SCOTUS & Trump
A good article on how Justice Jackson's dissent in the Trump immunity case is coming true has this bit:
Borrowing from Justice Felix Frankfurter, Jackson predicted how presidential immunity would cascade downward, replacing a system of laws over men with rule by lawless men: “If one man can be allowed to determine for himself what is law, every man can. That means first chaos, then tyranny.” We seem to be in the chaos phase now—no one knows exactly what is happening, agencies are in turmoil, civil servants don’t know if they will lose their jobs, and every hour new revelations come to light. She continued, “If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.” To the extent that this lawbreaking extends into violation of criminal laws, Trump’s pardon power can ensure that following the law is not only unnecessary but impractical for his supporters.
Justice Sotomayor also talked about the importance of judicial orders and the rule of law. Just broadly speaking, of course! 2/12 is Kavanaugh's birthday.
SCOTUS Calendar
The Supreme Court March Calendar dropped.
The oral arguments include religious liberty and Planned Parenthood cases. The "March Session" flows into the beginning of April.
Death Penalty
February 13th was the day for two executions with the next three scheduled for March. Florida executed James Ford and Texas executed Richard Tabler.
James Ford was sentenced to die for murdering a couple, raping the wife, and abandoning a 22-month child in a truck (left there for 18 hours). The crimes were back in 1997, raising (yet again) the lag time issues raised by Justice Breyer's Glossip dissent.
His lawyers say he has the mental age of a 14-year-old. That's not really how the "can't execute someone under 18" rule works. If the claim is even timely. I'm open to the idea though seems hard to apply.
Richard Lee Tabler was a spree killer, responsible for at least four murders in 2004. The Wikipedia article cites threatening letters from prison. It's somewhat impressive that Texas waited so long to execute him.
The Marshall Project talks about his case here including his back and forth regarding "volunteering" (giving up appeals). Various issues including his competency and lawyer problems are cited.
Meanwhile, is the firing squad the best method?
Orders
A housekeeping order to give the solicitor general (the permanent Trump one has not been confirmed) argument time -- a normal thing --upon request.
A final request for a stay/petition for argument by James Ford was (as is usual in these last-minute execution appeals) rejected without comment. As usual, I think at least a brief comment, including by the liberals, is warranted since life is at stake.
(The lawyers raised the mentally under 18 claim.)
Coming Up
The next scheduled event is a conference and non-argument session (usually to swear in new lawyers) on February 21. Also, opinion(s) will be handed down.
As usual, odds and ends will arise.
Amy Howe
Amy Howe, of SCOTUSBlog, has a blog. For some reason, suddenly (it was active recently) it is no longer up. Her husband currently is being prosecuted.
"Amy Howe" is also the name of the head of the sports gambling company FanDuel. Which, given the nature of his problems, is ironic. Is it temporary?
I am a big fan of her coverage, including a discussion of the background of bare orders that often amount to "the petition is denied." She posted yesterday on SCOTUSblog. There is a notice that "This article was originally published at Howe on the Court."
Not there. There is no update on her bio page. Huh.