Subject: Today from the Constitutional Responsibility Project
From: Natalie Raps <[email-masked]>
To: Natalie Raps <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 19 May 2016 22:10:09 +0000

Today in the fight for a full and functioning Supreme Court: Republicans are hoping that Trump, the most divisive candidate in history, will win the election and appoint justices that will implement his radical agenda for the country, young leaders join Members of Congress to tell Senators to #DoYourJob and a new report details the impact that a split Supreme Court will have on jurisdictions across the country.

Tomorrow, the People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) and the Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) will release the new report, "Material Harm to Our System of Justice: The Consequences of an Eight-Member Supreme Court." Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Elliot Mincberg, and  Elizabeth Wydra will hold a press call to discuss the new report. To RSVP or to request an embargoed copy, please email [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>.

Donald Trump Wants to Use the Supreme Court to Implement His Dangerous Agenda.
While we have a real, highly-qualified consensus nominee that Republicans refuse to act on, Trump has put forward a hypothetical group of extreme judges who would do real harm to Americans by banning abortion, turning back progress against discrimination, and imposing Trump's radical agenda on the country.

With only eight justices, the Supreme Court has been unable to reach decisions on important issues like women's access to contraception and is set to accept the fewest number of new cases in 70 years, delaying or denying justice to millions in the process. Just like they shut down the government, now Republicans are shutting down the Supreme Court in the hopes of allowing Donald Trump to appoint justices who will impose his radical and divisive agenda on America.

[SCOTUS_MAY16_Trump2 (1).jpg]

Young Leaders Join Members of Congress to tell Senators: #DoYourJob.
Today, national youth-led and youth-serving organizations released an open letter to U.S. Senators calling for fair consideration for President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. You can read the full letter and release HERE<http://www.pfaw.org/press-releases/2016/05/young-leaders-join-members-congress-tell-senators-doyourjob>.
Sen. Cory Booker: "It's energizing to see so many young leaders at the front of the growing chorus of voices urging Senate leaders to do their job and provide a fair process for the consideration of Chief Judge Merrick Garland. The decisions made at the Supreme Court don't just impact us today, they impact generations to come."
Sen. Al Franken: "It's been more than three months now since a vacancy opened on the U.S. Supreme Court, and during that time, we've seen a whole lot of partisan bickering, obstructionism, and political maneuvering. But you know what we haven't seen: Senate Republicans doing their job as outlined by the Constitution."
Rep. Ruben Gallego: "As a member of Congress who was elected to do my job, I take my constitutional duty seriously... It's time for the Senate to do their jobs and give Judge Garland a fair hearing and a timely vote."
Rep. Linda Sánchez: "This Supreme Court vacancy is critically important for all Americans, but especially for Latinos living in the United States.  We are an especially young community with more than 14 million millennials. So our message is simple: The President has done his job, now it is time for Republican Senators to do their job."
Oscar Conejo, Hanover, New Hampshire: "As an undocumented student, I know just how critical the decisions are that they make on important issues that affect me and my family, from education to immigration and so much more."
Consuelo Hernandez, Tucson, Arizona: "I'm here today because I'm tired of conservatives in the Senate choosing politics over precedent and chaos over constitutional duty... By choosing not to give Chief Judge Merrick Garland the fair and timely consideration afforded past nominees, conservatives are abandoning their constitutional duties and turning their backs on the constituents like me who put them in office."
Max Levy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: "Even though we don't always agree, we work hard to foster productive dialogue on our campus. Right now, some Senators are saying we shouldn't even hold a hearing for President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, and that's just plain wrong. Dialogue is healthy for democracy. I know that's true on my  campus, and it's true for the Senate."
Mary Marston, Concord, North Carolina: "Young people now make up the largest voting bloc in America and many are just becoming politically active. It is critical that our elected officials follow through on their constitutional commitments to keep young people engaged in the democratic process."
Zach Wahls, Iowa City, Iowa: "I see the marriage between my moms-the possibility of their marriage-as our legal system keeping up its end of the American promise to a fair hearing and due process...We got a fair hearing, and we need to make sure that America can get a fair hearing, too."
Mapping a Divided Court: An eight-member Supreme Court means a legal patchwork across the country.
Today, the Alliance for Justice<http://www.afj.org/blog/mapping-a-divided-court-2> released a memo highlighting how a deadlocked Supreme Court could mean that laws will be applied differently in different parts of the country.

"But with only eight justices, the Supreme Court can find itself deadlocked in a four-four tie. By rule, a tie vote affirms the lower court that heard the case before it was appealed to the Supreme Court...a tie leaves the disputed legal question unresolved, as if the Court never heard the case at all. That means that people who live in circuits that have yet to decide the issue don't know what the law is, and elsewhere the same law has different meanings based solely on geography...But whether the Court formally deadlocks or agrees to decide nothing, the result is the same: A nationwide patchwork of inconsistent and uncertain law, including constitutional rights that wax and wane just by crossing state lines."

The Supreme Court cannot do its job with only eight members.
Slate<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2016/05/the_supreme_court_doesn_t_work_with_only_eight_justices.html>'s Dahlia Lithwick looks at how an ongoing vacancy prevents the Supreme Court from doing its job, despite the justices trying to prove otherwise.

"The undisputed fact behind the surprising per curiam order in Zubik-the lead case in a challenge to the Affordable Care Act's mandate that religious nonprofits cover contraception for women workers-is that the court is struggling....The Supreme Court is not currently doing its job. It has accepted fewer cases for next term than it [has] granted in 70 years because it can't resolve them<http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-supreme-courts-caseload-is-on-track-to-be-the-lightest-in-70-years/>. A massive public unions financing case<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/us/politics/friedrichs-v-california-teachers-association-union-fees-supreme-court-ruling.html> resulted in a tie in March. A death penalty appeal deadlocked on Thursday<http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/12/politics/supreme-court-vernon-madison-antonin-scalia/>."

A look ahead at a sampling of activity by our grassroots allies and Democratic Senators:

FRIDAY 5/20/2016
Event: Press call on new report detailing consequences of eight-member Supreme Court with Senator Amy Klobuchar
Time: 9:30AM EST
Host: People For the American Way Foundation & Constitutional Accountability Center
Key briefers/speakers: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); Elliot Minceberg, People For the American Way Foundation; Elizabeth Wydra, Constitutional Accountability Center
RSVP: To RSVP or to request an embargoed copy of the report, please email [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>.

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