Summary

When the Supreme Court last year wrestled with whether to grant then-former President Donald Trump broad immunity from prosecution, Justice Neil Gorsuch stressed the ruling was “for the ages.”

The court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, has ruled for Trump in half of six emergency applications, without rebuking the administration’s conduct.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “The government’s conduct in this litigation poses an extraordinary threat to the rule of law.”

Professor Leah Litman said justices are influenced by “conservative grievance.”

  • futatorius@lemm.ee
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    1 day ago

    They’re pretending to uphold the law, while making it impossible for anyone to actually make a case against Trump.

  • LupusBlackfur@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Scared to death… 🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♂️

    If SCROTUS pushes too far and Mafia Don Mangolini decides to blatantly defy them, SCROTUS knows they’ve no real response other than escalating threats. No physical enforcement mechanism.

    Congress abdicated its duties. Judicial as impotent as Chump’s little mushroom.

    We (and what remains of US democracy) are fucked.

    🙄 🖕 🖕

    • Gordon Calhoun@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      What if the court tries doing things the right and lawful way, fails, and then says “fuck it, rule of law is obviously dead, so here’s a hail mary” and appeals to citizens at large to enforce it, promising immunity to those who act?

    • oyo@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      They have an enforcement mechanism, but it has never been used against the executive and could lead to a lot of death.

          • Supervisor194@lemmy.world
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            18 hours ago

            I think we may have to agree to disagree, but I don’t think having the Marshal Service, which is run by the Executive, issue them a subpoena is what I would call an “enforcement mechanism” that could “lead to a lot of death.” It is nothing more than something for the Executive to tell the Marshals to ignore and barring that, for the Executive to ignore itself. There is no “enforcement” here. Judicial has recourse against you and me (it can have the Marshals jail us for contempt - unless we are under the protection of the Executive), but not against the Executive. The only recourse against the Executive is impeachment and conviction from Congress. End of story.

            • oyo@lemm.ee
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              16 hours ago

              If the Marshals refuse to do their job, judges can deputize anyone for that purpose.

  • SarcasticMan@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    They got paid to play, why would they not play? SCOTUS is a corrupt institution full of criminals. If you expect something other than criminality you’re stupid or not paying attention.

  • JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    So what happens when the judiciary is scared of another body? Who enforces the rules? It seems like the public is hoping the judiciary will do something, the judiciary is waiting for Congress to do something, and congress is doing congress things: pontificating and posturing in the name of theatre. No one is actually doing anything.

  • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    There isn’t much the court can do if Trump refuses to comply and Republicans in Congress continue to support him. I hate to say it, but avoiding a confrontation may be better than getting into that situation, both for the court and for the country.

    • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
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      2 days ago

      It would be better to have a constitutional crisis now rather than in 2 years when he’s consolidated more power and yes men, kicking out resistance from other institutions.

      I have no doubt they’ll take the cowards route or take money to take the cowards route.

      • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        My hope is that if they wait two years then it’ll be to minimize the damage until the midterm elections, at which point Democrats will win both the house and the senate. I think that’s the best-case scenario.

        • futatorius@lemm.ee
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          1 day ago

          Watch what’s been happening with voter suppression. The 2026 vote will be so rigged that there’s no way the Dems can come back from it.

        • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
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          2 days ago

          Ignoring all signs that the court will be powerless by then. They are already being ignored. Kicking up no fuss is step one to reducing their legitimacy and ability to create problems for attempts to circumvent another coup.