# omnibus Supreme Court-packing thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 1, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873 "2019-04-01T18:10:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/121 "2019-04-02T21:44:42Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Why rightfully so? Why shouldn’t resident of DC have representation in the US legislature? Particularly since said legislature has the power to invalidate local laws. That a voter in Montana has more voting power to affect DC laws than an actual resident being affected by those laws, is absurd IMHO. Retroceding DC back to Maryland would resolve your concerns about their lack of representation, and I suspect you could easily get bipartisan support for it. It does, however, deprive you of the chance to score two additional Dem Senators, so if its the power grab you’re after, I guess you should keep fighting for DC statehood. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/122 "2019-04-02T22:30:12Z")
I’m curious, does the GOP ever do anything that you would consider a “power grab”? Or is that something only Democrats can do? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/123 "2019-04-02T22:32:37Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > I’m curious, does the GOP ever do anything that you would consider a “power grab”? … Yes. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/124 "2019-04-02T22:33:58Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > … I don’t know if that’s Constitutional. If the Democrats get both Houses and the WH, I suspect we’ll find out. Prior to the 2018 election, would you have given good odds to President Trump being impeached if the Democrats got the House? ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/125 "2019-04-02T23:03:01Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’d label Roberts a moderate right-winger and Garland a moderate left-winger. Why? Just curious. It might be helpful for everyone to note why. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/126 "2019-04-02T23:26:12Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > Why? Just curious. It might be helpful for everyone to note why. It’s the product of everything I’ve read / heard about them. I’m not sure what you’re looking for here. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/127 "2019-04-02T23:31:08Z")
In Roberts’ case, he seems to be more interested in protecting the institution of the Court than stricto ideology. He has a history of voting against the other conservative judges in such situations, starting with his decision that Obamacare’s mandate was constitutional. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/128 "2019-04-02T23:41:59Z")
So, **Hurricane Ditka** and **Velocity** , what’s your counter-proposal? How would you restore the integrity of the Court? **iiandyiiii** , I’m all for Puerto Rican statehood, if the people of PR want it. But there is no way to grant statehood to DC without a Constitutional amendment. Which, incidentally, I would not support, because DC already has greater representation in Congress than any other state. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/129 "2019-04-02T23:49:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **iiandyiiii** , I’m all for Puerto Rican statehood, if the people of PR want it. But there is no way to grant statehood to DC without a Constitutional amendment. Which, incidentally, I would not support, because DC already has greater representation in Congress than any other state. I’m not sure if you’re correct here as to the process of DC statehood, and I don’t understand your point about representation. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/130 "2019-04-02T23:57:34Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > It’s the product of everything I’ve read / heard about them. I’m not sure what you’re looking for here. The reason I ask is because I don’t think anyone agrees on the labels. You don’t seem agree with what progressives label “conservative” and vise versa. Not singling you out or anything just saying from an outside perspective it seems like you guys are speaking different languages. Its easier for someone like me (not really one side or the other) to follow along with what people are really meaning if they say something like: Blah blah is a liberal activist judge because blah blah blah. Blah blah is a Neo-conservative judge because of blah blah blah. People with no real political rub one way or the other might think that each side believes their own bullshit a little too much. It seems that way to me anyway. I haven’t seen a lot of independent thinking from the talking heads on TV or the typing heads here. From my perspective, both sides seem to be arguing with a scare crow. Not to single you out in particular or anything. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/131 "2019-04-03T00:07:27Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > The reason I ask is because I don’t think anyone agrees on the labels. … **Sam Stone** agreed with my labels, for one. I suspect the vast majority of politically-interested Americans would agree that Scalia was a conservative and Ginsburg is a liberal. I suspect a great many of them would also agree to the labels I gave Chief Justice Roberts and Garland. If you meet someone calling Scalia a liberal or Ginsburg a conservative, you can be reasonably confident you’re talking to someone way out on one of the fringes of the American political spectrum. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/132 "2019-04-03T00:42:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, **Hurricane Ditka** and **Velocity** , what’s your counter-proposal? How would you restore the integrity of the Court? Keep things the way they are now, except that every nominee is entitled to a Senate hearing and confirmation up-or-down vote. No McConnell-Garlanding. And no court packing. Also, allow justices to be removed for medical reasons if 3/4 of the Senate agrees (this prevents a scenario whereby someone like Ginsburg could be in a coma for years but still be a justice due to not technically being dead .) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/133 "2019-04-03T06:49:59Z")
It has become startling how many important Supreme Court cases are decided by a 5-4 vote. And it’s almost always the same 5-4 alignment. For several years, the court consisted of 4 moderate or liberal judges, 1 right-of-center judge (Kennedy) and 4 right-wing judges. For many years there has been such a judge-in-the-middle who has essentially made all the important decisions himself! Before 2005 it was the centrist Rehnquist (appointed by Nixon, elevated to Chief by Reagan); since Kennedy’s 2018 retirement it is Roberts. In the olden days, Roberts would be called a severe right-winger. In the new diction, we must call him “right-of-center” to distinguish him from haters, liars, and lunatics. ALL of the following cases were decided 5-4. In ALL of these cases the 4 liberal/moderates voted the same way. In ALL of these cases the four right-wingers voted opposite to the moderates. In EVERY case the decision was decided by the Middle Judge — First Rehnquist or Kennedy, now Roberts. Obergefell v. Hodges (right to same-sex marriage) Montejo v. Louisiana (partial denial of right to counsel) Padilla v. Kentucky (aliens must be advised of deportation risk) Berghuis v. Thompkins (partial denial of right to remain silent) Kennedy v. Louisiana (death penalty) Citizens United v. FEC (“money is speech”) McCutcheon v. FEC (“money is speech”) Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (struck down the contraceptive mandate) Town of Greece v. Galloway (town hall prayer) Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (vouchers for religious schools) District of Columbia v. Heller (handgun bans disallowed) McDonald v. Chicago (handgun bans disallowed) Michigan v. EPA (weaken clean air act) Bush v. Gore (prohibit Florida from counting ballots) Husted v A Philip Randolph Institute — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS ruled that Ohio can purge its voter lists using a discriminatory procedure. Abbott v Perez — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS overruled a lower court ruling that Texas gerrymandering to disenfranchise blacks and hispanics was illegal. Epic Systems Corp v Lewis — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS decimated workers’ rights to unionize or join class actions Trump v Hawaii — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs), Trump’s anti-Muslim immigration policies became the law of the land Janus v American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS effectively installed “right to work” (actually the “right to scab”) for the public sector. National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v Becerra — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS ruled that crisis pregnancy centers were not required to tell women seeking help that abortion was a legal option. Not enough examples? Here are some more; all 5-4; all with the hard-righters voting the same way: Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko; Dusenbery v. United States ; Great-West Life & Annuity Ins. Co.; Kelly v. South Carolina; Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc.; Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB; Mickens v. Taylor; Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc.; Federal Maritime Comm’n v. South Carolin; McKune v. Lile; Carey v. Saffold; Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran; Republican Party of Minnesota v. White; Sattazahn v. Pennsylvania; United States v. White Mountain Apache; Ewing v. California; Lockyer v. Andrade; Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington ; Roell v. Withrow; Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle; Georgia v. Ashcroft; Stogner v. California; Jama v. Immigration & Customs Enforc; Smith v. Massachusetts; Roper v. Simmons; Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education; Pace v. DiGuglielmo; Dodd v. United States; Rompilla v. Beard; Kelo v. City of New London; Bell v. Thompson; McCreary County v. ACLU; Brown v. Sanders; Central Virginia Community College v. Ka; Garcetti v. Ceballos; Hudson v. Michigan; Rapanos v. United States; United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez; Kansas v. Marsh; Ayers v. Belmontes; Lawrence v. Florida; Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Massachusett; Massachusetts v. EPA; Gonzales v. Carhart; Abdul-Kabir v. Quarterman; Brewer v. Quarterman; Smith v. Texas; Schriro v. Landrigan; Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber ; Uttecht v. Brown; Bowles v. Russell; Morse v. Frederick; Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin; Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation; National Assn. of Home Builders v. Defen; Parents Involved in Community Schools v.; Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v; Panetti v. Quarterman; Boumediene v. Bush; Dada v. Mukasey; Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Servic; Medellin v. Texas ; Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Coun; Altria Group, Inc. v. Good; Herring v. United States; Summers v. Earth Island Institute; Bartlett v. Strickland; Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc.; 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett; Corley v. United States; FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc.; Ashcroft v. Iqbal; Haywood v. Drown; Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co.; United States v. Denedo; District Attorney’s Office for Third Jud; Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.; Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend; Horne v. Flores; Cuomo v. Clearing House Assn.; Ricci v. DeStefano > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > In Roberts’ case, he seems to be more interested in protecting the institution of the Court than stricto ideology. He has a history of voting against the other conservative judges in such situations, starting with his decision that Obamacare’s mandate was constitutional. Roberts always votes with the GOP when an election or a partisan survival issue is on the line. His vote for ACA might have been clever partisanship. Repealing ACA would be disastrous for millions of Americans, and disastrous for GOP electoral chances in the aftermath. The smarter GOPsters know that. Roberts may be qualified to be a judge, unlike Kavanaugh, and isn’t batshit insane. But it’s laughable to imagine him as anything but right-wing. Oh! Here are two cases I overlooked above. In Glossip v. Gross, Roberts joined Kennedy and the batshit wing to allow Oklahoma to torture convicts undergoing lethal injection. (Richard Glossip himself, by the way, is probably innocent but still waiting on death row as I type.) And in breaking news just yesterday, in yet another 5-4 decision Roberts joined the batshit wing when “five justices of the Supreme Court authorized Missouri to torture a man to death.” If anyone thinks that “packing” on more judges could dishonor _this_ Court, I can only laugh. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/134 "2019-04-03T09:35:59Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Keep things the way they are now, except that every nominee is entitled to a Senate hearing and confirmation up-or-down vote. No McConnell-Garlanding. And no court packing. > > Also, allow justices to be removed for medical reasons if 3/4 of the Senate agrees (this prevents a scenario whereby someone like Ginsburg could be in a coma for years but still be a justice due to not technically being dead .) Mitch McConnell endorses your “plan”. It can’t possibly be surprising to you if most Democrats are going to disagree with Mitch McConnell on how to approach SCOTUS, right? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/135 "2019-04-03T12:59:21Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > And in breaking news just yesterday, in yet another 5-4 decision Roberts joined the batshit wing when “five justices of the Supreme Court authorized Missouri to torture a man to death.” Lest this be thought hyperbole: > [@Mark Joseph Stern](#): > > Russell Bucklew is a death row inmate in Missouri who suffers from a rare medical condition called cavernous hemangioma. Due to this disorder, his body is covered with tumors filled with blood vessels. Tumors in Bucklew’s neck and throat, his lips and uvula, which make it difficult for him to breathe. They are highly sensitive and frequently squirt blood. A medical expert, Dr. Joel Zivot, has testified that _ **if Missouri administers a lethal injection to Bucklew, he will die a slow, agonizing death. His tumors will rupture and fill his mouth with blood, and he will suffocate to death in unbearable pain, choking and convulsing on the gurney as he dies.** _ > … Bucklew asked to be killed with nitrogen gas so that he can die from “hypoxia,” a lack of oxygen, because his death from hypoxia would be faster than his death from lethal injection. > > [That the lethal injections will needlessly torture Bucklew is NOT in dispute. The majority opinion of the Court is that torture doesn’t matter becuase it isn’t “deliberate”] > According to Gorsuch, “the question in dispute” here is whether lethal injection “cruelly superadds pain” to Bucklew’s death. But that language does not come from Baze or Glossip. It comes from Thomas’ separate opinions, which were joined only by Scalia. With one neat trick, Gorsuch has transformed the “superadds pain” test from a minority viewpoint to binding Supreme Court precedent. > > … Welcome to our post-Kennedy death penalty jurisprudence, where legalized torture is back on the table. Pack the Supreme Court to reduce the power of these five horrible disgusting excuses for judges? I’d be ashamed of any Democrat who does NOT want to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/136 "2019-04-03T15:43:20Z")
Not to derail the thread, but isn’t it standard procedure to sedate the condemned first before the rest of the lethal injection takes place? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/137 "2019-04-03T15:50:18Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > How would you rate the scientific backing for “a future to look forward to where the planet turns into a hellscape”? If we do nothing about global warming, it’s pretty solid AFAICT. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/138 "2019-04-03T16:37:16Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > It has become startling how many important Supreme Court cases are decided by a 5-4 vote. And it’s almost always the same 5-4 alignment. For several years, the court consisted of 4 moderate or liberal judges, 1 right-of-center judge (Kennedy) and 4 right-wing judges. For many years there has been such a judge-in-the-middle who has essentially made all the important decisions himself! Before 2005 it was the centrist Rehnquist (appointed by Nixon, elevated to Chief by Reagan); since Kennedy’s 2018 retirement it is Roberts. In the olden days, Roberts would be called a severe right-winger. In the new diction, we must call him “right-of-center” to distinguish him from haters, liars, and lunatics. > > ALL of the following cases were decided 5-4. In ALL of these cases the 4 liberal/moderates voted the same way. In ALL of these cases the four right-wingers voted opposite to the moderates. In EVERY case the decision was decided by the Middle Judge — First Rehnquist or Kennedy, now Roberts. > > Obergefell v. Hodges (right to same-sex marriage) > Montejo v. Louisiana (partial denial of right to counsel) > Padilla v. Kentucky (aliens must be advised of deportation risk) > Berghuis v. Thompkins (partial denial of right to remain silent) > Kennedy v. Louisiana (death penalty) > Citizens United v. FEC (“money is speech”) > McCutcheon v. FEC (“money is speech”) > Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (struck down the contraceptive mandate) > Town of Greece v. Galloway (town hall prayer) > Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (vouchers for religious schools) > District of Columbia v. Heller (handgun bans disallowed) > McDonald v. Chicago (handgun bans disallowed) > Michigan v. EPA (weaken clean air act) > Bush v. Gore (prohibit Florida from counting ballots) > Husted v A Philip Randolph Institute — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS ruled that Ohio can purge its voter lists using a discriminatory procedure. > Abbott v Perez — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS overruled a lower court ruling that Texas gerrymandering to disenfranchise blacks and hispanics was illegal. > Epic Systems Corp v Lewis — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS decimated workers’ rights to unionize or join class actions > Trump v Hawaii — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs), Trump’s anti-Muslim immigration policies became the law of the land > Janus v American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS effectively installed “right to work” (actually the “right to scab”) for the public sector. > National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v Becerra — in a 5-4 vote (Kennedy joining the dogs) SCOTUS ruled that crisis pregnancy centers were not required to tell women seeking help that abortion was a legal option. > > Not enough examples? Here are some more; all 5-4; all with the hard-righters voting the same way: Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko; Dusenbery v. United States ; Great-West Life & Annuity Ins. Co.; Kelly v. South Carolina; Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc.; Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB; Mickens v. Taylor; Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc.; Federal Maritime Comm’n v. South Carolin; McKune v. Lile; Carey v. Saffold; Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran; Republican Party of Minnesota v. White; Sattazahn v. Pennsylvania; United States v. White Mountain Apache; Ewing v. California; Lockyer v. Andrade; Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington ; Roell v. Withrow; Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle; Georgia v. Ashcroft; Stogner v. California; Jama v. Immigration & Customs Enforc; Smith v. Massachusetts; Roper v. Simmons; Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education; Pace v. DiGuglielmo; Dodd v. United States; Rompilla v. Beard; Kelo v. City of New London; Bell v. Thompson; McCreary County v. ACLU; Brown v. Sanders; Central Virginia Community College v. Ka; Garcetti v. Ceballos; Hudson v. Michigan; Rapanos v. United States; United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez; Kansas v. Marsh; Ayers v. Belmontes; Lawrence v. Florida; Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Massachusett; Massachusetts v. EPA; Gonzales v. Carhart; Abdul-Kabir v. Quarterman; Brewer v. Quarterman; Smith v. Texas; Schriro v. Landrigan; Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber ; Uttecht v. Brown; Bowles v. Russell; Morse v. Frederick; Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin; Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation; National Assn. of Home Builders v. Defen; Parents Involved in Community Schools v.; Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v; Panetti v. Quarterman; Boumediene v. Bush; Dada v. Mukasey; Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Servic; Medellin v. Texas ; Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Coun; Altria Group, Inc. v. Good; Herring v. United States; Summers v. Earth Island Institute; Bartlett v. Strickland; Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc.; 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett; Corley v. United States; FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc.; Ashcroft v. Iqbal; Haywood v. Drown; Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co.; United States v. Denedo; District Attorney’s Office for Third Jud; Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.; Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend; Horne v. Flores; Cuomo v. Clearing House Assn.; Ricci v. DeStefano > > Roberts always votes with the GOP when an election or a partisan survival issue is on the line. His vote for ACA might have been clever partisanship. Repealing ACA would be disastrous for millions of Americans, and disastrous for GOP electoral chances in the aftermath. The smarter GOPsters know that. > > Roberts may be qualified to be a judge, unlike Kavanaugh, and isn’t batshit insane. But it’s laughable to imagine him as anything but right-wing. Oh! Here are two cases I overlooked above. > > In Glossip v. Gross, Roberts joined Kennedy and the batshit wing to allow Oklahoma to torture convicts undergoing lethal injection. (Richard Glossip himself, by the way, is probably innocent but still waiting on death row as I type.) > > And in breaking news just yesterday, in yet another 5-4 decision Roberts joined the batshit wing when “five justices of the Supreme Court authorized Missouri to torture a man to death.” > > If anyone thinks that “packing” on more judges could dishonor _this_ Court, I can only laugh. First, you are absolutely wrong in saying that Rehnquist was a centrist. He was very conservative. I’m not sure what you gain by labeling the four liberal justices as “moderates.” Further, just because you disagree with a 5-4 decision does not make the Court “dishonorable.” Also, your statements about torturing people to death border on the absurd. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/139 "2019-04-03T17:21:46Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > First, you are absolutely wrong in saying that Rehnquist was a centrist. He was very conservative. I’m not sure what you gain by labeling the four liberal justices as “moderates.” Further, just because you disagree with a 5-4 decision does not make the Court “dishonorable.” > > Also, your statements about torturing people to death border on the absurd. Yes, I misremembered about Rehnquist. O’Connor was the conservative who occasionally took Kennedy’s place and voted with the moderates. The rest of your comment is confused. I’ll bother explaining if/when you [answer my questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21571511&postcount=70). ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873/140 "2019-04-03T18:16:23Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Not to derail the thread, but isn’t it standard procedure to sedate the condemned first before the rest of the lethal injection takes place? IIRC, Hippocratic Oath and anti-death policies make it hard to procure the optimal pharmaceuticals for executions. (Some right-wingers, believing that punishment should punish, seem to view this as a feature not a bug.) This has been discussed in prior threads. Anyway, expert Dr. Joel Zivot testified under oath that Bucklew will die a slow, agonizing death, that he will suffocate to death in unbearable pain, choking and convulsing on the gurney as he dies. If the State of Missouri had witnesses to refute that, why weren’t they called to testify? Did Missouri just want to get a legal precedent for their right to torture? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-supreme-court-packing-thread/831873.md?page=8)