Back to Court

Hello! It’s the weekend, this is The Weekender. ☕

The summer respite from the Supreme Court, alas, is almost over.

Oral arguments start October 3, and a batch of cases have already been scheduled. (Some of the most important ones, including the independent state legislatures case Moore v. Harper, have not).

This slate of cases runs the gamut from environmental regulation to affirmative action.

There are some recurring themes: decisions that could overturn decades of precedent, antagonism towards agency regulation, endangerment of traditionally progressive priorities like racial diversity in education and robust and accountable social programs for the vulnerable.

Five of these cases to keep your eye on are:

• Sackett v. EPA — in which the Supreme Court may narrow the definition of which bodies of water rate federal protection. 
• Merrill v. Milligan — a redistricting case that’ll give the right-wing majority a shot at further hobbling the Voting Rights Act. 
• Students for Fair Admissions v. University of NC and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College — dual affirmative action cases where experts fear the justices will nix it for good. 
• Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC and Securities and Exchange Commission v. Cochran — challenges to agencies’ internal adjudication processes that are part of a broader tapestry of anti-agency enforcement sentiment on the right. 
• Health and Hospital Corp. v. Talevski — a sleeper case that could rip a huge hole in our social safety net.

It’s going to be a long and, based on our recent experience, tumultuous Court term. Here are some early landmines to keep your eye on while the sessions unfold. Read my piece on the TPM homepage today for fuller analysis of these key cases.

More on other news below. Let’s dig in. 

— Kate Riga

Trump’s Special MAGA Justice

South Florida federal judge Aileen Cannon started the week off with a bombshell, releasing a ruling on Monday that made up for what it lacked in length in sheer anomalousness. Cannon blocked the DOJ from using records it seized last month via search warrant at Mar-a-Lago for its investigation, and ordered that a Special Master be appointed to sift through the records. The order sparked varying levels of confusion and dismay in the legal world, in part because Cannon’s order seemed to misunderstand the concept of executive privilege (applying it to keep executive branch records from the executive branch) and because she flatly stated in the order that she was intervening because President Trump had a big reputation at stake.

The DOJ signaled on Thursday that it would appeal the order, and made Cannon an offer: why not just suspend the order as it applied to classified records that the government seized, and let the rest of it play out? Prosecutors told Cannon that if she does not rule in their favor within a week, they will appeal.

— Josh Kovensky

Michiganders Will Vote On Abortion Amendment This Year After All

A majority of the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday that weird quibbles over word spacing weren’t enough to keep a historic abortion rights constitutional amendment off of the November ballot. Republicans on the state’s canvassing board had voted against certifying the amendment due to a challenge from pro-life activists alleging — really — that the minimal word spacing in the proposed amendment should disqualify the proposal entirely. The state’s Supreme Court also restored a proposed voting rights amendment after it, too, had been blocked by canvassing board Republicans.

So, Michiganders, it’s a stocked ballot this year: In addition to statewide races for governor, attorney general, secretary of state, legislative races, and these proposed constitutional amendments, you’ll also have a chance to vote on two Supreme Court seats. The outcome will determine the partisan balance of the court. Future kerning-based disputes may hang in the balance.

Finally, a personal note: After six great years, Friday was my last day at TPM. You can continue to find my future work (at HuffPost) on Twitter, and do feel free to be in touch at 646-397-4678. Thank you to all of you who’ve written in over the years with tips, story ideas … and my typos. That was much appreciated, sincerely.

— Matt Shuham

• Josh Marshall writes on “the greatest missed opportunity of the election cycle.”
• “I pray that we’ll take responsibility. We’ll seize the power that we had given to us by the Constitution, and as well by You, providentially. I pray for the leaders also in the federal government, God, on the Sixth of January that they will rise up with boldness.” That’s a prayer publicly spoken by GOP Pennsylvania gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano just a week before the Capitol insurrection. Read more here.
• A South Florida federal judge (not that one) on Friday dismissed a complaint filed earlier this year from President Trump in which he accused everyone who had offended him during his political career of wrongdoing.
• Jan. 6 committee hearings might be back later this month.
• Trump pardoned him of federal charges related to his “We Build The Wall” scheme. But Steve Bannon isn’t out of the woods yet. A New York grand jury indicted Bannon this week on state money laundering, conspiracy and scheming to defraud charges, rather than federal ones. It also charges the “We Build The Wall” organization itself.