Conservative Justices Bemoan Court's Future

[Renew Deal]

Even after all of the opinions had been handed down, the Supreme Court term ended with yet another rebuke by the court's conservatives, having been deserted by their sometimes-ally Justice Anthony Kennedy in another politically charged case. Led by Justice Samuel Alito, the right-leaning justices repeatedly sounded a dark note about the court's future.

Kennedy, who this week was the deciding vote in leading the court to definitively strike down Texas's abortion restrictions, infuriated the court's three conservatives again by refusing to even take up a case pitting pharmacies' religious objections against access to contraception.

Alito responded with a glum dissent — just as he did in the abortion case, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, and in last week's affirmative action case, where Kennedy's vote also swung the result in favor of existing programs.

"This case is an ominous sign," Alito wrote in an unusual, 15-page response to the court refusing to hear Stormans v. Wiesman, leaving in place a Washington state requirement for pharmacies to stock emergency contraception. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas joined him. It takes four votes for the court to hear a case.

"If this is a sign of how religious liberty claims will be treated in the years ahead," Alito continued, sounding a lot like a man who foresees a bleak future for his side, "those who value religious freedom have cause for great concern."
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http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/conservative-justices-bemoan-court-s-future-n600741

[cloudbase]

1. It might be in his best interest to consider retirement. n/t

[MurrayDelph]

25. (Not to mention

the country's)

[Hortensis]

26. Such hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty

are disgusting in anyone, but make me want to spit in a justice. Contemptible! He should BE retired.

[dhill926]

2. tough shit....

[PJMcK]

3. Boo hoo

Can't wait for Madame President to get to nominate 2 or 3 or even 4 new Justices. Adios, Alito. You're days of pushing the Court- rightwards are coming to an end.

[NewJeffCT]

30. I hope we get as good as Ginsburg

If Clinton wins and Democrats regain the Senate, do Republicans suddenly rush to confirm Garland in the lame duck period?

Then, we get her to replace Ginsburg, Breyer and hopefully one or two more - Kennedy and Thomas? Then, considering we'll have had 8 years of Bill Clinton, 8 years of Bush, 8 years of Obama, the federal courts will be heavily Democratic after even 4 years of Clinton, as they're already almost all even or have slight Democratic appointee majorities now.

[PJMcK]

32. I posed the same question recently

Someone responded that if Secretary Clinton wins the election (and maybe the Democrats take the Senate), President Obama might withdraw Judge Garland's nomination to clear the slate for the President-Elect. The next president might get to nominate up to 4 new Justices!

Of course, the other problem is at the appellate level where the courts are terribly understaffed and the backlog of judges seeking confirmation is unacceptable. But what can we expect from this do-nothing Republican-led Congress and Senate?

Meanwhile, NewJeffCT, enjoy your Fourth of July.

[edhopper]

4. Why before you know it

they will be freeing the Blacks and giving women the vote.

Hell in a hand-basket I tell ya!

[Cosmocat]

5. Hey, asshole, STATES RIGHTS!

and fuck you very much ...

[Volaris]

13. Lol...'States' Rights' is the conservative shorthand for 'It works in my favor.''

It always has been. It's only called liberal judicial activism when we mean it that way, too.

Fuck Alito. He's a Judicial skank.

[gratuitous]

27. No, no, we say "religious liberty" now

Too many people have caught on to what "state's rights" means.

But you gotta feel for the conservative justices. And by that I mean you gotta feel unadulterated contempt for them. But despite all their hard work, it may be that very soon the Supreme Court will rule that money isn't speech and that corporations are not persons superior to individuals, and their "rights" don't supersede individual rights.

[GOLGO 13]

6. President Clinton is going to have some bad news for you very soon.

[orwell]

7. Simple concept...

...You can have all the "freedom" you want. But your "freedom" ends when it abrogates my "freedom."

In other words, if you don't believe in abortion for any reason including religious, don't have one. That's your choice.

But your religion does not dictate my moral/religious freedom.

Why is this such a difficult concept? Why is it hard for a Constitutional judge to understand this?

These Con Justices are a travesty.

"Originalists" my ass...

[treestar]

11. +1 as a judge he should not be using that

propaganda type use of the term that the right wing does. It is not religious liberty.

[niyad]

8. meaning "religious liberty" to stuff your nonsense down everyone else's throat, you lying pos.

[Johonny]

10. Yeah

When has religious liberty been at stake in Alito's career on the bench and how many times has he voted to shove someone's religious views down society's throat? He's a tool.

[spooky3]

15. Exactly.

[ananda]

9. Boo hoo.

It's about time the court started making some good decisions.

If the conservatives don't like it, let them take their robes and go home.

[Feeling the Bern]

12. Yeah yeah yeah. Cry me a fucking river assholes.

[spooky3]

14. I hear Saudi Arabia is great at protecting religious rights.

Might Alito find a nice condo there? Or maybe an anything goes climate like Somalia's would be preferable?

[The Second Stone]

16. I see that Justice Alito isn't satisifed with his own vote

he must have others to in order to impose his will on the American people.

[bucolic_frolic]

17. It is not religious liberty

to interfere in other people's lives by using your business to impose
your own religious beliefs on them

[lark]

18. Ha! Glad he's unhappy.

That just means that the court hasn't further penalized women and taken away even more rights. This past court has fundamentally changed America, putting corporate bribery into law with Citizens United and a total redefining of the 2nd Amendment, then there's Heller which just invited states to limit voting rights. How about the freedom to not be killed or the freedom to vote, guess that's not Alito's concern? He and the other jackboots are being thwarted, too bad so sad.

[Bettie]

19. He should just retire

sounds like it is way too stressful for him.

Probably all three of them should, better for your blood pressure if you aren't always stressed out.

[gopiscrap]

20. Fuck alito, thomas and roberts

hope they all choke on their own opinions...because those opinions sure have made me gag in the past! Can wait to see them slither off the bench and hopefully into obscurity

[Nitram]

21. Call them a whambulance.

They love the process until they're in the minority...

[Liberalagogo]

22. For those precious judges:

[Solly Mack]

23. Fuck'em.

[muntrv]

24. Poor Alito! He can't force his religion on other people!

[HughBeaumont]

28. Four more Alitos! Four more Alitos!!

. . . and this guy isn't going ANYWHERE, and neither will Kennedy, Breyer, RBG or Scalia's replacements.

[bluedigger]

29. Conservative's tears are the sweetest tears.

[NewJeffCT]

31. Justice Alito...

[Monk06]

33. To extremist evangelicals religious freedom for them means Christian Sharia Law for everyone else

Religious Freedom according to the extreme right is a fig leaf for Theocracy allied with Plutocracy

In other words Feudalism

Alitos complaints are a harbinger for the extreme pressure Clinton will face to nominate right wing justices to 'restore the balance' to the court

This balanced court gave America institutionalized political corruption in the form of Citizens United and the Mc Donnell corruption case

Now corporations can hand over unlimited cash to political campaigns and to individual politicians as long as it isn't overtly offered for a specific legislative result

A cooler full of cash at a garden party, no problem. Unlimited access to a villa in Monte Carlo fully stocked with fine food, wine, servants and hookers, no problem. A Ferrari in your favorite color, again no problem

Just not a brown bag in the hall of congress before a vote, which of course never happens. Nothing so crude and obvious as that

The gift bag just got a lot bigger

[meow2u3]

34. Well, my nose bleeds for them

So do my hemorrhoids. Cry me a river, conservos.

[lark]

35. True religious freedom isn't his beef.

His beef is not being ale to persecute others because their beliefs and actions don't match his. He thinks freedom is being able to deny others their freedom. He only gives a damn about forcing others to practice his version of religion and not to take any actions that he personally does't approve of.

[Odin2005]

36. Call the WHAMMMMbulance!

[annominous]

37. The real unjustified entitlement in the USA

is the right wings' wrong-headed sense of entitlement to the SCOTUS in the face of the will of the nation to progress leftward. Center right nation my a$$.

The unjustified swing to the right of the SCOTUS against the will of the people is finally coming to an end, and what do the the RWNJs do? They whine and pee their pants because they realize they have lost the unfair advantage they've taken for granted for decades.

Boo hoo.

Power to the people. Down with Citizens United. Shame on the pre-2016 Roberts court. May it go down in history as the most corrupt and partisan in the history of the nation, and may Roberts himself go down in history as the biggest SCOTUS liar. Balls and strikes my a$$.

[benld74]

38. When SCOTUS member mentions

Religious freedom, you know SCOTUS is real mess!