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Justice Samuel Alito said in an interview that Congress does not have the authority to regulate the Supreme Court, pushing back against Democratic efforts to mandate stronger ethics rules for the justices. Alito argued that the Constitution does not give Congress the power to regulate the Supreme Court. While Chief Justice John Roberts has also questioned Congress's ability to act, he was not as definitive as Alito. Some Democrats rejected Alito's reasoning, arguing that the Supreme Court should be subject to checks and balances. The ethics push comes after recent revelations about undisclosed trips and other ethics issues involving several Supreme Court justices.

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[-] Arotrios@kbin.social 98 points 1 year ago

He's flat out lying.

US Constitution Article 3, first fucking line:

Section 1

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

I also would like to point out the "good Behaviour" clause in the next line that determines the length of a justice's tenure, and under which Alioto has clearly disqualified himself from serving as a justice.

[-] watson387@sopuli.xyz 60 points 1 year ago

He’s not arguing in good faith. He knows if he says that out loud the right wing media will run with it like it’s fact. Then when it’s actually proven false the MAGAs will refuse to believe it.

[-] Arotrios@kbin.social 22 points 1 year ago

Agreed - it's clear he's just trying to throw out something to take the heat off. I hope that this particular mangling of the Constitution will backfire on him, because even a first year law student would find the argument facetious and self-serving at best, and it gives his critics further fuel to not only attack his position as justice, but grounds to call for disbarment.

You're damn right he's not arguing in good faith! 100%!

[-] MJBrune@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Absolutely the case. The fact is that if no one enforces it, it doesn't matter if it's true. The first step to get people to not enforce it is to believe it wasn't that way to start with. So the argument then becomes moot unless people can be convinced of the opposite which the Republican base only believes the GQP. So essentially this is an attempt to weaken democracy and drive a soft-coup. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_coup Essentially what the GQP has been trying to do all along is drive us to a soft coup and Trump was just the most vocal stepping stone in a long series of stepping stones. Essentially put people in places of power that will only represent the GQP's interests and start to erode any power the government has in correcting those people in power.

We are going to keep seeing autocracy rise in the world and the USA is going to likely be one the first major powers of the West to fall into it. It's more than inevitable since no one is talking about this future. No one is talking about democratic backsliding in the world. There are more autocracies in the world now than in the last 100 years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_backsliding

[-] mister_monster@monero.town 31 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Your bolded part just says they can create inferior courts. I don't understand what point you're making emphasizing it.

The sentence after that, not emphasized, the good behavior part, is already understood and judges in the federal court system can be, and have been, impeached.

[-] FlowVoid@midwest.social 13 points 1 year ago

Good behavior is generally used to justify lifetime tenure as a judge, unless impeached.

However, the Constitution does not guarantee lifetime tenure on the SCOTUS itself. Nothing prevents Congress from requiring a Justice to transfer to a lower court after, say, 18 years on the SCOTUS.

[-] mister_monster@monero.town 2 points 1 year ago

Well, except for the fact that acts of congress require legislation, which the supreme court can find unconstitutional.

[-] FlowVoid@midwest.social 5 points 1 year ago

Congress can write laws that the SCOTUS is not allowed to review. They've actually done this in the past

[-] mister_monster@monero.town 1 points 1 year ago

Do you have an example of this happening?

[-] FlowVoid@midwest.social 3 points 1 year ago
[-] mister_monster@monero.town 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That's not what's happening here at all, this is not a case of a law congress proscribed the supreme court from ruling on, that's a case of congress taking away appellate jurisdiction from the supreme court for a particular case, which it can do. You said congress can pass laws that the supreme court can't review and has done it before, do you have an example?

[-] FlowVoid@midwest.social 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Using the same process, Congress could strip appellate jurisdiction from the SCOTUS in any case that involves a particular law. Which includes a law that they just passed.

The key is that when the SCOTUS reviews laws, it is nearly always exercising its power of appellate jurisdiction, not original jurisdiction. And the Constitution allows Congress to impose whatever regulations it wants over appellate jurisdiction. So if the SCOTUS isn't allowed to hear cases involving a law, then it can't strike down that law.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

[-] Dominic@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

I seriously doubt that Congress can create a law that infringes on the First Amendment and simultaneously strip all federal courts of their jurisdiction to review that law.

If that were the case, then simple majorities in Congress and a Presidential signature would be enough to effectively override the Constitution. That’s far easier than an amendment.

[-] FlowVoid@midwest.social 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

First of all, nothing in the Constitution gives courts the power of judicial review. They sort of made up that power all by themselves.

Regardless, if Congress decided to regulate the SCOTUS then they would most likely strip jurisdiction only from the SCOTUS itself, not from all federal courts. This is also how it was done in the past. The SCOTUS basically conceded that as long as some judge still had the power of judicial review, then Congress could remove the SCOTUS itself from the process.

Which means that the DC Circuit Court would make a final, non-appealable decision on whether the Constitution allows their colleagues in the SCOTUS to be bound by ethics laws - just as they are.

[-] Dominic@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Judicial review isn’t in the Constitution either.

[-] mister_monster@monero.town 1 points 1 year ago

That's a very detail ignoring take on the matter but technically you're right.

[-] Dominic@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

For context:

Judicial review exists because it makes sense. The framers decided to bind the government with a Constitution, but never explicitly wrote up an enforcement mechanism. The judiciary already interprets laws, so they get to be the enforcement mechanism by default.

The framers also decided to write “during good behavior” in Article III, but never defined what that means. Congress writes laws, so it’s logical to me that Congress gets to define what “good behavior” entails.

[-] Juno@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

That's not true, it says the Supreme Court AND inferior courts

[-] mister_monster@monero.town 5 points 1 year ago

The constitution creates the supreme courts. The Congress can make inferior courts.

[-] Juno@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago

"The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish."

Lemme cut the middle out of that sentence

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.

Which is exactly what they do, they establish and ordain. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomination_and_confirmation_to_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States

[-] gogreenranger@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

Right, but the comma separates the "Constitution creates the supreme court" and the "Inferiors courts that Congress may establish." Cutting out the middle removes key text.

It seems pedantic, but that's exactly the argument that either has been or will be made, because that comma implies that the Supreme Court and "inferior courts" have separate sources that govern them.

[-] fuzzywolf23@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

You're ignoring that congress does, in fact, ordain supreme court justices

[-] gogreenranger@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

They do until the Supreme Court interprets otherwise.

[-] mister_monster@monero.town 1 points 1 year ago

That's very much wrong, you can't read english.

[-] Juno@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

Ahh. See how you said that?

That's very wrong, AND you can't read English.

It's both things in the same sentence. Like how there's a supreme court, and lower courts which congress can ordain.

Hey dumbass. They "ordain" supreme court justices when they question them and vote on them before they're appointed.

If it's so wrong, why doesn't the president just appoint them and done? It's because you are actually reading it wrong. Congress DOES ordain the supreme court's members. They do it in public for all to see.

[-] gogreenranger@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

And now the Supreme Court, who interprets the Constitution as part of the checks and balances, is making noise that it could potentially disagree.

Also, as someone who is so versed in English, you understand that a sentence can refer to more than one thing, right? I can write a sentence, post to Lemmy, and kick a football. Only the sentence is what I write. The comma separates them.

Legal decisions have been decided on commas and they can be incredibly pedantic.

[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago

in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.

I could see it being argued that this mentions (1) "one supreme Court" and (2) "such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish," so the bit about Congress applies only to the inferior courts.

[-] Arotrios@kbin.social 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Except that it's never worked that way throughout the history of United States.

The Supreme Court itself is established by an act of Congress, the Judiciary Act of 1789. The Congress has always had the power to not only set the number of justices (last paragraph on that link), but to impeach them as well.

A misplaced comma doesn't trump 240 years of legal precedent, no matter how much Alioto might wish it did.

[-] experbia@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago

A misplaced comma doesn't trump 240 years of legal precedent, no matter how much Alioto might wish it did.

Fortunately true.

Unfortunately, in the larger court of public opinion, it can very effectively be used as basis to rile up and outrage the domestic terrorists loyal to the corrupted judiciary, so there will most likely be some trepidation about clarifying this.

[-] skwerls@waveform.social 4 points 1 year ago

How about we set the number to 0 and go from there.

[-] SkepticElliptic@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

We set it to √2 and let the fun begin.

[-] bedrooms@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

And SCOTUS is allowed to pick whichever interpretation they like.

[-] experbia@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah... this was my first thought when I read it. Very unfortunate and ambiguous phrasing.

[-] hanna@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 year ago

The more important part is after the highlighted part, I was thinking the same thing

[-] theforkofdamocles@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago
this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2023
211 points (100.0% liked)

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