Orders
The Supreme Court starts a new term on the first Monday in October. Around now, they have a "long conference" to address the summer backlog.
An administrative stay put on hold — for now — a lower court ruling (challenging the enforcement mechanism) that had said a federal law regulating the safety of horse racing was unconstitutional.
Robert Kennedy and his team are trying to game the ballot systems of different states to add or remove his name in a way best able to help Trump.
The Supreme Court rejected an attempt to have his name added to the New York ballot. As usual, there is no explanation for the rejection. More here.
Kennedy was not put on the ballot because the state found that he put the wrong address on his nomination petition. It is too late to change the ballots now.
The death penalty news was addressed separately.
Trump News
Trump argued people who criticized the Supreme Court should be prosecuted. "Lock them up!"
Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing about the Trump immunity ruling. The Constitution has explicit protection (Speech and Debate Clause) to stop charges being brought for doing that.
Such hearings have a limited reach. They do provide a means to air out and investigate disputes. The special importance of the immunity ruling provided a particular need for such a hearing.
We also had the minority chair offensively claim strong opposition is intimately related to criminal attacks on the judiciary. Senator Graham has been more and more unhinged since John McCain died.
Other Developments
Senator Whitehouse, who would be a good Judiciary Committee Chair, separately announced his support of legislation to help quickly address Supreme Court rulings affecting legislative power. This shows -- which some critics worry about -- some members of Congress are thinking big.
Senator Whitehouse has repeatedly pushed the U.S. Judicial Conference to clarify ethics rules. They did so recently in a way that helped Justice Clarence Thomas. The article summarizes:
U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges on lower courts do not have to publicly disclose when they dine or stay at someone's personal residence, even one owned by a business entity, under a revised ethics rule.
It is time for Congress to pass a binding ethics code with stronger requirements.