Supreme court justices at bush memorial

Politics By ADAM LIPTAK and ALICIA PARLAPIANO JUNE 28, 2018 100% 83% Republican-appointed justices 75% 50% Democratic-appointed justices 25% 23% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 In the Majority in 5-4 or 5-3 Decisions 100% 83% Justices appointed by Republicans 75% 50% Justices appointed by Democrats 25% 23% 2010 2017 The Supreme Court ended a bruising term on Wednesday, one marked by division, disruption and an extraordinary string of 5-to-4 conservative victories ending in blockbuster rulings upholding President Trump’s travel ban and dealing a body blow to public unions. In retrospect, it also contained omens. There were signs that Justice Anthony M. Kennedy might retire, and he announced on Wednesday that he was leaving the court next month. It was a term in which Justice Kennedy’s influence waned, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s power grew and Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who … [Read more...] about Conservatives in Charge, the Supreme Court Moved Right

GEORGE W Bush urged senators to back Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh amid the sex attack scandal. The ex-president has contacted swing voters asking them to stick with Donald Trump's pick. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republicans Susan Collins, Jeff Flake, and Lisa Murkowski  are among those he spoke to, according to the Washington Post. It is believed Bush contacted them before Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Kavanaugh worked for Bush during the 2000 presidential-election recount in Florida. The ex-President said of Kavanaugh in July: "He is a fine husband, father, and friend — and a man of the highest integrity." The former POTUS then nominated Kavanaugh into the US Court of Appeals, and appointed him staff secretary until 2006. Trump has tonight ordered an FBI probe into his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh over sex attack claims after the judge was backed by a Senator panel. … [Read more...] about Former US President George W Bush urged senators to back Donald Trump’s controversial Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh

The surprise election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency caused tremors at the White House, in Congress and in world capitals. But the most lasting impact may be at the Supreme Court.With Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last February, Democrats were the closest they’d come to a liberal majority on the high court in 50 years. But the gambit by Republican leaders in the Senate to refuse to give a hearing to Judge Merrick B. Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee for the seat, paid off with Trump’s election.“We would have had the most liberal court since the late 1960s” had Garland or another Democratic appointee been confirmed, says Roger Clegg, the president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity and a former Department of Justice official under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. “But we’re not going to have that now.”Brianne Gorod, the chief counsel of the progressive Constitutional Accountability … [Read more...] about How will Trump shape the Supreme Court?

Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. SUBSCRIBE Brett Kavanaugh joins the Supreme Court as damaged goods, dogged by questions about his integrity that he may never be able to outrun — casting a pall over the institution for a long time to come, high court experts said. "I don't think he'll ever be able to disassociate himself from what just happened," said Benjamin Barton, a professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law. "For Kavanaugh, this is a first-paragraph-of-his-obituary type of situation. He's going to be known for this and stuck with this for his career." Barton added, "Every single case that he is on, people will say, 'Hmm, I wonder what Kavanaugh decided for this?' When we have a whole string of 5-4 decisions with Kavanaugh on there, it will make it seem like a partisan body, which is terrible for the Supreme Court and bad for the country." NBC News spoke with … [Read more...] about ‘Cloud.’ ‘Legitimacy crisis.’ ‘Taint.’ Legal experts on Kavanaugh joining the court.

Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement announcement kick-started rampant speculation about who President Trump will pick for what could be the most consequential appointment of his presidency.  (Reuters) President Trump told reporters the “search for a new justice will begin immediately” after the Wednesday announcement from Justice Anthony Kennedy that he plans to step down from the high court. The announcement kick-started rampant speculation about whom Trump will pick for what could be the most consequential appointment of his presidency, giving him the opportunity to move the Supreme Court more solidly to the right. Sources indicated to Fox News six federal appeals court judges -- Thomas Hardiman, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Amul Thapar, Joan Larsen and Raymond Kethledge -- are considered early frontrunners, though Trump said Wednesday he will choose someone from his previously released list of 25 candidates. Trump himself nominated Thapar, Barrett, … [Read more...] about Kennedy retirement kicks speculation over Supreme Court replacement into high gear