The former "Supreme" Court, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trump Organization, eyes NDA's for leaky staffers

[Miles Archer]

The Supreme Court has come under fire after insiders revealed staffers are being told to sign formal contracts opening them to legal action if they reveal secrets.

Representatives could previously rely on informal pledges from justices based on longstanding norms — but those relaxed understandings could be at an end, an expert claimed Monday. An overhaul and fresh contract for the Supreme Court is set to come into play which, according to Jeffrey L. Fisher, co-director of the Supreme Court litigation clinic at Stanford Law School, is a sign the court is not as trusting as it once was.

Speaking to the New York Times, Fisher, a former clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens, said, "They feel under the microscope and are unwilling to rely simply on trust."

Switching from the informal trust to formal confidentiality contracts within the Supreme Court has been branded by law professor Mark Fenster as a "sign of the court's own weakness."

https://www.rawstory.com/supreme-court-2675068204/

[SheltieLover]

1. The protect the pedos court

[tanyev]

2. "now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trump Organization"

[spanone]

3. The 'supreme' court is part of the coup.

[sop]

4. The next Democratic president needs to quickly expand the Supreme Court.

Utah's governor just expanded his state's Supreme Court so the Republican legislature could ram through their ultra-conservative rightwing agenda, and the national Republicans party isn't complaining. Democrats must do the same.

(From the Salt Lake Tribune) "Objections overruled — Utah to expand its Supreme Court, with approval from Legislature, Cox...Utah Gov. Spencer Cox quickly signed the bill into law. After filling the new seats, Cox will have appointed five of the seven justices."

"Two new justices will join the Utah Supreme Court after the Legislature, bitter from repeated legal defeats, passed a bill to expand the state’s high court from five to seven members."

"Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who will nominate the two new justices, quickly signed the bill into law, his office announced Saturday. After filling the new seats, Cox will have appointed five of the seven justices."

"Snider, who said he is 'thankful for the men and women' who serve on the court, also sponsored a resolution during a special session in December that 'condemns the Utah Supreme Court’s activist rewriting of the Utah Constitution' in a challenge to the state’s congressional districts."

"The co-sponsor of that condemnation, Senate Majority Whip Chris Wilson, R-Logan, also sponsored SB134 to expand the court."

"In addition to dealing the Legislature a crushing blow in the redistricting challenge, the courts have, in recent years, blocked Utah’s ban on most abortions, temporarily stopped a law banning transgender girls from playing high school sports, and found the state’s school voucher program unconstitutional."

https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2026/01/31/court-packing-utah-gov-cox-gop/

[travelingthrulife]

7. It is really stupid that we only have 9 judges when our country's population

has enlarged so much.

Expand it to, say, 36. Then make them rotate onto 9 judge panels randomly so they cannot form these alliances.
No lifetime appointments. Mechanisms for punishment for the crooks among them.

[Soul_of_Wit]

12. You need Democratic buy-in to expand the Extreme Court

1. Democrats need a majority in both houses and the White House
2. Democrats have to be united
3. Democrats have to vote to end the filibuster (or have 60 united senators, or at least carve out yet another exception)
4. Democrats need communication skills to assure the buy-in of the American public

This has been done multiple times, but the most recent time was during the Reconstruction. Matching the current number of federal circuit courts (12 regional + the 1 federal circuit = 13) would be a very strong argument for messaging.

[johnnyfins]

5. "They feel under the microscope"

Gee, I wonder who created that environment?

[bluestarone]

6. I would like to see MORE signs at protests

Blaming THIS supreme court!! ICE OUT. supreme court WHERE ARE YOU? type signs.

[tavernier]

11. You got it.

My old signs are getting pretty sad. Since America now has to follow “Robert’s Rules,” perhaps it is necessary for posters to remind them on which rules our nation was based.

[Initech]

13. Seriously! Worst SCOTUS ever!

[Buns_of_Fire]

8. Maybe they'll start wearing masks. nt

[usonian]

9. What a terrible thing to say. It's just a chess game.

[Soul_of_Wit]

10. That's Extreme Court

I also so use the acronym XCOTUS. Similar to folks referring to the former Twitter as Xitter.

[PCB66]

14. Boomer thoughts

I have heard the result of many Supreme Court cases.

When I agree or like the rulings the Supreme Court is great and obviously got it right.

When I don't agree or like the rulings then the Justices are obviously dumbasses.

Over the decades I think I have mostly broke even. I have been surprised a few times when the Court did not rule with what I thought were their political leaning.

This idea of stopping leaks in the Court will probably in the long run work out as a wash to any particular party.

Sometimes leaks are good for the public but sometimes not so good. It depends on what is leaked. If it is a leak about influence then that is a good thing. If the leak is about the internal discussions on a case then the Court should have privacy.

Of all the things to be concerned about this issue doesn't rank too high.

[allegorical oracle]

15. Any government entity, whether judicial, legislative, or executive should be as

transparent as possible about the use of taxpayers' dollars. The government is not a privately owned corporation, although the Republicans apparently believe it is. If some secrecy must be maintained, that decision should be made by all three branches within the limits provided by the rule of law and the Constitution.

Trump and his minions are running the U. S. as if it belongs solely to them -- taxpayers are mere "customers" who are expected to complacently pay the bills. The legislative branch in its present state is ignoring our needs and wants, when its job is to listen to and represent us. They are our employees.