyer even thinks about working for the guy? (Asking rhetorically, of course.)
Leto
@Alison Rose: it’s a very obvious photoshop; still disturbing.
sdhays
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Surely that’s not a real picture.
Sure Lurkalot
@catclub:
In NY, commercial property is appraised by the assessor using its capitalized net operating income to determine its market value. So yes, it’s a property tax but it’s based on income.
trollhattan
@sdhays: Stop calling me Shirley!
trollhattan
@smith: I don’t think she’s merely a Real Housewife, I think she’s been on every Real Housewife series.
WaterGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: shudder
trollhattan
Dude has not yet learned when to shut his yap.
He thinks the judge cannot read.
WaterGirl
@Leto: I am not good at spotting fakes.
I was about to ask you to explain what you saw the led to that conclusion, but seriously, there’s no way I am looking at that photo again. Ugh.
WaterGirl
@trollhattan: Is that a recent post from Trump? After he knew that this isn’t a jury trial?
JWR
@WaterGirl:
He said that today.
MisterDancer
@HumboldtBlue: Trump really is a sideshow to media, isn’t he?
That laugh at the end when he said “maybe” was yet another in a long line of tells; the media loves Trump, and (at best) tolerates Biden.
smith
@WaterGirl: I think that’s a quote from TFG attacking the judge minutes ago during the lunch break in this trial. He really looks like he’s about to bust a gasket.
Roger Moore
@MisterDancer:
He’s no sideshow to the media; he’s their main act. Even ones who don’t want his policies must be attracted to the way gives them endless, easy stories.
trollhattan
@WaterGirl: Yep, he said it in front of the cameras coming back from lunch. Stable genius.
https://nitter.net/Acyn/status/1708897731920445803#m
HumboldtBlue
@MisterDancer:
Sadly, yes.
MisterForkbeard
@Scout211:
….okay, but what if you’re morally opposed to black people? Or drug use? Or war? Are you just allowed to let those people die for funsies?
What a terrible, stupid argument.
JWR
@MisterDancer:
That “maybe” reaction to whether he would speak to them later was truly cringe. Those reporters reminded me of that line from Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit: “Here we are now, entertain us.” Indeed and harrumpf.
ETA Edited for clarity. I hope.
rikyrah
@WaterGirl:
I think it’s passed.
rikyrah
Cause she thought she was SPECIAL.
HMMPH.
Abby Libby (@abbythelibb_) posted at 3:46 PM on Sun, Oct 01, 2023:
Or, and read carefully here because you seem really slow: Conservative men should treat female allies with BASIC FUCKING DECENCY.
I LOVE THESE RESPONSES:
Hannah – HLK851 on Spoutible (@HLK851) posted at 7:35 AM on Mon, Oct 02, 2023:
Conservative men don’t treat anyone else with basic decency, why are you expecting them to treat conservative women with basic decency? I’m not being glib either, they’re in it for themselves and no one else. How is this surprising to you?
Bernie must retire in 2024 before he declines (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 9:29 AM on Mon, Oct 02, 2023:
The leopard didn’t just eat her face, he ate her whole , and is presently chewing on the marrow of her metaphorical bones for the last of the flesh. I mean, those are the actual rules with white conservative people.
Ekta Shah (@EktaShahMD) posted at 9:34 AM on Mon, Oct 02, 2023:
Bc she thinks she will be the exception as long as she does what they want. They always do. And she enjoys it when they do it to Black and Brown and other marginalized groups
rikyrah
But, it’s true
KD (@Fly_Sistah) posted at 0:16 PM on Mon, Oct 02, 2023:
Trump can’t afford experienced lawyers so hired counsel who was too incompetent to check a box on a form for a jury trial. Trump’s been attacking the judge Engoron & Tish James in the media not realizing he wasn’t playing to a jury. https://t.co/BEJMTYOkxu https://t.co/lYLlfN2xEn
(https://x.com/Fly_Sistah/status/1708893629232673186?t=18nMfr_rrgPdpSZaPMQ7vg&s=03)
Suzanne
@Scout211:
Then those physicians can quit. #seeya
If physicians now get to claim moral injury if they are asked to tear anyone who ever did something they disagree with, what does that mean for people who overdose on drugs? Or get in a car accident? Or hurt themselves with a firearm or a knife?
rikyrah
Skeptical Brotha (@skepticalbrotha) posted at 9:09 AM on Mon, Oct 02, 2023:
There is zero possibility that North Carolina Republicans will create fair redistricting maps after repealing sunshine laws and privatizing their redistricting records. Gerrymandering lawsuits have skillfully used those records in the past.
(https://x.com/skepticalbrotha/status/1708846704999408037?t=CaxuiiXtt8pDLXdod_G3Qw&s=03)
jonas
So I’m just now getting caught up a bit on all the drama with Trump’s NY bench trial and apparently, he’s not getting a jury trial (not that those have gone very well for him in NY lately anyway) and will very likely lose his real estate empire because his sooper-geneeus and hugely competent lawyers forgot to check a box requesting one. Ya just got to stare into the far distance, blinking slowly at that one.
Not to worry, though. I’m sure he can at least minimize the damage and generate some sympathy by… repeatedly attacking and threatening the judge and the prosecutor on social media.
This guy is fucking deranged. The sooner he’s forced into bankruptcy and shuffles off this mortal coil, the better for America and humanity in general.
Cameron
Here’s something to brighten everybody’s day. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death in people under 40 in 37 states.
https://stateline.org/2023/09/05/death-rates-for-people-under-40-have-skyrocketed-blame-fentanyl/
Barbara
@MisterForkbeard: So, basically, her position is that society should uphold the decision of doctors whose moral judgment is that women who have complications from abortion deserve to die?
SWMBO
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Is that Jack Smith in the second row?
Alison Rose
@SWMBO: Who? I don’t see him, and I don’t think he’d have reason to be there, would he?
HumboldtBlue
Someone on Twitter just called Trump Mrs. Goutfire and I am still chuckling.
NotMax
@jonas
It’s a bench trial because his attorneys did not at any time file a request for jury trial, specifically before the deadline for doing so.
jonas
@NotMax: Yeah, it seems insane. Is there any plausible reason they might have had for opting for a bench trial? Or did they just fuck up?
NotMax
Impugning the integrity of the presiding judge and calling him names on the court house steps enough to drive Carrie Nation to drink.
cain
@rikyrah: her twitter feed is filled with conservative women feeling betrayed because men now blame all women not just feminists.
::eyeroll:: Now that feed is all about how we need __good__ strong men.
NotMax
@jonas
Ding ding ding. No more calls please, we have a winner!
NotMax
@cain
With good tanned testicles.
//
randy khan
I have been following the Florida and Texas laws for work. It would be a huge shock if they’re not overturned – the Supreme Court overturned the 5th Circuit’s initial stay of the lower court decision and then stayed the 5th Circuits (absolutely nutty*) decision reversing the lower court decision.
*When I saw absolutely nutty, I mean it – the 5th Circuit decided that it should ignore all of the previous relevant Supreme Court First Amendment cases and do a brand new kind of analysis because of (drum roll) Dobbs and the way it treated unenumerated rights. (It decided that moderating content was an unenumerated right, and also referred to it as “censorship” throughout the decision.) The decision more or less literally says “All of those old First Amendment cases are nice, but they don’t count now.” This, mind you, was after the Supreme Court overturned the initial stay of the lower court decision, which is what you might call a pretty obvious tell about which way the Supremes were leaning.
Leto
@WaterGirl: sorry, had an appointment and just now getting back to this; combination of skin tone on arm, fact an arm doesn’t bend like that, some digital artifacts that are present, her face looks pasted on (pretty sure it’s a pic of Melania with her pasted over), his jacket is shopped… I’ve seen a lot of AI style stuff because Avalune keeps track of all that stuff (in a repudiation to AI generated work), as well as the folks on Imgur help to point out all the identifying signs of crap photoshop.
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
Oddly, there haven’t been many films on SCOTUS.
The best would be “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight”
and
“Separate But Equal” with Sidney Poitier as Thurgood Marshall and Richard Kiley as Earl Warren
As for “First Monday in October”, Jill Clayburgh was such a great actress.
NotMax
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
Takes dramatic license but The Magnificent Yankee has held up over time.
Nods too to Amistad, Loving and Woman in Gold.