I don't know if you saw Jeffery Toobin's reaction to the news that AMK offered his thoughts on a successor, but he just laughed and laughed, adding that this would purely be a polite exercise on the president's part. VP Pence's tweet about seeking a successor in the mold of Justice Scalia was Exhibit A of the administration's outlook.
Speaking for myself, one thing I think I will miss about Justice Kennedy is his compassion. As a lawyer, I often prefer the formalism (or at least the more rule-ish approach) you see in opinions from Justices like Kagan or Scalia. But Justice Kennedy's opinions, and his judicial thinking, were motivated by really thinking about and caring about the people impacted by his decisions, nationwide. That concern didn't always lead him where it would have led me or others, but you got the sense that it was present. It moved him towards the country's own moving political center because he shared many of the concerns that moved the country's zeitgeist over the course of his decades-long tenure.
And hello, everyone. Delighted to be back here for orders this morning, even if yesterday's events mean that I am entirely unprepared for them.
Kevin, which U.S. circuit has jurisdiction over Austria?
Okay, time for orders. Back in a few.
Okay, we have today's orders. There is a summary opinion in Sause v. Bauer, a case that has been kicking around so long that the attorney who filed it, James Ho, has now been confirmed to the court of appeals and issued opinions!
The Tenth Circuit's decision is reversed and remanded. This is a federal civil rights case filed by a woman who was cited for disorderly conduct and says that a police officer ordered her to stop praying.
Lots of summary opinions. In NC v. Covington, a racial gerrymandering case, there is an unsigned opinion affirming in part and reversing in part. Thomas dissents, saying that he would have set the case for briefing and oral argument.
Justice Thomas dissents from the denial of cert. in Rowan County v. Lund, a legislative prayer case.
In Kaushal v. Indiana, the case of a lawful permanent resident who pleaded guilty to molesting his stepdaughter not knowing that it would lead to his deportation, and tried to withdraw his plea shortly after, the Court grants, vacates, and sends the case back to the lower court for it to reconsider in light of a 2017 case that came down before the Indiana appellate court's ruling in this case.
Justice Alito would have denied the petition; Thomas joined that opinion.
The justices are really cleaning up the docket here. There are denials in two death penalty cases, Jordan v. Mississippi and Evans v. Mississippi. Breyer dissents from the denail of cert.
The court lets another redistricting case stand: Harris v. Cooper. This was a NC partisan gerrymandering case.
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