The Supreme Court is the focus of this week's newsletter. The court has taken on a number of cases with the potential to set devastating precedents. Here are some cases you should be following:
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DONATE HERE!Murthy v. Missouri
Anti-vaccine demonstrators rallied outside the Supreme Court last week as it heard oral arguments in a case that could have serious implications for how the federal government operates. Murthy v. Missouri is a case centering around government efforts to combat misinformation online like anti-vaccine narratives and election denial through open communication with social media companies. Two Republican attorneys general and a number of private plaintiffs represented by a corporate-aligned litigation outfit funded in part by billionaire right-wing megafunder Charles Koch origianlly filed the suit back in May 2022. They alleged that by requesting that the companies moderate certain content on their platforms, the government was engaging in unconstitutional censorship. Should the court rule in their favor, it could cripple the ability of government to function.
For more, check out this piece from IMPORTANT CONTEXT, OptOut's original reporting outfit.
For more on the case and the rally: Check out my interview on STATUS COUP.
At least for now, the justices seemed skeptical of the arguments that the activity the government engaged in violated the First Amendment. STATES NEWSROOM had the story.
Another critical story from last week related to the Supreme Court: As the court prepares to hear oral arguments federal case against Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP 2024 presidential nominee who is facing charges related to his schemes to remain in office after losing the 2020 election, 18 Republican states filed an amicus brief with the supreme Court asking it grant the former president blanket immunity. The plea echoes the arguments of Trump's own attorneys that the framers of the Constitution actually intended the president to be immune from criminal prosecution. STATES NEWSROOM reported:
Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
Also from STATES NEWSROOM: The court, which previously overturned Roe v. Wade, prepared to hear oral arguments in another critical case last week, which could sharply limit access to mifepristone, the pill used in medication abortions and miscarriage care. The case was brought by a Christian right group called Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of anti-abortion groups and doctors. The Southern Poverty Law Center considers ADF an anti-LGBTQ extremist group.
United States v. Texas
NEW REPUBLIC had an interesting story about a potential shift on the Supreme Court bench. The high court declined to block a Texas law last week allowing the state to essentially enforce its own immigration policies. Under the Constitution and according to longstanding Supreme Court precedent, the federal government has control over immigration, not the states. While the lower court had issued an injunction, barring the state's law from taking effect, the deeply conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay, a technical ruling that allowed the state to temporarily enforce the law. While the Supreme Court allowed the law to take effect, two conservative justices offered a rebuke of the Fifth Circuit's use of administrative stays, and shortly after, the stay was lifted.
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Snyder v. United States
The Supreme Court is also preparing to hear a case that could sharply limit a federal anti-corruption law. The plaintiffs in the case are arguing that the law should not prohibit gifts to elected officials for government actions that occur after the fact. As THE LEVER reports, that interpretation of the statute could make it legal for corporations to lavish personal gifts on politicians who look out for their interests.
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