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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

You Win Some, You Lose Some 2

Especially at the Supreme Court:

  • Shameful 5-4 ruling overturning portions of the Voting Rights Act. Why, yes, majority, we still do need those sections. I would be happy to see pre-approval for every damn jurisdiction, considering the effects on minority turnout of voter ID laws and so on. 
  • DOMA overturned (U.S. v. Windsor), 5-4, with Kennedy in the majority, on equal protection grounds. The breakdown is as I expected, but I am pleasantly surprised about the grounds for the ruling. I am sure Scalia's dissent is amusing.
  • CA Proposition 8 proponents did not have standing to appeal Vaughn Walker's decision overturning Prop. 8. This is also 5-4, but the breakdown is something weird: Roberts, Scalia, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan in the majority, Kennedy, Sotomayor, Alito, and Thomas in the minority. Buh? Must read.

6 comments:

  1. Just starting to digest the actual opinions. But Scalia seems to be apoplectic that the Supremes would give primacy to its own views rather than deferring to Congress. Except when it means equal protection for women, LGGQTand people, members of ethnic minorities.

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  2. He was apoplectic about DOMA but happy to gut the VRA. He is a nut.

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  3. All three sets of opinions and dissents were fascinating reads, though the VRA decision is heartbreaking and very, very bad news for this country.

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  4. I should read them, in my copious free time.

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  5. Of course, originalist Antonin Scalia, applauds the reasoning in the VRA case, and then condemns the same reasoning in DOMA. "We should give great deference to Congress in every possible way when they pass a law with which I agree", or something like that.

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