“Trump’s Recess-Appointment Scheme: To install AG Matt Gaetz this way would be anti-constitutional.” This editorial will appear in Friday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.
Also in Friday’s edition of that newspaper, columnist Kimberley A. Strassel will have an op-ed titled “Trump’s Matt Gaetz Fugue; With his nomination for attorney general, the president-elect crosses the thin line that separates bravery from foolhardiness.”
And online at that newspaper, columnist Peggy Noonan has an essay titled “Trump Keeps Trolling as the ‘Resistance’ Fades; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth? Attorney General Matt Gaetz? He can’t be serious, can he? Meanwhile, Democrats look for new ways to cope.”
“Sen. Tillis threatens ‘consequences’ after Democrats vote to advance NC nominee as judge”: Danielle Battaglia of The Charlotte Observer has this report.
Tiana Headley of Bloomberg Law reports that “Biden Fourth Circuit Pick Ryan Park Advances Amid GOP Ire; Judiciary Committee reconvenes post-election for nominations; NC GOP senators, Biden push dual narratives on consultation.”
And Nate Raymond of Reuters reports that “Republican US senator warns he has votes to block Biden court nominee.”
“Ho Decries White Racism as Court Rejects ‘MAGA’ Bullying Case; Split circuit court dismissed race-based bullying claims; Ho says culture ‘increasingly accepts’ racism against whites”: Jacqueline Thomsen of Bloomberg Law has this report.
You can access yesterday’s en banc decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirming by an evenly divided court, and the separate opinions accompanying that decision, at this link.
“Two Republicans Resist Trump Demand on Biden Judicial Picks; Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski voting for nominees; Trump wants GOP to stop Biden judicial confirmations”: Tiana Headley of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“The Judge Newman Story in Her Own Words”: IPWatchdog, Inc. recently posted this video on YouTube.
“Fifth Circuit’s Jones Tears Into Vladeck Over Judge-Shopping; Judge Edith Jones described ‘relentless attacks’ against judges; Jones criticized professor at Federalist Society meeting”: Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law has a report that begins, “Fifth Circuit Judge Edith Jones delivered a forceful rebuke of what she described as ‘unsavory’ attacks against the judges within her circuit, spurring a tense exchange with a Georgetown Law professor who studies judge-shopping.”
The Federalist Society has posted the video of the event, titled “The Continued Independence of the Judiciary,” on YouTube.
“Trump picks lawyer who won his presidential immunity case for solicitor general”: Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times has this report.
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten of Fox News reports that “Trump names Dean John Sauer as US solicitor general; Sauer was Trump’s lead counsel in the Supreme Court in Trump v. The United States.”
And Lydia Wheeler of Bloomberg Law reports that “Trump Taps His Immunity Lawyer John Sauer as Solicitor General.”
“House Ethics Panel Was Set to Vote to Release Report Critical of Matt Gaetz; The committee has been investigating allegations that Mr. Gaetz, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick for attorney general, engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use”: Robert Draper, Luke Broadwater, and Maya C. Miller of The New York Times have this report.
And Katie Rogers of The New York Times has a news analysis headlined “Gaetz, Gabbard and Hegseth: Trump’s Appointments Are a Show of Force; President-elect Donald J. Trump’s cabinet picks show that he prizes loyalty over experience and is fueled by retribution.”
“The Conservative Justices Bet Dobbs Wouldn’t Hurt Republicans Forever. They Were Right. Abortion had been a losing issue for Republicans at the ballot box. Not so in 2024.” Jay Willis has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.
“Joe Manchin’s broken promise on judicial nominations”: Law professor Robert Luther has this essay online at Washington Reporter.
“Trump nominates Rep. Matt Gaetz, outspoken ally, as attorney general; The Florida congressman would be the first U.S. attorney general in four decades who never worked as a government attorney or judge”: Perry Stein, Josh Dawsey, and Liz Goodwin of The Washington Post have this report.
Liz Goodwin of The Washington Post reports that “Trump’s Gaetz nomination sets up test of Senate Republican loyalty; Several senators said they were shocked at the nomination, raising questions about whether they will check Trump.”
Isaac Arnsdorf and Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post report that “Trump picks Gaetz and Gabbard for top jobs, daring Senate GOP to defy him; Trump’s decision to tap Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Tulsi Gabbard for intelligence and Pete Hegseth for defense will test the Republican-led Senate’s fealty to the president-elect.”
Robert Draper of The New York Times has an article headlined “Matt Gaetz, a Bomb-Thrower for the Justice Department; President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be attorney general has set a new bar for in-your-face nominations.”
Karoun Demirjian of The New York Times reports that “Senate Republicans Alarmed by Gaetz Pick as Attorney General Nominee; Many Republican senators were stunned that Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, had been chosen as the nominee, and expressed skepticism that he could secure enough votes for confirmation.”
Sadie Gurman, C. Ryan Barber, and Vivian Salama of The Wall Street Journal report that “Trump Picks Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz as Attorney General; The president-elect also said former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard would be his nominee for director of national intelligence.”
Natalie Allison, Megan Messerly, Meridith McGraw, and Lisa Kashinsky of Politico have an article headlined “Even Republicans are stunned by Trump’s Gaetz Cabinet pick: ‘Absolute gut punch’; Washington insiders are less certain than ever that the second Trump administration will be more professionalized than the first.”
And Kyle Cheney, Josh Gerstein, Erica Orden, and Betsy Woodruff Swan of Politico have an article headlined “DOJ lawyers cannot compute that Matt Gaetz could be their new boss; ‘The attorney general should not be a provocateur.’“
“Matt Gaetz Is a Bad Choice for Attorney General; He’s a nominee for those who want the law used for political revenge, and it won’t end well”: This editorial will appear in Thursday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.
“Special counsel Jack Smith plans to quit; Cannon appeal may continue; The Justice Department could drop Donald Trump from the classified document appeal but keep co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira”: Perry Stein and Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post have this report.
Devlin Barrett and Glenn Thrush of The New York Times report that “Jack Smith Plans to Step Down as Special Counsel Before Trump Takes Office; The prosecutor who investigated and charged Donald J. Trump plans to finish his report and leave the job before he can be fired.”
And Kyle Cheney of Politico reports that “Special counsel Jack Smith begins winding down his other Trump case; Smith is widely expected to shutter his operation ahead of Trump’s inauguration.”
“Gaetz resigns from Congress — possibly skirting long-awaited Ethics report; His resignation came the same day Donald Trump nominated him to be attorney general, but some Republicans think he had other motivations”: Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney of Politico have this report.
“Supreme Court Seems Ready to Allow Securities Fraud Case Against Nvidia; The case, which is in an early stage, accused the giant technology company of misleading investors about its exposure to the cryptocurrency industry”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.
Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court appears likely to allow securities fraud suit against Nvidia; The lawsuit alleges the chipmaker hid its dependence on sales to the volatile cryptocurrency market before a crash tanked the value of its stock.”
Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Supreme Court Wary of Big Ruling in Nvidia Shareholder Case; Nvidia faces allegations it misled investors on crypto revenue; Some justices question whether court was right to hear appeal.”
John Kruzel and Andrew Chung of Reuters report that “US Supreme Court examines Nvidia bid to avoid securities fraud suit.”
And Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service reports that “Nvidia pushes Supreme Court to act like federal court to avoid shareholder fraud suit; The chip giant frustrated several justices who claimed Nvidia’s shifting arguments forced the high court to intrude on lower court territory.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has posted online the transcript and audio of today’s oral argument in NVIDIA Corp. v. E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB, No. 23-970.
“Legal Scholars Discuss the Influence of the Supreme Court; Jeannie Suk Gersen and Keith Whittington participate in the 2024 Election Speaker Series”: Nicola Smith of Dartmouth News has this report.
“Trump’s victory, GOP Senate win have Democrats racing to confirm judges; Republicans confirmed judges during the final weeks of Trump’s first term, but the president-elect says Democrats should not do the same”: Tobi Raji and Clara Ence Morse of The Washington Post have this report.
“Theodore Olson, conservative lawyer who backed marriage equality, dies at 84; A longtime Republican who helped George W. Bush secure the presidency, he shocked many when he worked to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage”: Andrew Wolfson of The Washington Post has this report.
“Trump selects Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general; The attorney general will be tasked with defending a plethora of controversial Trump policies — from immigration crackdowns to anti-abortion initiatives — that are sure to spark legal challenges”: Kyle Cheney and Erica Orden of Politico have this report.
And Anthony Adragna of Politico has an article headlined “‘Reckless pick’: Lawmakers express doubts that Gaetz can get confirmed as attorney general; ‘I think he has a zero percent shot of getting through the Senate,’ said Donald Trump ally Rep. Max Miller.”
“Women will make up majority of Kentucky Supreme Court for first time”: McKenna Horsley of Kentucky Lantern has this report.
“Amid talk of Jan. 6 pardons, a judge in D.C. defends the court’s work; A U.S. judge defended the justice system’s handling of Capitol riot cases, while acknowledging prosecutions may be halted with Donald Trump’s election”: Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post has this report.
“Trump’s Demand to Skirt Senate Confirmations Poses Early Test of a Radical Second Term; The once and future president is pushing Republicans to systematically abdicate the Senate’s constitutional role in vetting his nominees”: Charlie Savage of The New York Times has this news analysis.
“Jury says defense contractor must pay $42 million over Abu Ghraib abuses; The federal jury found that CACI International shared responsibility with the U.S. Army for abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq”: Salvador Rizzo of The Washington Post has this report.
“Federal Judge Blocks Louisiana Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Classrooms; The ruling is probably the first in what could be a long legal fight for conservative Christian groups hoping to amplify public expressions of faith”: Rick Rojas of The New York Times has this report.
Kim Bellware of The Washington Post reports that “Judge blocks Louisiana from requiring schools to display Ten Commandments; A federal judge said the law was unconstitutional, but the state attorney general quickly promised to appeal the decision.”
Greg LaRose of Louisiana Illuminator reports that “Federal judge halts Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandment classroom displays.”
And Gabriel Tynes of Courthouse News Service reports that “Judge strikes down Louisiana requirement to display Ten Commandments in schools; U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles said the law, passed by state legislators in May 2024, amounts to coercion.”
You can access today’s 177-page ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana at this link.
“Cook County assault weapon ban challenged at Seventh Circuit; The case went before the appellate court only four days after a conservative federal judge declared Illinois’ statewide assault weapon ban unconstitutional”: Dave Byrnes of Courthouse News Service has this report.
“How disagreements about a Texas death row inmate’s guilt became a legal battle between branches of government; The Texas Supreme Court is considering whether a legislative subpoena of a death row inmate infringed on the executive branch’s power to carry out the execution”: Pooja Salhotra of The Texas Tribune has this report.
“DC Circuit side-eyes Capitol rioter’s argument that pepper spray is not a dangerous weapon; An attorney representing Jan. 6 defendant Markus Maly argued that courts condone the use of pepper spray by police officers every day, and thus Maly’s use against an officer should be treated similarly”: Ryan Knappenberger of Courthouse News Service has this report.
“GOP asks Pa. Supreme Court to reject mail-in ballots with handwritten date errors”: Ryan Deto of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has this report.
“Death row inmate looks to Seventh Circuit for spousal visitation rights; The inmate sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2021 after they denied his wife’s visitation request because he did not have a relationship with her prior to his incarceration”: Caitlyn Rosen of Courthouse News Service has this report.
“Mafia Case Tests Supreme Court on Crime of Violence Limits; Court has narrowed what counts as crime of violence; Justices struggled with common sense problems on both sides”: Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“‘Dark money’ helped Democrats dominate Michigan Supreme Court races”: Simon D. Schuster of Bridge Michigan has this report.
“Supreme Court Mulls Deadline for Voluntary Immigrant Departures; Court asked for holiday, weekend flexibility; Tenth Circuit ruled 60-day deadline is not extendable”: Lydia Wheeler of Bloomberg Law has this report.
And Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service reports that “Sparks fly as justices spar with feds over deportation deadlines; The federal government drew the ire of the Supreme Court in both of Tuesday’s cases, struggling to defend deportation filing deadlines and grapple with violent crime.”
“Liberals panic as Trump eyes domination of Supreme Court; His appointees to the highest court last time allowed conservatives to overturn the federal right to abortion and much else besides; With a Republican Senate, he can take his pick once again”: David Charter of The Times of London has this report.
“Sending your kid to public school isn’t consenting to arbitration, Calif judge says”: Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Reuters has this post.
“Public health and the U.S. Constitution: A Q&A with retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.” The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has posted this video on YouTube.
