SCOTUS Watch

A few things were released by the Supreme Court this week.  I also will take about some Supreme Court related items, including a death penalty related book and how recent Trump related things are connected to them.

Orders 

No Order List this week (or next), but a couple orders dropped. Chief Justice Roberts with an administrative stay regarding the Title 42 border policy.  Sotomayor with one regarding an alleged violation of public trial requirements.  And, a notice of a special master report involving Delaware.

While people are waiting for a final decision on that border policy stay, the Supreme Court on Friday dropped an order granting some argument time in a few cases.  This sort of thing will be ongoing -- various orders dealing with oral arguments, maybe finding a few more cases to grant, and so on.  

Scheduling 

We also received the February oral argument schedule.  

Some order or such might drop next week, but the main thing coming is the End of the Year Chief Justice Report, including the cute historical tidbit used to promote whatever theme is involved.  

Trump Reports 

After delays since 2019, aided and abetted by the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives finally received Trump's taxes. They are being released with some degree of redaction.  Part of the news is that the IRS selectively didn't audit Trump until the Democratic controlled Congress started to push.  Various details here though I do not go along with all of the "House part of the problem" framing later on.  

We continue to find problems, including various dubious tax dodges (huh; both Trump and his wife have expenses and earnings that conveniently repeatedly cancel out?), again with emoluments connotations. The connection to the Supreme Court here is how oversight was delayed and blocked by slow walking and laying on additional protections. 

Dahlia Lithwick also calls out the 1/6 Commission for letting Clarence and Ginny Thomas off the hook.  I think they have a tangential connection to the direct events (an allegation that not enough was discussed about law enforcement failures at the top seems more concerning).  But, the courts again factor in here, including John Eastman's connections to Thomas.  

Death Penalty 

Lethal Injection and the False Promise of Humane Execution by Austin Sarat (and some students) is a small book about how lethal injection is botched.  It doesn't suggest there are realistic ways to do things better. A case study (Ohio) was basically a twenty-year convoluted attempt to improve, ending with their current extended moratorium. Botched executions by his account are part of the system no matter what method is used.  

Austin Sarat, who provides essays on Justia/Verdict, wrote a longer book on botched executions in 2014. He generally has written about the immorality and basic injustice of the death penalty.  So, it is not surprising the book does not offer suggestions for reform (maybe the longer book does?) or talk about nitrogen gas. 

A supporter of the death penalty (the book provides the crime of the people covered) might answer in various ways though even they should be willing to grant that the process is problematic. One area here is the secrecy and lack of careful detail.  This is a procedural due process concern.  You can flag that while noting that someone who murders after breaking out of prison (to cite an easier case) needs to be executed, even if the method is flawed.  Others won't buy that.  But, I don't think that is HORRIBLE.

The little book (about 135 pages proper in a small paperback with pictures of various people executed and a few charts included plus notes) is a sort of case study of the problems of lethal injection.  Will we find one of these being published in forty to fifty years about nitrogen gas?

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The justices will be back in the new year.