Supreme court allows South Carolina to use congressional map accused of racial gerrymander
The supreme courtâs conservative supermajority has turned back a challenge to South Carolinaâs congressional maps on the grounds that they were a racial gerrymander.
In a 6-3 ruling, the courtâs conservatives rejected a lower court ruling that found the stateâs Republican leadership had undertaken an âeffective bleachingâ of a congressional district, by drawing lines to exclude Black voters.
The decisionâs effect is to deny Democrats the potential opportunity to pick up a seat in a state as they aim to retake the majority in the House in Novemberâs elections.
Key events
National Public Radio reports that attorney general Merrick Garland declined to comment on supreme court justice Samuel Alitoâs display of rightwing flags:
Attorney General Merrick Garland, asked about the Alito flag issue, and two Jan. 6 cases before the Supreme Court, replies, “As you rightly point out, the Justice Department has cases before the Supreme Court so I can’t comment about any justice.”
— Carrie Johnson (@johnson_carrie) May 23, 2024
So, too, did Joe Biden, when reporters shouted questions about the matter at him, as he welcomed Kenyan president William Ruto to the White House:
In an appearance on MSNBC yesterday, progressive Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused supreme court justice Samuel Alito of siding with the people who attacked the Capitol on January 6.
She also signaled that Democrats would investigate Alito if they retook the House majority, and argued that the Senate â where the party currently has control â should do the same immediately:
AOC: Samuel Alito has identified himself with the same people who raided the Capitol on January 6â¦
In the Senate, we have gavels. There should be subpoenas going out. There should be active investigations that are happening. pic.twitter.com/S7E22iZTbA— Acyn (@Acyn) May 23, 2024
Top House Democrat Jeffries calls on Alito to recuse himself from January 6 cases over rightwing flags
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has become the highest-ranking Democrat to call for supreme court justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself over the two rightwing flags reported to have flown over his properties.
At a press conference today, Jeffries called on Alito, a conservative stalwart on the court, to step back from cases concerning the January 6 insurrection, and warned that the party could work to pass legislation imposing an enforceable code of ethics on the court:
.@RepJeffries: “Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are totally out of control…In the case of Samuel Alito, he definitively needs to recuse himself from any matter pending before the United States Supreme Court that has to do with the January 6th violent insurrection.” pic.twitter.com/JrxMSnXdKp
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 23, 2024
The justices still have not released their opinion on Donald Trumpâs petition for immunity from the federal charges brought against him for attempting to overturn the 2020 election â which culminated in his supportersâ attack on the US Capitol.
In her dissent, liberal justice Elena Kagan accused the supreme courtâs conservatives of greenlighting racial gerrymanders of congressional districts with their ruling in favor of South Carolinaâs Republican-drawn map:
What a message to send to state legislators and mapmakers about racial gerrymandering. For reasons Iâve addressed, those actors will often have an incentive to use race as a proxy to achieve partisan ends. And occasionally they might want to straight-up suppress the electoral influence of minority voters. Go right ahead, this Court says to States today. Go ahead, though you have no recognized justification for using race, such as to comply with statutes ensuring equal voting rights. Go ahead, though you are (at best) using race as a short-cut to bring about partisan gains â to elect more Republicans in one case, more Democrats in another. It will be easy enough to cover your tracks in the end: Just raise a âpossibilityâ of non-race-based decision-making, and it will be âdispositiveâ. And so this âodiousâ practice of sorting citizens, built on racial generalizations and exploiting racial divisions, will continue. In the electoral sphere especially, where âugly patterns of pervasive racial discriminationâ have so long governed, we should demand better â of ourselves, of our political representatives, and most of all of this Court.
Hereâs more from the Guardianâs Sam Levine on the decision by the supreme courtâs conservative supermajority to allow South Carolinaâs congressional map to stand, despite claims that they amount to a racial gerrymander, and what that means for voting rights in the south:
South Carolina Republicans do not need to redraw their congressional map, the US supreme court ruled on Thursday, saying that a lower court had not properly evaluated the evidence when it ruled that the lawmakers had discriminated against Black voters.
In a 6-3 decision, the justices sent the case back to the lower court for further consideration.
The decision in Alexander v South Carolina Conference of the NAACP is a major win for Republicans, who hold a slim margin in the US House with six of South Carolinaâs seven congressional seats. It also could give lawmakers more leeway to discriminate in redistricting and use partisanship as a proxy for race. That could be enormously powerful in the US south, where voting is often racially polarized.
Supreme court allows South Carolina to use congressional map accused of racial gerrymander
The supreme courtâs conservative supermajority has turned back a challenge to South Carolinaâs congressional maps on the grounds that they were a racial gerrymander.
In a 6-3 ruling, the courtâs conservatives rejected a lower court ruling that found the stateâs Republican leadership had undertaken an âeffective bleachingâ of a congressional district, by drawing lines to exclude Black voters.
The decisionâs effect is to deny Democrats the potential opportunity to pick up a seat in a state as they aim to retake the majority in the House in Novemberâs elections.
Supreme court to release decisions with abortion and Trump immunity cases pending
The supreme court will in a few minutes release its latest batch of opinions.
We do not know how many they will release, or which cases, but there are several key issues pending the before the court, including conservative attempts to limit access to abortion pill mifepristone, and to strike down a Biden administration policy that requires federally funded hospitals perform the procedure in emergencies, even in states where abortion is banned.
The justices are also considering Donald Trumpâs petition for immunity from charges related to attempting to overturn the 2020 election, as well as a challenge to South Carolinaâs congressional maps. Here is more on the latter:
A growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers is demanding supreme court justice Samuel Alito recuse himself from cases dealing with January 6 or the 2020 election, after the New York Times reported his homes flew flags associated with rightwing causes.
Hereâs Katherine Clark, the Democratic House whip:
Justice Alito has displayed flags at his homes that support insurrection against our government, promote religious nationalism, and attack free and fair elections.
This is not just another example of extremism that has overtaken conservatism. This is a threat to the rule of law and a serious breach of ethics, integrity, and Justice Alitoâs oath of office.
At minimum, he must recuse himself from any cases involving January 6th, Donald Trump, and the security of our elections. Anything less will tarnish our judicial system and democracy.
Over in the Senate, Sheldon Whitehouse, a member of the judiciary committee, referenced Alitoâs explanation last week that an upside-down American flag that hung outside his Virginia home was put up by his wife:
Did another neighbor make Alitoâs wife mad?
How many MAGA battle flags does Alito need to fly for the Court or the Judicial Conference to see thereâs a problem?https://t.co/YTo3AUCFQ9
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) May 22, 2024
While Richard Blumenthal demanded Alito offer âan explanationâ for the flags:
Flying this flag is a political statement that is a clear & compelling reason for Alitoâs recusal. He cannot responsibly sit on Trump-related cases when he has already signaled his sympathy with January 6th rioters. He owes the American people an explanation. https://t.co/g8hSr7Sqww
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) May 22, 2024
Alito’s vacation residence flew flag linked to Christian extremists – report
The New York Times found conservative supreme court justice Samuel Alitoâs New Jersey vacation home flying the âAppeal to Heavenâ flag, which dates back to the Revolutionary War, and has been adopted by far-right Christians:
A second provocative flag linked to Jan. 6 was flown at a home of the Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito. https://t.co/BuXufAjOgJ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 23, 2024
Among those who have flown it is Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who flew the flag outside his Capitol office.
Itâs the second controversial flag found outside an Alito residence. Last week, the Times reported that shortly before Joe Biden took office, Alitoâs home in Virginia flew an upside-down American flag, which had been adopted as a symbol by those who believed Donald Trumpâs false claims of election fraud.
Alito told the Times his wife had put that flag up after a dispute with their neighbor, but he declined to comment about the banner found at his vacation home in New Jersey. Hereâs more on this:
Supreme court to issue more decisions as Democrat calls for Alito to recuse himself over second rightwing flag flown at house
Good morning, US politics blog readers.
Conservative supreme court justice Samuel Alito flew a rightwing Christian flag carried by insurrectionists on January 6 outside a vacation home, the New York Times reported yesterday. The story came a week after the Times revealed that a different flag associated with Donald Trumpâs election lies appeared outside his suburban Washington DC residence shortly before Joe Biden took office. The justice blamed his wife for the first episode, and had no comment on the flag flown outside the New Jersey vacation property, but to top Democrats, it is clear that Alito needs to step back from cases involving the attack on the Capitol and the 2020 election. Dick Durbin, the chair of the Senate judiciary committee, made the demand, while calling the flag âapparent ethical misconductâ, and progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the matter should be investigated.
Meanwhile, the supreme court is scheduled to, at 10am ET, issue another batch of decisions. There is no telling which cases they may weigh in on, but pending on their docket is Trumpâs attempt to be granted immunity from prosecution for his 2020 election meddling attempt as well as two cases dealing with access to abortion that came after the court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022 â with an opinion Alito authored.
Hereâs what else is going on today:
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Biden is spending much of the day with Kenyan president William Ruto, who is on an official visit to Washington DC. The president hosts the East African leader for a state dinner in the evening â the first for any African leader since George W Bush dined with Ghanaâs John Kufuor in 2008.
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Republican House speaker Mike Johnson wants to invite Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give an address to Congress, but is waiting to hear from Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer. Perhaps the Democrat will make his decision known today.
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The House is expected to vote on Republican-backed legislation to repeal a Washington DC law allowing non-citizens to vote in its local elections.
