Can We Still Call the Court Supreme?

Civics on the Rocks

It’s the highest court in the land, but is it all that great? Steve and Mack pass judgement on the latest decisions from the Supreme Court.

References

Where the words “supreme court” are used in the Constitution:

Constitution Annotated. “Article III.” https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-3/

Where the words “commander in chief” are used in the Constitution:

Constitution Annotated. “ArtII.S2.C1.1.11 Presidential Power and Commander in Chief Clause.” https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-1-11/ALDE_00013473/

If you want to learn more about how Constitutional amendments are passed:

Office of the Federal Register. “Constitutional Amendment Process.” National Archives. Reviewed August 15, 2016. https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution

In case you haven’t heard of the Heritage Foundation:

Wiggins, Christopher. “What is the Heritage Foundation, the group behind the terrifying Republican Project 2025 agenda?” July 20, 2024. Advocate. https://www.advocate.com/politics/what-is-heritage-foundation

If you want to know why the Heritage Foundation wants a constitutional convention:

Malcolm, John. “Consideration of a Convention to Propose Amendments Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution.” February 19, 2016. The Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/the-constitution/report/consideration-convention-propose-amendments-under-article-v-the-us

Read about how President Lincoln symbolically signed the 13th Amendment:

National Museum of African American History & Culture. “13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.” https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/13th-amendment-constitution-united-states

Learn about the Dred Scott case:

Milestone Documents. “Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).” National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/dred-scott-v-sandford

How many cases does the Supreme Court listen to a year:

United States Court. “About the Supreme Court.” https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/about

The case that Steve used as an example of original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court:

Schonfeld, Zack. “New York tells Supreme Court to toss Missouri’s longshot bid to block Trump’s sentence.” July 24, 2024. The Hill. https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4791625-ny-supreme-court-block-trump-sentence/

Want to know more about the Circuit Courts of Appeals?

United States Courts. “About the U.S. Courts of Appeals.” https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure/about-us-courts-appeals

Alas, a writ of certiorari is not a magical spell from a 1980’s fantasy movie:

Lega Information Institute. “Writ of Certiorari.” Cornell Law Score. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/writ_of_certiorari

Lawrence v. Texas (2003):

Oyez. “Lawrence v. Texas.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/2002/02-102

Learn the long history of how Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was eventually overturned by Brown v. Board of Education (1954):

United States Courts. “History – Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment.” https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022):

Oyez. “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/19-1392

Once more, how impeachment works:

United States Senate. “About Impeachment.” https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/impeachment.html

Just in case you want to know the definition of treason in the Constitution:

Constitution Annotated. “ArtIII.S3.C1.2 Levying War as Treason.” https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIII-S3-C1-2/ALDE_00013525/

Poor marriage choices:

Tucker, Eric. “Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, agrees to interview with Jan. 6 panel.” September 21, 2022. PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/virginia-thomas-the-wife-of-justice-clarence-thomas-agrees-to-interview-with-jan-6-panel

Once more, Gerald R. Ford’s perfect explanation of impeachment:

Davis, Kenneth C., “The history of American impeachment.” The Smithsonian Magazine, June 12, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-you-need-know-about-impeachment-180963645/

What was that about yacht trips to Russia, now?

Roche, Darragh. “Clarence Thomas’ Yacht Trip to Russia Raises Questions.” July 11, 2024. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/clarence-thomas-yacht-trip-russia-raises-questions-1923668

What was that about gold bars, now?

Wolf, Zachary B. “Gold bars, basement carpeting and more. Here’s what prosecutors say bought off a U.S. senator.” May 12, 2024. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/12/politics/menendez-gold-cash-what-matters/index.html

What the bribery statute is:

Criminal Resource Manual. “2041. Bribery of Public Officials.” U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-2041-bribery-public-officials

Steve is correct. Two senators have requested an investigation of Supreme Court justices for bribery:

Press Release. “Oscasio-Cortez Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against Justice Thomas and Justice Alito.” July 10, 2024. House.gov. https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/media/press-releases/ocasio-cortez-introduces-articles-impeachment-against-justice-thomas-and

Once more, if you need some background to the ham sandwich quip:

Levin, Josh. “The Judge Who Coined ‘Indict a Ham Sandwich’ Was Himself Indicted.” November 25, 2014. Slate. https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/11/sol-wachtler-the-judge-who-coined-indict-a-ham-sandwich-was-himself-indicted.htm

The recent case about bribery heard at the Supreme Court:

Oyez. “Snyder v. United States.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/2023/23-108

Learn about President Jackson and the spoils system:

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Spoils system.” March 28, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/spoils-system

Another Project 2025 thing:

Mascaro, Lisa. “Conservatives aim to restructure U.S. government and replace it with Trump’s vision.” August 29, 2023. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/conservatives-aim-to-restructure-u-s-government-and-replace-it-with-trumps-vision

Yes, former Vice President Dick Cheney shot someone in the face:

Dey, Sneha. “Harry Whittington, longtime Texas GOP supporter shot by Dick Cheney in a 2006 hunding accident, dies.” February 5, 2023. Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/05/harry-whittington-dick-cheney/

In case you didn’t get Anne’s Winnebago joke:

Sherman, Mark. “Most of Justice Thomas’ $267,000” loan for an RV seems to have been forgiven, Senate Democrats say.” October 25, 2023. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-clarence-thomas-motorcoach-loan-ethics-afed2073e0d7cf4a994256ce35d5063f

In case you didn’t get Steve’s private jet joke:

Quinn, Melissa. “Clarence Thomas took 3 undisclosed trips on private jet provided by GOP megadonor, committee says.” June 13, 2024. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/clarence-thomas-private-jet-flights-harlan-crow-supreme-court/

A little about sovereignty:

Legal Information Institute. “Sovereignty.” Cornell Law School. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/sovereignty

A little about federalism:

Legal Information Institute. “Federalism.” Cornell Law School. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/federalism

A little about separation of powers:

Legal Information Institute. “Separation of powers.” Cornell Law School. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/separation_of_powers

About the guidelines for recusal:

Sherman, Mark. “To recuse or refuse? A look at Supreme Court justices’ decisions on whether to step aside in cases." May 29, 2024. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-alito-flags-recusal-capitol-riot-f4ef46683365c92e8a3ff9df7894b586?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share

A lot about due process of law:

Legal Information Institute. “Due process.” Cornell Law School. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/due_process

There’s a lot of history and debate around Dr. Bonham’s case. Here’s some info from an open source:

McWha, Nicole. “Coke in Dr. Bonham’s Case: His Meaning Revisited.” May 8, 2021. University of Southern Queensland. https://lawfully.unisq.edu.au/coke-in-dr-bonhams-case-his-meaning-revisited/

Here’s a very serious look at issues of senility and appointees for life:

Kaufman, Alan S. “The Precipitous Decline in Reasoning and Other Key Abilities with Age and Its Implications for Federal Judges.” December 2021. Journal of Intelligence, 9(4). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8628958/

Trump v. United States (2024):

Oyez. “Trump v. United States.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/2023/23-939

Here is a summation of Justice Sotomayor’s dissent:

Wendling, Mike. “Justice’s dissent: ‘The president is now a king above the law.’” July 1, 2024. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c035zqe7lgro

Nixon v. Fitzgerald (1982):

Oyez. “Nixon v. Fitzgerald.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/1981/79-1738

Here is a summation of Justice Barrett’s opinion:

McCord, Mary. “Barrett’s Writing on Immunity Provides Another Path on Rehearing.” July 11, 2024. Bloomberg Law. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/barretts-writing-on-immunity-provides-another-path-on-rehearing

If you want to read the opinions in their entirety, the Supreme Court posts them as PDFs:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinion/23

If you are unfamiliar with drone strikes under the Obama administration:

Zenko, Micah. “Obama’s Final Drone Strike Data.” January 20, 2017. Council on Foreign Affairs. https://www.cfr.org/blog/obamas-final-drone-strike-data

The specific drone strike ordered by President Trump that was referenced in this episode:

Cohen, Zachary; Alkhshali, Hamdi; Khadder, Kareem; and Dewan, Angela. “U.S. drone strike ordered by Trump kills top Iranian commander in Baghdad.” January 4, 2020. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/02/middleeast/baghdad-airport-rockets/index.html

If you would like to form your own opinion about increasing the number of Supreme Court justices:

ProCon.org. “U.S. Supreme Court Packing – Top 3 Pros and Cons.” Updated November 15, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/us-supreme-court-packing-top-2-pros-and-cons/

Some history on the number of Supreme Court justices:

Supreme Courte of the United States. “The Court as an Institution.” https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/institution.aspx

There are several recipes for Pimm’s Cups out in the world. This one is closest to the cocktail on the bottle label:

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/pimms-cup/

This recipe is closer to how Anne makes it:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pimms-cup-9605285

What Mack is reading:

Michael Lewis. The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds. (W. W. Norton & Company, 2016).

Want the definition of rational man hypothesis?

APA Dictionary of Psychology. “rational-economic man.” Updated April 19, 2018. https://dictionary.apa.org/rational-economic-man

From our friends and Merriam-Webster:

“German heuristisch, from New Latin heuristicus, from Greek heuriskein to discover; akin to Old Irish fo-fúair he found”

Merriam-Webster. “heuristics.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heuristics#word-history

If you want to geek out on behavioral economics:

Samson, Alain. “An Introduction to Behavioral Economics.” Behavioral Economics. https://www.behavioraleconomics.com/resources/introduction-behavioral-economics/

The NOVA special Anne watched:

NOVA. “Mind Over Money.” 2010. https://www.pbs.org/video/nova-mind-over-money/

If you want to learn about the velocity of money:

Chen, James. “Velocity of Money: Definition, Formula, and Examples.” Updated November 27, 2022. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/velocity.asp

If you want to know about flow rate:

CFI Team. “Throughput (flow rate).” Corporate Finance Institute. https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/valuation/throughput/

Who Steve follows on X (née Twitter):

@Prune602. https://x.com/prune602?lang=en

Learn about Russia’s financial crisis:

Pomeranz, William E. “Putin’s created an economic crisis and left Moscow no easy way out.” Wilson Center. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/putins-created-economic-crisis-and-left-moscow-no-easy-way-out

If you are unfamiliar with Project 2025, you can read about it for yourself:

https://www.project2025.org/

The sentencing we were referencing was in regard to this case:

Sisak, Michael R.; Peltz, Jennifer; Tucker, Eric; Price, Michelle L.; and Colvin, Jill. “Guilty: Trump becomes first former U.S. president convicted of felony crimes.” May 31, 2024. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-deliberations-jury-testimony-verdict-85558c6d08efb434d05b694364470aa0

Learn about the marble Supreme Court building:

Supreme Court of the United States. “Building History.” https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/buildinghistory.aspx

If you need a reminder of Russians bribing U.S. officials:

FBI. “Russian Interference in 2016 U.S. Elections.” https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/cyber/russian-interference-in-2016-u-s-elections

Recent elections in the U.K.:

Picheta, Rob; Said-Moorhouse, Lauren; Stockwell, Billy; Wilkinson, Peter; Tilotta, Sarah; Kottasová, Ivana; Edwards, Christian; Poole, Thom; and Guy, Jack. “Keir Starmer is new U.K. prime minister after landslide election win.” July 5, 2024. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/uk-general-election-results-2024-intl/index.html

Recent elections in France:

Associated Press. “France election highlights: Leftists win most seats, but no party wins majority.” July 7, 2024. AP News. https://apnews.com/live/france-election-results-updates-round-2-macron-le-pen

And Tim Curry played a devil-like character named Darkness in the 1985 movie Legend. But you already knew that.