Tag: SCOTUS

Commentary: Democrats Show Symptoms of ABKDS (Acute Brett Kavanaugh Derangement Syndrome)

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Brett Kavanaugh

by Jeffery Rendall   In a modern American culture where people hardly agree on anything, one thing is crystal clear to everyone these days: if you turn your back on someone, you’re insulting them. That’s exactly what’s happening on Capitol Hill as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is receiving the cold shoulder and a chilled reception from minority party Democrat senators as he makes his rounds to meet with as many lawmakers as possible prior to his upcoming confirmation hearings. Democrats aren’t just turning their backs on Kavanaugh though – they’re outright denying him entrance to their offices. As would be expected, Democrats’ reasons for the snub aren’t very convincing. Susan Ferrechio of the Washington Examinerreported, “Many Senate Democrats have refused to hold the traditional meet and greet events with Supreme Court nominee Judge Kavanaugh, arguing they have not received all of the millions of pages of documentation related to Kavanaugh’s time working in the Bush White House. “Their shut out could ultimately delay the confirmation process and has prompted a threat from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to keep the Senate in session until Election Day if that time is needed to confirm Kavanaugh. “Republicans want to confirm Kavanaugh by…

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Senate GOP Draws Line On Kavanaugh Vetting Ahead Of Confirmation Hearings

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Brett Kavanaugh

by Kevin Daley   Senate Republicans are increasingly of the mind that documents Judge Brett Kavanaugh produced as White House staff secretary should not be reviewed in connection with his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Instead, GOP lawmakers believe the Senate is best served by confining its review of Kavanaugh’s writings to his judicial opinions and memos he generated as a lawyer for former President George W. Bush. Kavanaugh produced or processed approximately 1 million pages of records as an aide to Bush. Senate Democrats have asked to review that entire body of work, in hopes of slowing the confirmation process, or finding information damaging to his confirmation prospects. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that White House counsel Don McGahn met privately with Senate Republicans to discuss which of Kavanaugh’s Bush administration records should be released from their current sequestration in the National Archives. According to the Post, the developing consensus among Trump aides and GOP lawmakers is that work product the judge generated as a White House lawyer should be released, while any records relating to his service as staff secretary should remain private. GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, took this position…

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Commentary: Will Brett Kavanaugh Stand for Property Rights?

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Susette Kelo, Brett Kavanaugh

by Tom DeWeese   There’s lots of talk about where Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh stands on the Roe v Wade abortion decision and if he would vote to rescind it. There is another very controversial Supreme Court decision made just a few years ago, supported by Anthony Kennedy, the justice he seeks to replace. That is the Kelo decision that basically obliterated private property rights in America. So, where does Brett Kavanaugh stand on protection of private property rights? With Kennedy or the Constitution? In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down an opinion that shocked the nation. It was the case of Susette Kelo, et al. v City of New London, Connecticut, et al. The issue: “Does the government taking of property from one private owner to give to another private entity for economic development constitute a permissible ‘public use’ under the Fifth Amendment?” In 2000, the city of New London saw a chance to rake in big bucks through tax revenues for a new downtown development project that was to be anchored by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The company announced a plan to build a $270 million dollar global research facility in the city. The local government jumped at the chance…

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Senator Bob Corker Indicates He’ll Support Judge Kavanaugh Regardless Of What President Trump Does

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Bob Corker, Brett Kavanaugh

by Thomas Phippen   Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, said his disapproval of the president’s actions and comments would not stop him from supporting Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Corker said he received calls from Democratic colleagues after Trump’s controversial summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki Monday, urging the departing Tennessee senator to block Kavanaugh’s nomination. After the Helsinki press conference, which was “one of the worst” Corker said he’s seen, a leading Democrat called the Republican with a request to block Kavanaugh. “He said, ‘Corker, you need to block the Supreme Court nominee,’” Corker recalled. “Well, I could hit myself in the knee with a sledge hammer too. But why would I block someone that I generally like over what the president has done?” Because Corker is departing the chamber when his term ends in 2019, and because of his frequent criticisms of Trump, he is among a group of GOP politicians activists hope will cross the aisle to block a conservative justice from ascending to the Supreme Court. Along with Corker, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Jeff Flake of Arizona, all frequent…

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The Janus Decision Scored a Major Win for Workers’ Rights – Here’s What Should Come Next

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United States Supreme Court

by David Kreutzer and Rachel Greszler   Last month’s Supreme Court decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees hit public-sector unions like a bombshell. Now that public-sector unions can no longer extract union fees from workers who want nothing to do with them, public unions will have to work harder to provide services that will prompt workers to join their ranks. The question explored in the Janus case was whether or not forcing non-members to pay union dues violates their First Amendment rights. That issue was addressed narrowly as a matter of free speech, but more broadly it had much to do with wrongful coercion. Both members and non-members of public-sector unions can opt out of paying the portion of dues that explicitly goes to the union’s political activities. But, until recently, non-members could still be forced by law to pay what was called a “fair share” fee, because even non-members could receive the benefits of union representation (since unions have a monopoly on worker-employer negotiations). [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] Those forced fees would not explicitly go toward…

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Soros-Linked Group Will Spend Millions To Stop Kavanaugh

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Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, George Soros

by Kevin Daley and Andrew Kerr    – Progressives have formed a new political outfit to mobilize left-wing energy on judicial confirmations, including Judge Kavanaugh  – The group, Demand Justice, is financed and administratively supported by the Sixteen Thirty Fund  – George Soros’ advocacy network has given millions to the Sixteen Thirty Fund in recent years A new political advocacy group that vowed to put $5 million behind an effort to stop Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court has significant ties to the liberal financier George Soros. A Daily Caller News Foundation review has found that the group’s primary financial supporter is a nonprofit to whom Soros has given millions. The group, Demand Justice (DJ), is organized and financed by a 501(c)(4) called the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which collected some $2.2 million in contributions from the Open Society Policy Center (OSPC), one of Soros’ primary donation vehicles, between 2012 and 2016. The Soros Connection The Fund is largely financed by a handful of donors. Financial statements filed with state oversight officials in 2014 show just three contributors accounted for 70 percent — or some $11.5 million — of the Fund’s total donations and grant revenue. Disclosure forms filed with the same agency…

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Commentary: Democrats Don’t Fear Brett Kavanaugh – They Fear the Constitution

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Bernie Sanders

by David Harsanyi   Sure, some of the anger aimed at President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is partisan bluster meant to placate the activist base. Still, most Democrats were going to get hysterical about any pick, because any conservative pick was going to take the Constitution far too literally for their liking. For those who rely on the administrative state and coercion as a policy tool—forcing people to join political organizations, forcing them to support abortion, forcing them to subsidize socially progressive sacraments, forcing them to create products that undermine their faith, and so on—that’s a big problem. Some, such as former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, indulged in the histrionic rhetoric we’ve come to expect in the Trump era, claiming that Kavanaugh would “threaten the lives of millions of Americans for decades to come.” But almost none of the objections coming from leading Democrats have been even ostensibly about Kavanaugh’s qualifications as a jurist or, for that matter, his interpretation of the Constitution. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] “Specifically,” prospective presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.,…

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Phil ‘Duck and Cover’ Bredesen Playing Games with Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee?

John Bryant
Brett Kavanaugh, Chuck Schumer, Phil Bredesen

The Tennessee Republican Party is calling Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen to task for his lack of candor in dealing with President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Along with asking if Democrat Chuck Schumer’s “Tennessee recruit” Phil Bredesen will oppose President Trump’s latest Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the way Schumer is,  they’re also going after him for playing a game of duck and cover on the issue. “Chuck Schumer recruiting Phil Bredesen to run for the Senate has, without a doubt, always been a part of his plan for a full frontal partisan attack against any nominee from President Trump. His ‘everything he’s got’ would 100% include Phil Bredesen if elected. While Phil Bredesen can pretend he would give serious consideration to any Supreme Court nominee from President Trump, you have ask, with Chuck Schumer and liberal Democratic PACs committing millions of dollars to the Senate race in Tennessee, would Phil Bredesen even have a choice?,” says their latest release. In effect, they also accuse Bredesen of being dishonest with voters on the issue. Instead of being honest with voters about President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Phil Bredesen is playing a game of political…

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President Trump Nominates Federal Appeals Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court

Tennessee Star Staff

President Trump announced on a live television broadcast Monday night that he is nominating federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kavanaugh, 53, will replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Court. Kennedy, long considered the “swing vote” on the nine member Court, retired in June after thirty years on the highest bench in the land. Trump selected Kavanaugh over three well qualified finalists who were also on the list of 25 potential Supreme Court Justices he announced during his campaign for president. Kavanaugh has served as a federal circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 2006. A graduate of Yale and Yale Law School, Kavanaugh is considered a protegee of Ken Starr, who he worked for during Starr’s special counsel investigation. He also clerked for Justice Kennedy and served in the administration of George W. Bush. The three finalists who Trump did not select this time around were: federal appeals court judge Raymond Kethledge, federal appeals court judge Amy Coney Barrett, and federal appeals court judge Thomas Hardiman. Judge Raymond Kethledge, 51, is a native of Michigan and graduate of the…

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Commentary: The Next Supreme Court Justice Must Uphold the Principles of Individual Liberty

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Supreme Court of the United States

By Natalia Castro   Each year on Independence Day, we celebrate the historic achievement our Founding Fathers made when they left an oppressive government to form a new country based around the principles of freedom. The Founding Fathers learned from the actions of their previous government and, after outlining the principles of equality and justice in the Declaration of Independence, created a new government which protected every individual’s right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Today, we cannot forget why our Founding Fathers left their previous government and why we must continue protecting our liberties with a Supreme Court candidate who sees the value in individual freedom as much today as our Founding Fathers did over 200 years ago. Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower in search of religious freedom. English common law made criticizing the government in print a crime in the colonies. In 1733, John Peter Zenger was arrested for writing critical articles against the British Governor of New York. Before the Revolutionary War, the British placed a ban on imported firearms and gunpowder. These are only some examples of the very reasons our Founding Fathers desired independence. These are also some of the reasons why the Bill of…

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Commentary: Don’t Allow Senators Like Schumer & Collins to Blow Up Trump’s Next Supreme Court Pick

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Chuck Schumer, Susan Collins

by Jeffery Rendall   “Dang-it!” Chuck Schumer exclaimed to staff gathered in his senate Minority Leader’s office after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement last week. “I thought Steve Breyer already convinced Kennedy to stay another year and now this,” Schumer dribbled exasperatedly, spittle forming at the corners of his mouth like a rabid raccoon in its final death throes. “We’re gonna have a tough enough time of it as it is saving our people this November…and if we can’t stop Trump from plopping another one of his originalist Constitution-stooges onto the Supreme Court, why would anyone be motivated to vote for us?” Schumer’s underlings stood uneasily around the 67-year-old New Yorker as though he was on the verge of exploding into one of his legendary fits of rage or would merely experience a pathetic meltdown and cry on the floor in the fetal position as he’s prone to do in times of stress. It’s no secret the man affectionately known as “Chucky” (an allusion to the infamous animated movie doll serial murderer) has aged considerably since taking over for “dingy” Harry Reid as leader of the hapless minority senate Democrats last year. “Donald Trump was supposed to be an idiot that no one…

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Kethledge Rising, As SCOTUS Infighting Reaches Fever Pitch

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Kethledge

by Kevin Daley and Saagar Enjeti   Judge Raymond Kethledge’s interview with President Donald Trump has placed him in serious contention to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court, multiple sources tell The Daily Caller News Foundation. Sources with knowledge of the process told TheDCNF that Kethledge had a strong interview with the president, and remains under very serious consideration. Other knowledgeable sources say Judge Amy Barrett’s interview with Trump was satisfactory and that she remains viable for a Supreme Court appointment, either now or in the future. The strength of Kethledge’s meeting, however, seems to have scrambled the field. Bloomberg also reported that Trump was impressed with Kethledge. The fluidity of the process has prompted an intense shadow campaign, as surrogates lobby and spin aggressively for their preferred candidate. Conservative legal Washington has splintered into competing camps, all of whom are racing to gain Trump’s ear. The situation resembles Chief Justice John Roberts’ appointment to the Supreme Court, in which professional conservatives splintered between frontrunners J. Harvie Wilkinson and Michael Luttig, as Jan Crawford’s 2007 account of Bush-era confirmations reported. Sources familiar with the president’s thinking say he has seen a deluge of pressure from all camps but maintains an…

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President Trump Meets with Supreme Court Candidates

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Donald Trump

President Donald Trump says he met Monday with four candidates for the Supreme Court and plans to meet with two to three more as he seeks to nominate a replacement to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Trump told reporters in Washington Monday that the candidates he met with are “incredible people in so many different ways, academically and in every other way.” White House Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump met with each candidate for roughly 45 minutes on Monday. She did not reveal the names of the candidates but said Trump is looking for someone who will uphold the U.S. Constitution and who has the “right intellect” and “right temperament.” When asked if Trump is looking for a candidate that will overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling on abortion, Sanders reiterated Trump’s stance that he is not asking the candidates their views on abortion rights. “The president is pro-life, but in terms of the process of selecting a Supreme Court nominee, as the president said last week, he is not going to discuss specific cases with the nominees,” Sanders said. Trump said Friday that he thinks the topic of Roe v. Wade is “inappropriate…

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Commentary: How Do You Spell Game Change in 2018? S U P R E M E C O U R T

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Supreme Court Justices

by Jeffery Rendall   Another Kennedy leaving Washington has Republicans giddy, though this particular one has no relation to the famous (infamous?) clan from Massachusetts Bay. It’s old news by now but Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he’s stepping down from the Supreme Court on Wednesday, sending the nation’s capital into a tizzy and wiping virtually everything else – including the phony illegal immigrant family separation “crisis” – off the news wires. There’s nothing quite like an impending Court vacancy to wrest the political chatterers’ attention from their all-complain-all-the-time stupors and get them focused on something really imperative. Yes, Kennedy’s deciding to hang up the long black robe after three full decades is a big deal, not only for the future direction of the Supreme Court but also for Americans’ liberties in general. Needless to say, this year’s crucial midterm campaigns just received a shot of new energy and enthusiasm, especially for Republicans in red states challenging increasingly vulnerable Democrat senate incumbents. It’s often said fortunes can turn on a dime and it may actually come true for Republicans — and conversely, Democrats — this year. While conservatives received Kennedy’s news with happiness and anticipation, the anti-Trump resistance was angry, defiant…

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Blackburn Distinguishes Self From Bredesen in Competing Statements on Retiring Justice Kennedy’s Replacement

John Bryant
Marsha Blackburn, Phil Bredesen

Both Tennessee candidates for U.S. Senate weighed in and the length of tone of their responses would appear to make it clear Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) sees this as a clear winning issue for her campaign. Bredesen’s statement was predictable political blather, at best. Bredesen said a candidate’s character and qualifications are more important than party lines. “I just think we have such a partisan mess in Washington right now,” Bredesen said Wednesday in Nashville. “This is a real chance to start unwinding that in something that is very visible and important to the country.” Blackburn also released a statement on Twitter, calling the confirmation of Supreme Court justices “one of the Senate’s most important responsibilities.” “As Tennessee’s next senator, I will be committed to confirming more judges, like Neil Gorsuch, who will honor and uphold our Constitution,” Blackburn said. “I will vote to confirm good constitutional justices who will not be activists and legislate from the bench.” In a statement Wednesday, Blackburn said that Tennesseans want a justice “who will respect both the Constitution and the rule of law.” “They do not want an activist Supreme Court Justice who will seek to legislate from the bench,” she said. “As…

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Bredesen Evasive About His Prospective Role in Contentious Supreme Court Confirmation Process for President Trump’s Nominee

Tennessee Star Staff
Phil Bredesen

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement on Wednesday has prompted an immediate confirmation battle heading into the Fall mid-terms and is already having an impact on Tennessee’s Senate race. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), who is running to succeed Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), issued a statement shortly after Kennedy made his plans known and indicated her intent to support President Donald Trump’s nominee. Blackburn called the confirmation of Supreme Court justices “one of the Senate’s most important responsibilities. As Tennessee’s next Senator, I will vote to confirm constitutional justices, who will follow the rule of law and do not legislate from the bench. It’s absolutely critical to confirm justices who understand the importance of upholding the Constitution, including the right to life.” Former Democrat Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, was more equivocal about his approach to the Supreme Court vacancy, saying a candidate’s character and qualifications are more important than party lines. “I just think we have such a partisan mess in Washington right now,” Bredesen said. “This is a real chance to start unwinding that in something that is very visible and important to the country.” Bredesen also issued a statement on Twitter on Wednesday, just hours after Kennedy announced his retirement.…

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Justice Kennedy Retirement Raises the Stakes for Senate Mid-Term Elections

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Marsha Blackburn, Anthony Kennedy, Phil Bredesen

The announcement that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, which will prompt a confirmation battle heading into the Fall mid-term election cycle, is already raising the stakes in contested U.S. Senate races across the country. Democrats are defending Senate seats in ten states that President Donald Trump carried in 2016, including five that he won by double digits. The confirmation of a replacement for the 82 year old Justice will certainly have an impact on Tennessee’s Senate race. Trump has already indicated that his appointment of a replacement for Kennedy will come from the list of conservatives that he named during his election campaign, along with five others he added last Fall.  And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says a vote for the confirmation of a new Justice will come this Fall. Liberal activists are already melting down over the announced retirement, though it was widely anticipated.  In fact, a Democratic National Committee rules committee was on a conference call when the announcement came and the anguished reactions were audible. Conservative Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is among those thought to be on Trump’s short list, and was among those on the initial list of 25 conservatives that Trump plans…

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Justice Kennedy Announces Retirement

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SCOTUS Kennedy

by Kevin Daley   Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement Wednesday, precipitating a generational political fight over the future of the U.S. Supreme Court. Kennedy’s departure was announced Wednesday morning, after the justices released the final decisions of its current term. Few justices loom as large as Anthony Kennedy in the history of the high court. As the bench became an object of political competition and the tribunal itself began to reflect the country’s ideological entrenchment, Kennedy led narrow majorities to landmark decisions on gay rights, abortion, the First Amendment, and Guantanamo Bay detainees. Dignity and civility occupied the center of his jurisprudence, values he saw emanating from the deepest recesses of the Constitution which provide a single unity to its divergent threads. The justice revived these principles in Tuesday’s travel ban case, where he tacitly admonished the Trump administration in a short concurring opinion many saw as a valedictory message. “It is an urgent necessity that officials adhere to these constitutional guarantees and mandates in all their actions, even in the sphere of foreign affairs,” he wrote. “An anxious world must know that our government remains committed always to the liberties the Constitution seeks to preserve and protect, so…

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Professional Educators of Tennessee: SCOTUS Janus Decision a Victory for Workers’ First Amendment Rights

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Mark Janus

The U.S. Supreme Court announced a 5-4 decision on Wednesday in Janus v. American Federation of State, Country, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, that reaffirms the First Amendment, especially people’s freedom of association. The ruling today eliminates compulsory unionism, which requires individuals to join a union as a condition of employment.  It will influence the cycle where government unions collect compulsory fees from government workers and then use it to help elect pro-union politicians to achieve and maintain political power — who then empower and enrich the government employee unions. “No American worker should be forced to become or remain a union member,” JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, told The Tennessee Star after the decision was announced. Bowman added: People should be free to join, or not join any organization or union they want, without losing their job or be forced to pay for political agendas with which they disagree based on political or ideological purposes.  The Janus Decision will not create drastic structural changes to unions.  It will simply make them more accountable to their own members.  And in the case of teacher unions, this greater accountability should focus on making the quality of education…

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California Can’t Make Pregnancy Centers Advertise Abortion, Supreme Court Rules

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by Rachel del Guidice   The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling Tuesday, struck down a California law mandating that pro-life pregnancy centers advertise where clients may get an abortion. The decision, supporters said, confirmed that government can’t compel citizens to promote messages they don’t agree with. “No one should be forced by the government to express a message that violates their convictions, especially on deeply divisive subjects such as abortion,” Michael Farris, who argued the case at the Supreme Court, said in a formal statement following the decision. “In this case, the government used its power to force pro-life pregnancy centers to provide free advertising for abortion,” said Farris, who is president, CEO, and general counsel of the Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. “The Supreme Court said that the government can’t do that, and that it must respect pro-life beliefs.” [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] In the majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the state law “unduly burdens protected speech,” and in a concurring opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the government can’t compel citizens to promote a message they don’t agree with.…

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Supreme Court Upholds Trump’s Travel Ban

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Donald Trump

by Masood Farivar   The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday narrowly upheld the Trump administration’s travel restrictions on citizens of five Muslim-majority countries, handing President Donald Trump a victory in enforcing one of his most controversial policies. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the president has the authority under U.S. immigration laws to limit travel from foreign countries on national security grounds, as the Trump administration has argued. The president “has lawfully exercised the broad discretion granted to him under (Immigration and Nationality Act) to suspend the entry of aliens into the United States,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, delivering the majority opinion. The president has “undoubtedly fulfilled” the requirement under the law that the entry of the targeted aliens “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States,” Roberts wrote. Roberts wrote that the plaintiffs in the case — the state of Hawaii, the Muslim Association of Hawaii and three residents of the state — failed to demonstrate that the travel order “violates” the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which bars favoring one religion over another. The court’s four liberal justices dissented. Under the so-called “travel ban,” issued in September after two earlier orders were…

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Marsha Blackburn Hails SCOTUS Decision Declaring Trump Travel Ban Constitutional, While Leftist Supported Phil Bredesen Appears to Duck Issue

John Bryant

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), was quick to weigh in on today’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of President Trump’s travel ban on residents of foreign countries that fail to meet security screening standards challenged in court by Hawaii. #SCOTUS decision is a victory against the Left’s open borders agenda and liberal activist judges. We must be able to vet individuals coming into our country so we can keep Tennesseans and America safe! https://t.co/QlzGmc8LEr — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) June 26, 2018 As usual, via his social media feed, Democrat Phil Bredesen is doing his best to duck the issue, one critical to many Trump-supporting Tennesseans by saying nothing at all. Were he to do that, he would risk the ire of Progressive Democrats now openly supporting his campaign against Blackburn. One far left activist, former Barack Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, called out to his fellow travelers in Tennessee to “stop Trump from packing SCOTUS with more Trumpists is to win the Senate,” with candidates like the Democratic candidate, former Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen, in a tweet this morning: https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/1011619505187852288 More on today’s ruling here: In…

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Supreme Court Lifts Ruling on Christian Florist Barronelle Stutzman, Who Refused to Decorate Same-Sex Wedding for Long-time Customers

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Barronelle Stutzman

Reuters   After siding with a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sent back to lower courts a similar dispute over a florist who declined to create flower arrangements for a same-sex wedding based on her Christian beliefs. The justices threw out a 2017 ruling by Washington state’s Supreme Court that Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in the city of Richland, about 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Seattle, had violated the state’s anti-discrimination law and a consumer protection measure. The court ordered the top Washington state court to revisit the case in light of its ruling on June 4 in favor of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who similarly cited his Christian beliefs in refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Stutzman in 2013 refused to provide the arrangements to Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, who were getting married after the state legalized same-sex marriage the prior year. She was hit with a $1,000 fine and directed to make floral arrangements for same-sex weddings if she does so for opposite-sex weddings. In the baker case, the court ruled that a Colorado state commission had…

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Commentary: Janus Decision Likely to Be Good for Government Workers

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Mark Janus

By Richard McCarty   For over a decade, Mark Janus has had to pay fees to a union to keep his job as a child support specialist at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Believing that he should not be forced to pay these fees to a union whose views he opposes, Janus filed a lawsuit against the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Council 31. In February, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case, and the Court could issue its ruling any day now. The Janus decision is likely to upend the status quo in much of the country where public unions have been able to coast along forcing workers to pay agency fees without having to sell workers on the benefits of union membership. What are agency fees? Agency fees are fees that non-union members are required to pay to unions to keep their jobs in some states. Agency fees are set by the union, and the cost of agency fees is typically between 80 percent and 90 percent of the cost of union dues. The purported reason for these agency fees is to prevent workers from benefitting from unions without contributing to them. Of…

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Oregon Forced Us to Close Our Cake Shop – Here’s What the ‘Masterpiece Decision’ Means for Us

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Aaron and Melissa Klein

by Aaron and Melissa Klein   We are thrilled for our friend, Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop who recently won his case at the Supreme Court. Like Jack, we know what it is like to be treated unfairly by a state agency and mocked, threatened, and abused by critics. We can only imagine the relief Jack is experiencing. At the same time, we wonder what the future holds for our case, our lost business, and our family. Ours may be, as Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, the case that allows “further elaboration in the courts.” And we are encouraged to know that seven justices of the Supreme Court agree that a state’s hostility to the religious beliefs of its citizens will not be tolerated under the First Amendment. In one sense, Jack’s case is very similar to ours. We too declined to create a custom cake that would have required us to express a message our faith teaches against. And, like Jack, we faced a commissioner—Brad Avakian, commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry at the time—who was hostile to our religion and biased in his consideration of our case. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values.…

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Once Again, Obamacare’s Constitutionality Comes Into Question

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Obamacare

by Paul Larkin   Readers might recall that, in 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, by a 5-4 vote in a case captioned NFIB v. Sebelius. Last year, Congress revised Obamacare. In the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Congress eliminated the penalty imposed on people who do not purchase health insurance by reducing the penalty to $0 effective January 2019. What makes that 2017 law interesting for present purposes is this: Chief Justice Roberts wrote the controlling opinion in NFIB v. Sebelius; he concluded that the Obamacare penalty can be characterized as a “tax”; and he decided that, so viewed, Obamacare was a constitutional exercise of Congress’s power to raise taxes. Enter Texas. In February of this year, Texas and several other states filed a lawsuit alleging that, by reducing the Obamacare tax to zero, Congress eliminated the only basis on which the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare. A sine qua non of a tax is that it generates revenue, Texas argued, and beginning in January 2019 Obamacare will no longer do so. Accordingly, concluded Texas, starting next…

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Supremes Poised For Blockbuster Finish As Current Term Nears Conclusion

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Supreme Court Justices

by Kevin Daley   As the U.S. Supreme Court approaches the conclusion of its 2017 – 2018 term, the justices are expected to release a deluge of decisions in the coming weeks, including marquee opinions addressing mandatory union dues, partisan gerrymandering, and President Donald Trump’s travel ban. As of this writing, there are 25 decisions outstanding. Among the remaining cases is one of the first argued this term, a partisan gerrymandering dispute arising from Wisconsin called Gill v. Whitford. It’s Maryland counterpart, Benisek v. Lamone, is also pending. Both cases ask the justices to declare politically-motivated line-drawing during the 10-year redistricting process unconstitutional. Gill involves a challenge to the entirety of Wisconsin’s state legislative district map, arguing it violates the Constitution’s First Amendment and its equal protection guarantees. The Benisek plaintiffs are challenging the boundaries of a single congressional district and make a slightly different First Amendment argument. The justices heard the Gill case in October and Benisek in March. During the Benisek argument, Justice Stephen Breyer suggested the Court package three pending partisan gerrymandering cases together and set them for re-argument next term. The request has lead some observers to speculate that the tribunal is deeply divided as to the resolution…

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The Supreme Court Rules 7-2 for Baker Jack Phillips in Gay Wedding Cake Lawsuit

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Jack Phillips

In a closely watched decision Monday, the Supreme Court found the Colorado owner and master baker of Masterpiece Cakeshop was within his rights when he refused to make a custom wedding for a same-sex wedding, saying that to do otherwise was against his moral and religious convictions. (Full decision embedded below.) Jack Phillips, a Christian, was sued by David Mullins and Charlie Craig, a gay couple, when Phillips said he would not participate in their wedding by designing a custom cake (although he would sell them any non-custom item they wished). The Daily Caller News Foundation reported: After a short discussion with the prospective patrons, Phillips said he would not sell them a custom wedding cake due to his deeply-held religious beliefs. Mullins and Craig filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, prompting a lengthy legal battle culminating in an appeal to the high court. Kennedy explained that the Colorado law can validly protect LGBT patrons, must found the state agency applied the law in a manner hostile towards Phillips’ evangelical beliefs. “That consideration was compromised, however, by the commission’s treatment of Phillips’ case, which showed elements of a clear and impermissible hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs motivating his objection,”…

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Supreme Silence In Longrunning Immigrant Abortion Controversy May be Coming to an End

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by Kevin Daley   After six months, the U.S. Supreme Court has not acted on a Justice Department request to vacate a lower court order requiring President Donald Trump’s administration to facilitate an abortion for an illegal alien and punish ACLU lawyers for allegedly unethical behavior. The Court’s protracted silence in the matter is somewhat unusual, suggesting the justices are divided as to how the case should proceed. The case, Azar v. Garza, was occasioned in October 2017, when an undocumented teen in federal custody, known in court papers only as Jane Doe, learned she was pregnant and asked authorities to terminate her pregnancy. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services refused, claiming it had no obligation to facilitate abortions for minors in their care. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit concluded the government’s actions imposed an undue burden on abortion access, in violation to the Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. ACLU lawyers immediately moved to schedule an abortion, which occurred on Oct. 25, before the administration could appeal to the Supreme Court. In a remarkable filing to the justices, the Justice Department claimed ACLU lawyers deliberately misled them as to the timing…

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Spurious Lawsuit by Infamous ‘Patent Troll’ Against Adam Corolla Defeated in Court with Help from Digital Rights Group, Electronic Frontier Foundation

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by Kyle Perisic   The Supreme Court dismissed a case on Monday involving an infamous patent troll that claimed to own podcasting and previously sued libertarian comedian Adam Carolla. Instead of producing its own goods or services, a patent troll profits off suing or threatening to sue companies or individuals for violating a usually broad and wide-reaching patent it owns. Personal Audio LLC defeated Apple in a 2011 lawsuit, according to its website. Apple had violated U.S. Patent 6,199,076, which was a patent for an “audio program player including a dynamic program selection controller,” the lawsuit found. Personal Audio LLC also owns U.S. Patent 8,112,504. That patent is a “system for disseminating media content representing episodes in a serialized sequence.” The abstract claims it is “an audio program and message distribution system in which a host system organizes and transmits program segments to client subscriber locations.” Patent troll Personal Audio LLC began suing companies, such as CNN and Samsung, for violating its patent in 2013. It was successful in its lawsuit against Adam Carolla’s podcast producers, Lotzi Digital, Inc. [ RELATED: Digital Rights Coalition Slams Facebook, Google’s ‘Secret Algorithms’ ] Rather than pony-up coercion money, Carolla raised $500,000 to fight back. The case ceased in 2014 when…

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Steve Gill Analysis: Does Justice Kennedy Control the Post Midterm Balance of Political Power in the US Senate?

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Kennedy

In early March Nevada Senator Dean Heller reignited speculation about the long-rumored retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a somewhat conservative but often swing-vote on critical legal issues. The 81 year old Justice who will turn 82 in July is the second oldest serving on the Court, behind Ruth Bader Ginsberg who is 85, and was appointed by President Ronald Reagan after Judge Robert Bork fell short of confirmation. Kennedy is the longest serving Justice on the current court. Justice Robert Gorsuch, appointed last year by President Donald Trump, once served as a law clerk for Kennedy.  While there had been some speculation prior to the appointment of Gorsuch that Kennedy might soon retire, once he was named to the Court most observers correctly assessed that Kennedy would spend at least one term on the Court with his former law clerk. But despite their history and the obvious fondness that Kennedy has for Gorsuch, they have not been completely aligned in their rulings. In divided cases, Kennedy and Gorsuch were on the same side of issues in their first term together 38% of the time; by comparison Gorsuch sided with Justice Clarence Thomas 100% of the time. As the…

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Three Cases to Watch as the Supreme Court Begins to Wrap This Term

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by Sarah Williams   This week marks the start of the Supreme Court’s final oral argument sessions of the current term. The justices will hear arguments in several important cases, including challenges to the constitutionality of administrative law judges, state sales taxes for out-of-state online retailers, and the infamous Trump “travel ban,” making this month one to watch. South Dakota v. Wayfair Can states require online retailers to collect sales taxes even if they do not maintain a physical presence in those states? That is the question before the court April 17 (fittingly, Tax Day). The court will consider whether it should overturn Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, a 1992 ruling that forbade states from requiring mail-order retailers to collect a state’s sales tax if they do not have a physical presence within that state, such as a store or employees. Given the rapid growth of online sales, many states complain they are losing out on millions of dollars in lost sales tax revenue. [Americans need an alternative to the mainstream media. But this can’t be done alone. Find out more >>] South Dakota passed a law directly challenging the Quill case by requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax if they…

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Supreme Court to Hear Case Challenging Sex Offender Registry Requirements

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U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a case involving a man who says he shouldn’t have to be on the sex offender registry because his conviction came before the 2006 federal mandatory listing law was enacted. Congress, in writing the law, gave the attorney general the authority to decide when the registration requirements kicked in, and the Bush administration said it should apply to all sex offenders – including those whose convictions predated enactment.

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Justice Alito Exposes the Hypocrisy of Liberal Double-Standards for All to See

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by Joe Carter   You probably haven’t even heard about it, but  there was an exchange in the Supreme Court that future generations will regard as one of the most significant revelations of our political era. The case of Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky concerns a Minnesota statute that broadly bans all political apparel at the polling place. When Andrew Cilek went to vote in 2010, he wore a shirt bearing the image of the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag and a button that read “Please I.D. Me.” The poll worker asked him to remove the shirt and button because it supposedly violated the state law. Cilek filed a lawsuit opposing the regulation as an infringement on his First Amendment right to political expression. He also noted that the standard for what is acceptable is arbitrary and the enforcement itself could be politicized since the polling workers are chosen by local political parties. In the oral arguments, Justice Alito agreed that the law does seem arbitrary and observed that “so many things have political connotations, and the connotations are in the eye of the beholder.” How could any poll worker, he asked, be even-handed in enforcing the regulation? Daniel Rogan,…

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Commentary: President Trump Might Be the Most Conservative President in Our Lifetime

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By Robert Romano   On Feb. 23, President Donald Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for the second year in a row as president, after not attending in 2016 during the campaign. At the time, he was still busy building his constituency in the Republican primary and for the general election, where he would ultimately prevail on a very conservative platform of putting America and the American people first in governing. Now, Trump is the leader of the conservative, center-right party in the U.S. and of the executive branch. After one year in office, he has a record he has delivered on: lower taxes, fewer regulations and an opening the doors for economic expansion. ANWR has been opened for drilling. The Keystone XL pipeline is being built. The Obamacare individual mandate has been repealed. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. He ended the so-called Clean Power Plan. He withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and is looking to revamp NAFTA or else pull out of that one, too. Trump ran on fair and reciprocal trade, and that’s what he’s delivering. At CPAC, Trump declared, “the era of economic surrender is over.” By enforcing trade agreements…

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Release Date Set for ‘Little Pink House’ Movie Based on the Supreme Court’s Notorious ‘Kelo’ Decision on Eminent Domain

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Little Pink House, the film based on the notorious 2005 Supreme Court ruling commonly known as Kelo v New London (often shortened to simply “Kelo“) is set to hit theaters April 20 in limited release in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Atlanta. At present, there are no plans for the movie to be released in the Nashville market, but that could change based on requests from local movie theaters. The movie, based on the book of the same name, tells the true story of Susette Kelo’s struggle against the eminent domain abuse of some twenty neighborhood households by an alliance of business interests, state and city officials of New London, Connecticut. “Little Pink House is more than a movie, it’s a movement, and the hybrid approach gives our fans new ways to use the film to fight for positive change in their neighborhoods,” writer-director Courtney Moorehead Balaker told The Hollywood Reporter. Catherine Keener and Jeanne Tripplehorn star in the film that follows Susette Kelo, a nurse who lived in a modest home on the New England coast. Kelo denied demands by politicians and developers she sell her home. Citing ‘the public interest,’ officials from New London and the State of Connecticut invoked eminent…

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Commentary: We Need a Constitutional Supreme Court, Not a ‘Fair’ Supreme Court

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U.S. Supreme Court

 By Natalia Castro   The Supreme Court was never intended to be fair; it was designed to interpret the constitution. Political parties have no place in the branch of government created only to determine the constitutionality of existing laws. The judicial branch does not write laws nor does it express political opinions, it is a system for interpreting current laws and policies policy and how they would be viewed by the Framers and maintain the legacy they created for this country. It seems some need to be reminded of that. National Review’s Michael Brendan Dougherty’s claims, “The Supreme Court’s role…with Kennedy as the swing justice, has been to moderate and restrain the ambitions of each party. Kennedy deals out victories and defeats to each side — giving slightly more defeats to social conservatives. In effect, he constrains what each side can do to the other. His mercurial jurisprudence replicates and even gives the savor of legitimacy to a closely divided country.” Dougherty argues that this is the role the Supreme Court should maintain into the future, equally dealing out wins and losses to each political party, ensuring each side’s constitutional legitimacy, essentially making the Court a purposefully bipartisan enterprise because…

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Trump Asks Supreme Court to Overturn 9th Circuit Decision to Reinstate DACA

Tennessee Star Staff

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court Tuesday to overturn this month’s stunning ruling by a lower court that found the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty legal – yet also ruled the Trump administration’s effort to phase out the program was illegal. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the ruling “defies both law and common sense,” and said they’re asking the justices to hear the case directly, skipping over the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which would be the normal path.

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Texas Supreme Court Judge Don Willett Nominated to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals

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Outspoken conservative and Texas’ official Tweeter Laureate Justice Don Willett was nominated to the join the federal bench as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by the Trump Administration, the White House announced Thursday. Upon hearing the nomination was made public, Judge Willett took to Twitter to let his 101,000 followers know: No words. I am honored & humbled by @POTUS's nomination to the 5th Circuit. Thank you, Mr. President—also Senators @JohnCornyn & @TedCruz. pic.twitter.com/499LFNdjbC — Judge Don Willett (@JusticeWillett) September 29, 2017 “For over a decade on the Texas Supreme Court, Don Willett has proven himself to be a jurist of the highest order,” Ted Cruz said in a statement lauding the Administration’s decision. “His service on the court was simply one more step in a career of public service, from the Texas Governor Office, to the White House, to the Department of Justice, to the Texas Attorney General’s office. Every step along the way, Justice Willett has stood out as man of intellect and principle, and I am excited to see what he will accomplish on the Fifth Circuit.” Justice Don Willett was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court by Governor Perry in…

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Donald Trump’s Travel Ban Temporarily Restored as Supreme Court Issues Stay on Lower Court

Tennessee Star Staff

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily restored a Trump administration executive order that blocks thousands of refugees from entering the United States. The decision comes after the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to block an appellate court ruling issued last week that would require the U.S. to admit any refugees who are already working with…

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Commentary: Was Choosing Gorsuch for SCOTUS Trump’s Greatest Accomplishment to Date?

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  by Jeffrey A. Rendall If you polled a hundred Americans at random and asked what they considered to be President Donald Trump’s greatest accomplishment during his first half-year in office, the responses might look a little like this: “He appointed a great cabinet;” “He reduced illegal immigration by over half;” “He battled the media and won;” “He fired James Comey;” “He met the Pope;” “He got us out of the Paris accord;” “He signed a ton of executive orders that help American businesses,” and, “Not a darn thing, he’s been awful.” The last response would originate from the roughly half of the electorate who can’t stand Trump and aren’t paying attention to anything he does but are still all too willing to believe the Democrats’ gripes on how the country is going straight down the tubes because he’s now the president. But where conservatives are concerned, likely the most numerous response would be, “He appointed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.” Many a post-election survey listed Supreme Court appointments as a crucial factor in the decision to vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton, so it would hardly be surprising if folks assigned an oversized importance to Gorsuch’s presence now.…

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Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch Has Democrats In Meltdown Less Than 80 Days Into His Life Tenure

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

Senate Democrats savaged Justice Neil Gorsuch’s early performance on the Supreme Court, as his first rulings evince an important shift in the balance of power on the high court. Three Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee gave grave assessments of the junior justice’s first months on the bench to Politico, lamenting that he has proved a…

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BREAKING: Supreme Court Partly Reinstates Trump Travel and Refugee Bans

Tennessee Star Staff
U.S. Supreme Court

  The Associated Press is reporting that ” The Supreme Court is letting a limited version of the Trump administration ban on travel from six mostly Muslim countries to take effect, a victory for President Donald Trump in the biggest legal controversy of his young presidency.” The court said Monday the ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen could be enforced as long as they lack a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” The justices will hear arguments in the case in October. Trump said last week that the ban would take effect 72 hours after being cleared by courts. The Trump administration said the 90-day ban was needed to allow an internal review of the screening procedures for visa applicants from those countries. That review should be complete before Oct. 2, the first day the justices could hear arguments in their new term. In addition, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration a win on its 120 ban on refugees, as the Associated Press reported: A 120-ban on refugees also is being allowed to take effect on a limited basis. Three of the court’s conservative…

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