Five Justices Did This Because They Could

[Nevilledog]

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Adam Serwer 🍝
@AdamSerwer
There are three reasons the Supreme Court issued a disingenuous midnight decision all but nullifying a constitutional right by shadow docket: Because they wanted to, because they could, and because fuck you. https://theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/supreme-court-guts-roe-shadow-docket/619957/…
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https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/supreme-court-guts-roe-shadow-docket/619957/

The conservative majority on the Supreme Court was so eager to nullify Roe v. Wade, the 1973 precedent securing the right to abortion, that it didn’t even wait for oral arguments.

Instead, in the middle of the night, five of the high court’s conservatives issued a brief, unsigned order allowing a Texas law that bans abortion at six weeks. The law also gives private citizens the authority to sue anyone who “knowingly … aids or abets” an abortion and rewards them with $10,000 if successful, essentially placing a bounty on anyone wishing to end a pregnancy, and anyone who might help them. Texas is now rewarding residents who snitch to the state on the most intimate details of other people’s lives.

“Last night, the Court silently acquiesced in a State’s enactment of a law that flouts nearly 50 years of federal precedents,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. “​​The Court should not be so content to ignore its constitutional obligations to protect not only the rights of women, but also the sanctity of its precedents and of the rule of law.”

Also remarkable was that the Supreme Court acted through its “shadow docket,” the decisions the justices make regarding emergency appeals such as death-penalty cases. Under normal procedure, cases take time to work their way through the lower courts, and are received at the Supreme Court with extensive records, briefs, and oral arguments. Ideally, this allows the justices to ensure that their hugely consequential decisions are properly informed and made as carefully as possible, weighing all the relevant legal and constitutional issues. But there are some circumstances in which the Court needs to act quickly to prevent some imminent or irreversible harm. There’s nothing inherently sinister about that. The shadow docket, though, now resembles a venue where the conservative legal movement can get speedy service from its friends on the Court.

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[Kittycatkat]

1. This is beyond the pale!

[lindysalsagal]

2. "Presidentin is hard."

Shrub

[SunImp]

3. Still wishing for karma to do its thing

[dalton99a]

4. The shadow docket is the express drive-through for Republicans

It provides excellent service at low cost


"All the Authoritarianism You Need"

[FakeNoose]

5. Texas can fix this at any time - vote for better government

Get better laws. Get better representation. Don't leave it up to SCOTUS to save your asses because they've already shown they don't give a shit.

Come on Texas voters, you're better than this!

[C_U_L8R]

6. It would have been six too

But Roberts is too obsessed with his image. His vote didn't mean a thing but cowardice and vanity.

[Freddie]

7. I don't think this is going to improve his "legacy"

[robertpaulsen]

8. It was definitely just 5? Then it ain't the Roberts court anymore.

It's a hijacked court; the MAGA hijacking they couldn't accomplish January 6.

[Casady1]

9. Opus Dei rules n/t