And the beat goes on,
{actually I was going to post in the Political Optics thread, but there aren’t enough people engaging that thread, I must start a new thread dedicated to the “Political Optics” of our Supreme Court justices.}
Lawrence O’Donnell: Chief Justice Roberts reveals his shockingly shallow ‘hardest decision’
May 24, 2023 #msnbc #supremecourt #johnroberts
During a speech at the American Law Institute, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said the hardest decision he’s had to make during his 18-year tenure on the bench was “to erect fences and barricades around the Supreme Court.” MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell reacts to the Chief Justice’s answer.
9:58
Now we know … until last night John Roberts had enjoyed the public image of being possibly the most thoughtful Republican appointed member of the Supreme Court.
The terrible truth might be that he is the most thoughtful Republican appointed member of the Supreme Court.
We now know that he’s not just a Republican politician. He is a small-minded thinker who has no idea (nor any concern) of the pain and anguish the cruelty of his decisions has inflicted on people including 10 year old girls …
August 2005
… According to reports, Judge Roberts’ legal memoranda released thus far, dating from his tenure in the Department of Justice from 1981 to 1982 and the office of White House Counsel from 1982 to 1986, reveal troubling statements on civil rights issues. For example, Roberts argued that Congress was not only able to, but also justified in, enacting legislation that would strip the federal courts of jurisdiction to desegregate public schools. …
… Judge Roberts’ narrow interpretation of Title IX is troubling. In addition to Roberts’ efforts to narrow Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 during his years in the Reagan administration, noted above, he later took positions that would have seriously weakened Title IX. …
… Judge Roberts’ aggressive approach to narrowing Congressional authority under the Commerce Clause, which serves as the basis for many critical federal laws. …
… Judge Roberts’ expansive view of administrative power to suspend fundamental due process protections. …
… Judge Roberts’ attempt to undermine the wall of separation between church and state. As Deputy Solicitor General, Roberts co-authored an amicus curiae brief in Lee v. Weisman .7 He not only argued that it was constitutional for a public school to sponsor prayers at graduation ceremonies, but also urged the Court to scrap the long-standing test that federal courts have used to decide whether laws and practices violate the Establishment Clause. …
… * Judge Roberts’ position in Bray v. Alexandria raises questions about his willingness to protect women from discrimination. As Deputy Solicitor General, Roberts co-authored an amicus curiae brief in Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic 8 in support of Operation Rescue’s tactics of trespassing and blockading women’s access to health clinics, tactics that “present[ed] a striking contemporary example of the kind of zealous, politically motivated, lawless conduct that led to the enactment of the Ku Klux Klan Act in 1871 and gave it its name.”9 What is most alarming about John Roberts’ role in Bray is not only that he argued on behalf of the US government on the side of an organization that targeted women, he did so without renouncing the aggressive and dangerous tactics used to prevent women from accessing health care. …
May 23, 2023 #clarencethomas #msnbc #harlancrow
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell discusses GOP billionaire mega donor Harlan Crow’s defense of his relationship with Clarence Thomas, his collection of Nazi memorabilia and the statues of dictators that fill his “garden of evil.”