Previewing A Busy June At The Supreme Court

Starting tomorrow, we should be getting some headline-grabbing opinions from the Supreme Court.

Judge Orders Halt To Trump’s ‘National Emergency’ Border Wall Funding

A Federal Judge has put at least a partial hold on President’s Trump’s effort to use a “national emergency” to fund his border wall.

Is San Francisco’s Gentrification Such a Bad Thing?

The city by the Bay is rapidly transforming. Should we lament that?

Justin Amash Doubles Down Against Trump As GOP Aligns Against Him

Justin Amash doubled down on his criticism of the President and his call for impeachment even as he came under fire from fellow Republicans.

Gorsuch and Kavanaugh are Different Justices So Far

Despite similar paths to the Supreme Court, it turns out the two don’t share the same style and approach.

Valerie Plame, Ex-CIA Operative, Running For Congress

Valerie Plame, the former CIA agent whose identity was outed during the Bush Administration, is running for Congress in New Mexico.

Trump’s Trade War Is Bad, And Everyone Is Losing

Donald Trump’s tariffs are hurting the American economy, American consumers, and American businesses.

Majority Says They Won’t Vote For Trump In 2020

A new poll shows that a majority of Americans say they won’t vote for President Trump in 2020. but that’s only half the battle for Democrats

Federal Court Finds Michigan Districts Unconstitutionally Gerrymandered

A Federal Court in Michigan has found several of that state’s Congressional and state legislative districts to have been subject to extreme partisan gerrymandering.

Census Constitutionally Required to Ask Citizenship Question?

A novel argument, untested in court, suggests that it might.

Supreme Court Appears Poised To Uphold Census Citizenship Question

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears poised to uphold the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.

Our Shrinking Cities

The New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago metro areas are all losing people.

calculator storm trooper calculator storm trooper

Lying With Statistics

Are people fleeing blue states to avoid repressive taxes? It depends who you’re asking.

No, the Electoral College Wasn’t About Slavery

Princeton historian Sean Wilentz lays to rest a pernicious idea propagated by . . . Princeton historian Sean Wilentz.

Justices Divided on Partisan Gerrymandering

Oral argument hints that we may have a 5-4 ruling allowing state legislatures to continue stacking the deck.

Harvard Sued Over Ownership of Slave Photos

A racist scholar took some fascinating photos of an enslaved man in 1860. Now, his descendants want the rights to them.

Terrorist Attack Kills 49 in Christchurch Mosques

Another white supremacist attack raises disturbing questions about our information environment.

Despite Donald Trump, America’s Institutions Are Prevailing

It’s been a rough two years under Trump, but America’s institutions are surviving.

Judge Finds Trump Administration Broke Law With Citizenship Question On Census

A second Federal Judge has found that the Commerce Department violated the law when it moved to put a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census form.

Packing the Courts with Young Judges

The Senate yesterday confirmed a 37-year-old to a lifetime Court of Appeals seat.

Supreme Court Accepts Appeal Of Case Barring Citizenship Question From Census

The Supreme Court will hear a case dealing with a challenge to the Commerce Department’s decision to put a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Returns To The Supreme Court

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the Supreme Court today and appears to have fully recovered from her December surgery.

A Question about Northam

Eugene Volokh asks, I provide my answer.

Federal Judge Blocks Citizenship Question From 2020 Census

A Federal Judge has blocked the Trump Administration from going forward with a plan to put a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census.

Trump Threatens Government Shutdown Over Border Wall Funding

Once again, President Trump is threatening a shutdown over the border wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for.

Republicans Still Don’t Get The Point Of The 2018 Election

The verdict of last month’s elections was clear, but Republicans still don’t seem to get it.

Fight Over Border Wall Funding Could Lead To Government Shutdown

A brewing fight over funding for the President’s border wall could throw a monkey wrench into plans to pass a budget by next Friday.

Yes, The GOP Lost The Midterms Because Of Trump

The evidence that the GOP lost the midterms because of public repudiation of President Trump is overwhelming. The GOP will either accept this and learn from it, or they will not.

Democratic Gains In State Legislatures Could Impact Redistricting

Democratic pickups in several state legislatures could impact redistricting after the 2020 Census.

Voters Voting Voters Voting

Are we Finally Starting to Talk about Electoral Reform?

The NYT is trying to start a conversation.

Democrats Make Gains In Governor’s Races

In addition to winning back the House, Democrats also made gains in Governor’s races.

Trump Administration Moving To Make Transgender Americans Unpersons

The Trump Administration is preparing a policy change that will essentially define transgender Americans out of existence.

Rural v. Urban Representation and the Quality of Democracy

Minority rule and self-reinforcing cleavages are not a a healthy combination.

Federal Court Allows Gerrymandered Congressional Map To Be Used For 2018 Midterms

A Federal Court has ruled that North Carolina can use its current Congressional District map for this year’s midterms notwithstanding a ruling that it is an impermissible gerrymander.

Florida Sets Up Governor’s Race Between Trump Republican And Black Progressive Democrat

Florida voters in the Republican and Democratic parties have set up a Gubernatorial race that provides a stark choice on the table for Sunshine State voters in a race that will likely have national implications moving forward.

Midterms Looking Good For Democrats

New Generic Congressional Ballot polls have good news for Democrats.

Kansas Governor Concedes GOP Nomination To Kris Kobach

After a week, the race for the GOP nomination for Kansas Governor is over. Now it’s on to what could be an interesting General Election.

Tidal Shift Against Brexit

A new study finds that a majority of the UK population—and of UK Parliamentary seats—support remaining in EU.

The US’ Flawed Democracy

Forget the “republic v. a democracy” abstraction. The numbers show some serious flaws in translating popular will into government.

Supreme Court Largely Rejects Racial Gerrymandering Challenge Against Texas

The Supreme Court has largely rejected a challenge to state and Federal redistricting maps in the State of Texas.

Madison, Will, and the Ambitions of the GOP

Madison was right about politicians and ambition. He just didn’t see the how it would all play out.

SCOTUS Punted On Partisan Gerrymandering, But The Issue Isn’t Going Away

The Supreme Court avoided ruling on the merits of two partisan gerrymandering cases, but the issue will be back before them sooner rather than later.

Trump and the Baby Boomers

The President continues to enjoy enthusiastic support from the over-65 set.

A Busy Two Weeks Ahead For The Supreme Court And Supreme Court Watchers

With two more weeks to go, there are plenty of “big” cases still awaiting the release of a decision.

Supreme Court Set To Hand Down Several Landmark Decisions By End Of June

With one month to go in its term, there’s still a lot on the Supreme Court’s plate.

How Should We View Trump’s Tweetstorms?

President Trump has been tweeting up a storm since Sunday, raising a question. Should we view his Tweets as the rantings of a cranky old man, or as something more serious?

Percentage Of Americans Professing “No Religion” On The Rise

The number of Americans professing no religious affiliation is on the rise. This will have some interesting cultural and political implications.

Republicans Fighting Against Efforts To Limit Gerrymandering

Republicans are trying to fight back against efforts to limit their ability to gerrymander Congressional and State Legislative Districts. It’s a fight they deserve to lose.

Ohio Voters Approve Redistricting Reform

Ohio voters have approved a referendum designed to reform the manner in which district lines are drawn.

Supreme Court Hears Argument In Case Challenging Texas Redistricting

The Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in a case alleging that Texas’s Congressional and state legislative districts were drawn with the intent to discriminate based on race.