18 Discussion Thread - Politics

Supreme Court Decisions 6/4/18 Discussion Thread
The "What happened in your state last week?" Megathread, Week 23
Trump: 'I have the absolute right to pardon myself'
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley Was Denied Access to Detention Center for Immigrant Children, and Somebody Called the Police When He Went to the Door
Leaked photo reveals 'mass trial' of immigrants in Texas
Donald Trump says he has 'absolute right' to pardon himself
Germany's Billionaire 'Screw King' Tightens the Screws on the U.S.: No More Investment Until Trump Goes
What GOP cowering has gotten us: Talk of self-pardon and absolute power
Democrat on Facebook report: 'Sure looks like Zuckerberg lied to Congress'
Trump's phone call with Macron described as 'terrible'
Trump’s lawyers say he’s above the law. They clearly don’t understand it.
Why Is CNN Giving Steve Bannon A 60-Minute Infomercial?
Supreme Court rules in favor of Colorado baker who refused to make wedding cake for gay couple for religious reasons
Trump: I have the right to pardon myself
Dem senator shares video of him being barred entry to immigration detention center
Secret memo to Mueller actually reveals weakness of Trump’s position
Parkland students going on nationwide bus tour to register voters, call out NRA donation recipients
Trump: Appointment of Special Counsel ‘Unconstitutional"
Reagan’s daughter: My dad would be ‘appalled’ by Trump presidency
Giuliani’s New Tactic: Arguing Trump Can Literally Get Away With Murder
Mueller has waited long enough. It’s subpoena time.
At least 110 Confederate monuments have been taken down in the last 3 years
The Trump administration's assault on the press is getting more brazen every day
NEW: Pruitt tasked one of his top aides, Millan Hupp, with seeking a used mattress from DC's Trump Hotel, as well as a house hunt and booking his personal travel, she told congressional investigators.
Would a Former President Get Secret Service Protection in Prison?
Trump is awakening and emboldening Americans with anti-democratic ideals, research shows
Trump discussed adoption policy with Putin one day before 'dictating' son's statement about 'adoptions'

Supreme Court Decisions 6/4/18 Discussion Thread

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 07:11 AM PDT

There are many cases to potentially be decided by ruling today, including:

Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

Issue: Whether applying Colorado's public accommodations law to compel the petitioner to create expression that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage violates the free speech or free exercise clauses of the First Amendment.

Gill v. Whitford

Issues: (1) Whether the district court violated Vieth v. Jubelirer when it held that it had the authority to entertain a statewide challenge to Wisconsin's redistricting plan, instead of requiring a district-by-district analysis; (2) whether the district court violated Vieth when it held that Wisconsin's redistricting plan was an impermissible partisan gerrymander, even though it was undisputed that the plan complies with traditional redistricting principles; (3) whether the district court violated Vieth by adopting a watered-down version of the partisan-gerrymandering test employed by the plurality in Davis v. Bandemer; (4) whether the defendants are entitled, at a minimum, to present additional evidence showing that they would have prevailed under the district court's test, which the court announced only after the record had closed; and (5) whether partisan-gerrymandering claims are justiciable.

Benisek v. Lamone

Issues: (1) Whether the majority of the three-judge district court erred in holding that, to establish an actual, concrete injury in a First Amendment retaliation challenge to a partisan gerrymander, a plaintiff must prove that the gerrymander has dictated and will continue to dictate the outcome of every election held in the district under the gerrymandered map; (2) whether the majority erred in holding that the Mt. Healthy City Board of Education v. Doyle burden-shifting framework is inapplicable to First Amendment retaliation challenges to partisan gerrymanders; and (3) whether, regardless of the applicable legal standards, the majority erred in holding that the present record does not permit a finding that the 2011 gerrymander was a but-for cause of the Democratic victories in the district in 2012, 2014, or 2016.

Janus v. AFSCME

Issue: Whether Abood v. Detroit Board of Education should be overruled and public-sector "agency shop" arrangements invalidated under the First Amendment.

Carpenter v. United States

Issue: Whether the warrantless seizure and search of historical cellphone records revealing the location and movements of a cellphone user over the course of 127 days is permitted by the Fourth Amendment.

Trump v. Hawaii

Issues: (1) Whether the respondents' challenge to the president's suspension of entry of aliens abroad is justiciable; (2) whether the proclamation – which suspends entry, subject to exceptions and case-by-case waivers, of certain categories of aliens abroad from eight countries that do not share adequate information with the United States or that present other risk factors – is a lawful exercise of the president's authority to suspend entry of aliens abroad; (3) whether the global injunction barring enforcement of the proclamation's entry suspensions worldwide, except as to nationals of two countries and as to persons without a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States, is impermissibly overbroad; and (4) whether the proclamation violates the establishment clause of the Constitution.

South Dakota v. Wayfair

Issue: Whether the Supreme Court should abrogate Quill Corp. v. North Dakota's sales-tax-only, physical-presence requirement.

A link to a liveblog of SCOTUS rulings can be found here on SCOTUSblog

submitted by /u/therealdanhill
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The "What happened in your state last week?" Megathread, Week 23

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 09:35 AM PDT

Welcome to the 'What happened in your state last week' thread, where you can post any local political news stories that you find important in the comments. This is a weekly thread posted every Monday, in order to facilitate more discussion on local issues on /r/politics. Since this is intended to be a thread about local politics, top-level comments that are exclusively about national issues will not be allowed. When commenting, please include the state you're living in, and don't forget to link sources. Also, please actually describe what happened. "I live in X, you know what happened" isn't helpful to users and will be removed.

If someone from your state made a news round-up that you think is insufficient, feel free to comment to that round-up with further news stories. Enjoy discussion, and review our civility guidelines before engaging with others.

submitted by /u/optimalg
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Trump: 'I have the absolute right to pardon myself'

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 05:40 AM PDT