Anthony Kennedy should be ashamed of himself for taking a pass on the opportunity to deal with this problem before heading off to retirement, writes ed_kilgore
“Not our problem,” Chief Justice Roberts essentially said. Photo: Pool/Getty Images For a while, the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court would find partisan gerrymandering to be unconstitutional rested in the hands of Anthony Kennedy, a swing justice who seemed offended by the practice but could never quite find a method he liked to measure or remedy it. With his retirement last year, Court watchers figured the odds of the justices doing something about it had dropped significantly.
Federal judges have no license to reallocate political power between the two major political parties, with no plausible grant of authority in the Constitution, and no legal standards to limit and direct their decisions. Indeed, Roberts suggested federal and state legislatures could police partisan gerrymandering more effectively than could federal courts, but Kagan put her finger on the emotional core of the conservatives’ argument: Political gerrymanders have always been with us. But the circumstances have entirely changed, she observed:
The silver lining of the Supreme Court’s retreat from interest in partisan gerrymandering is that it has led the Court to defer to recent efforts to attack the practice on state constitutional grounds. That’s what happened last year when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a GOP-drafted congressional map and substituted its own: As Republicans everywhere howled, the U.S. Supreme Court shrugged and refused to review the case.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Supreme Court gives Marine seeking VA benefits second chance in lower courtThe Supreme Court on Wednesday gave a Marine Corps veteran who sought disability benefits for his service-related post-traumatic stress a second chance to prevail in a case that could impact the amount of power federal agencies have.
Lire la suite »
Supreme Court effectively blocks census citizenship question for now in a blow to Trump administrationThe Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a setback to the Trump administration's plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, effectively blocking the addition of the question for now.
Lire la suite »
Supreme Court rules on conservative effort to weaken federal agencies
Lire la suite »
Supreme Court strikes down Tennessee liquor retail regulationsThe U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in a case concerning alcohol regulatio...
Lire la suite »
Supreme Court allows partisan districts, blocks census querySupreme Court says Trump administration explanation for wanting to add citizenship question to census was “more of a distraction” than explanation. Forms are to be printed next week and it’s unclear whether the administration would have time to respond.
Lire la suite »
Supreme Court declines to put limits on partisan redistrictingThe Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling written by Chief Justice Roberts, held that congressional districting maps in North Carolina and Maryland are not...
Lire la suite »