Supreme Court Archives - The Virginia Star

Senate Votes to Advance Barrett; Confirmation Expected Monday

October 26, 2020October 25, 2020 The Associated Press

Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly Sunday to advance Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett toward final confirmation despite Democratic objections, just over a week before the presidential election.

Barrett’s confirmation on Monday was hardly in doubt, with majority Republicans mostly united in support behind President Donald Trump’s pick. But Democrats were poised to keep the Senate in session into the night in attempts to stall, arguing that the Nov. 3 election winner should choose the nominee to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Almost Two in Three Voters Oppose Biden Packing the Supreme Court, Poll Finds

October 23, 2020October 22, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Nearly two in three voters say they oppose 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden adding more Supreme Court justices if he is elected, according to a poll exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Marist poll, sponsored by the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, found that 61% of voters oppose Biden packing the court. This number includes 63% of Independents and 31% of Democrats.

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Barrett to Full Senate

October 23, 2020October 22, 2020 The Center Square

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to advance U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett to the full Senate.

The vote was 12-0, with all 10 Democratic members of the committee choosing to boycott the vote.

Amy Coney Barrett Has More Support Than Any Other Trump Supreme Court Nominee, Poll Shows

October 22, 2020October 21, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has more support than either of President Donald Trump’s previous nominees, a poll released Wednesday found.

A Morning Consult poll released Wednesday found that 51% of voters said the Senate should confirm Barrett, numbers which have risen three percentage points from last week. The poll surveyed 1,994 voters between October 16 and October 18 with a 2-point margin of error.

Justices to Weigh Trump Census Plan to Exclude Noncitizens

October 18, 2020October 17, 2020 The Associated Press

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up President Donald Trump’s policy, blocked by a lower court, to exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from the census count that will be used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives.

Never in U.S. history have immigrants been excluded from the population count that determines how House seats, and by extension Electoral College votes, are divided among the states, a three-judge federal count said in September when it held Trump’s policy illegal.

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Tennessee’s Challenge to Federal Refugee Resettlement Program

October 17, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

The U.S. Supreme Court said this week it will not hear Tennessee’s challenge of the federal refugee resettlement program, which claimed it violated the 10th Amendment.

Tennessee’s Republican-led government had asked for the review, The Associated Press reported. The court filed its denial earlier, letting a lower court ruling stand.

GOP Pushes Barrett’s Nomination Ahead, Dems Decry ‘Sham’

October 16, 2020October 15, 2020 The Associated Press

Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination cleared a key hurdle Thursday as Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans powered past Democrats’ objections in the drive to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick before the Nov. 3 election.

The panel set Oct. 22 for its vote to recommend Barrett’s nomination to the full Senate for a final vote by month’s end.

Commentary: If Republican Senators Were Like Crazy Mazie

October 16, 2020October 15, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

As I emerged from the Jewish Holy Season, marking the beginning of Year 5781 since Creation, I was jolted from the spirituality and meaningfulness of Sukkot, Sh’mini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah into the reality of the New Filth that permeates American politics. The media like to blame the president for the degradation, but he is not the cause. He is the response and the reaction.

Commentary: The Clarence Thomas-ing of Amy Coney Barrett

October 14, 2020October 13, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Former Vice President Joe Biden blurted out this reality not long ago when he told a black talk-show host that “if you’re for Trump you ain’t black.”

But as Judge Amy Coney Barrett is finding out this week, the idea of blacks as political property on the liberal plantation isn’t limited to blacks — it also includes women. (And, for that matter, Hispanics and gays.)

Supreme Court Halts Census in Latest Twist of 2020 Count

October 14, 2020October 13, 2020 The Associated Press

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration can end census field operations early, batting aside a lawsuit that warned the truncated schedule will lead to minorities being undercounted in the crucial once-a-decade head count.

Still, the decision was not a total loss for the plaintiffs, who managed to get two extra weeks of counting people as the case challenging the U.S. Census Bureau’s decision to end the census in September made its way through the courts.

Barrett Urges Senate Judiciary Committee Not to Assume She Will Judge Like Scalia

October 14, 2020October 13, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett urged the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday not to assume that she will judge like the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

The Supreme Court nominee repeatedly emphasized to senators in Tuesday’s hearing that though Scalia was one of her mentors and an “eloquent defender of originalism” and that Scalia’s “philosophy is mine,” that doesn’t mean she would always reach the same conclusions as Scalia.

Barrett Vows to Interpret Laws ‘as They are Written’

October 13, 2020October 12, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett declared Monday that Americans “deserve an independent Supreme Court that interprets our Constitution and laws as they are written,” encapsulating her conservative approach to the law that has Republicans excited about the prospect of her taking the place of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsbur g before Election Day.

Democrats Give ‘Panicked Stump Speech’ in Opposition to Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Sen. Marsha Blackburn Says in Opening Remarks at Confirmation Hearing

October 13, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

Democrats are “trying to create a panic” and turn Americans against Judge Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn said during opening statements Monday at the Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

Senator Klobuchar Calls Barrett Hearings a ‘Sham’ on Opening Day

October 13, 2020October 13, 2020 Admin

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) called the confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett “a sham” in her opening statement.

Klobuchar and her colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee convened Monday morning for the opening day of hearings, which will continue through Thursday. Barrett’s nomination was announced by President Donald Trump last month during an event in the White House Rose Garden.

Commentary: Amy Coney Barrett Exposes Society’s Double Standard on Family Size

October 12, 2020October 11, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, has seven children. Unless you have been living under a rock, you already knew that. All the media coverage of her nomination, which was announced on September 26, devoted extensive attention to this fact.

If a poll were to be taken, no doubt more Americans would be able to identify the birth country of Barrett’s two adopted children (Haiti), than the Federal Court Circuit on which she currently serves as a judge (the Seventh).

Tennessee Republicans Voice Support for Amy Coney Barrett’s Nomination to Supreme Court

October 12, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

Tennessee’s Republican leaders are voicing their support for Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Commentary: Biden’s Threat to Pack the Supreme Court Matters

October 10, 2020October 9, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

After Joe Biden and Kamala Harris dodged debate questions about “packing the courts,” Biden, when pressed further finally said, “You’ll know my opinion on court packing when the election is over.”

Biden is playing games with the American people on what could be the most consequential issue of the election and here is why this matters.

Biden Refuses Again to Say Whether He Will Pack the Court

October 10, 2020October 9, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Former Vice President Joe Biden again refused to say whether he will pack the Supreme Court Thursday, saying that media will find out where he stands on packing the court “when the election is over.”

“You’ll know my opinion on court-packing when the election is over,” he told reporters Thursday.

Pro-Gun Group Details Why They Think Amy Coney Barrett Would Defend Firearm Rights

October 10, 2020October 9, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett would be a stalwart supporter of the Second Amendment if confirmed to the court, according to a gun-rights group.

The legislative counsel for the Gun Owners of America, one of the country’s largest pro-gun advocacy organizations, said Barrett appears to be a strict constitutionalist. He also pointed to a dissenting opinion the judge wrote in 2019 in which she wrote in favor of a non-violent felon seeking to restore his firearms rights.

Kamala Harris Refuses to Answer Question on Packing the Supreme Court

October 8, 2020October 7, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris wouldn’t answer a question about packing the Supreme Court during the vice presidential debate Wednesday.

Harris refused to explain her position on packing the court during a discussion on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Vice President Mike Pence pushed Harris on her position multiple times.

Voters Increasingly Support Amy Coney Barrett for Supreme Court, Poll Shows

October 8, 2020October 7, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Voters are increasingly backing the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, a Morning Consult and Politico poll released Wednesday showed.

Almost half, 46%, of voters polled by Morning Consult/Politico between Oct. 2 – 4 said that the Senate should confirm Barrett, the poll found. These numbers were up 9 percentage points since Trump first announced he was nominating Barrett on Sept. 26, according to the poll.

Paul Summers Commentary: Keep Nine Amendment to Permanently Ban Court Packing

October 4, 2020October 3, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

At the September 29th Presidential Debate, Democrat nominee Joe Biden refused to answer a question about whether he would expand the size of the Supreme Court. It is more likely that he and VP nominee Kamala Harris will, if elected, seek to pack the Court so they can appoint a new majority of more liberal Justices.

Nearly Two Dozen Republican AGs Urge ‘Prompt’ Confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court

October 4, 2020October 3, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Nearly two dozen Republican attorney generals urged the Senate to hold confirmation hearings and ultimately place Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett before the November election.

A total of 22 AGs signed the Wednesday letter addressed to U.S. Senators recommending Barrett’s “prompt” confirmation to the high court.

Commentary: Amy Coney Barrett and Our Topsy-Turvy Culture

October 4, 2020October 3, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

In 2017, the media reported that Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus was closing after a run of 146 years.

I beg to disagree. The circus moved its three rings, lion tamers, and clowns to Capitol Hill, and the latest act is about to begin.

A Number of Democrats Have Attacked Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett for Her Faith

October 3, 2020October 2, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

A number of Democratic lawmakers and liberal media figures have attacked Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett for her Catholic beliefs.

The Catholic mother of seven first came under fire for her Catholic faith at her 2017 confirmation hearings, when Democratic senators suggested that her beliefs might make her unfit to serve as a federal judge.

Kamala Harris Dodges Court Packing Question Following Debate

October 1, 2020September 30, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris dodged questions about whether or not her party would seek to add Supreme Court justices if Republicans were to confirm a justice before the November election.

“There should be consideration to adding seats to the U.S. Supreme Court,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said following the first presidential debate on Tuesday. “Neither you nor Joe Biden are willing to give a straight answer as to whether or not you’re willing to entertain that idea.”

Court Pick Barrett Visits Senate Ahead of Confirmation Fight

September 30, 2020September 29, 2020 The Associated Press

President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday for a day of meetings with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other pivotal Republican senators in preparation for her fast-track confirmation before the Nov. 3 election.

Joined by Vice President Mike Pence, McConnell said he was glad to welcome Barrett and “get the process started” on her confirmation. But the Republican leader declined to answer questions about whether the judge should recuse herself if legal challenges to the election between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden land at the high court.

Joe Biden Staffer Suggests Orthodox Catholics, Jews and Muslims Shouldn’t Be on Supreme Court

September 30, 2020September 29, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

One of Joe Biden’s staffers suggested Monday that Orthodox Catholics, Jews, and Muslims should be disqualified from serving on the Supreme Court due to their “intolerant” views.

Biden campaign Deputy Data Director Nikitha Rai criticized Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s religious views in a Twitter conversation Monday night with Brookings Institute Senior Fellow Shadi Hamid.

Commentary: Barrett Will Sail Through Confirmation

September 28, 2020September 27, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

As I write, President Trump has just confirmed what the rumor mill has been disgorging with increasing confidence over the last few days: Judge Amy Coney Barrett is his pick to replace the feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died at 87 a little over a week ago, as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gov. Newsom Falsely Suggests Barrett Once Opposed Tipping Court’s Balance of Power During an Election Year

September 28, 2020September 27, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom falsely suggested Saturday that United States Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett once railed against tipping the balance of power in the court during an election year.

Commentary: ‘Never Trump’ Now Means ‘Never Constitution’

September 27, 2020September 26, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

We went from Never Trump to Never Constitution in a nanosecond, it seems.

Entrenched foes of the president base their opposition on the unproven allegation Donald Trump is staining our democracy and defiling the Constitution. That arc now has reached almost full circle as the president’s enemies, desperate to deprive him of any victory, are concocting harebrained compromises outside the clear boundaries of the Constitution related to the next Supreme Court justice.

Trump Picks Conservative Amy Coney Barrett for Supreme Court

September 26, 2020September 26, 2020 The Associated Press

President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Saturday, capping a dramatic reshaping of the federal judiciary that will resonate for a generation and that he hopes will provide a needed boost to his reelection effort.

Republican senators are already lining up for a swift confirmation of Barrett ahead of the Nov. 3 election, as they aim to lock in conservative gains in the federal judiciary before a potential transition of power. Trump, meanwhile, is hoping the nomination will serve to galvanize his supporters as he looks to fend off Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump Has Reportedly Chosen His Next Supreme Court Justice Nominee

September 26, 2020September 25, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

President Donald Trump will nominate federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States, multiple outlets reported Friday evening.

Sources close to the process said that Trump will announce Barrett as the Supreme Court nominee Saturday, according to the New York Times. Trump is not known to have met with any other candidate for the vacancy, the Times reported, noting that aides warned there is a possibility Trump could change his mind before the announcement.

Minnesota, Virginia Congressmen Propose Constitutional Amendment to Limit Supreme Court Size at Nine Justices

September 26, 2020September 25, 2020 Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Reps. Collin C. Peterson (D-MN-07) and Denver Riggleman (R-VA-05) said they want to make sure that neither political party can ever pack the Supreme Court.

In a bipartisan joint press release issued Thursday, the representatives said they introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to permanently set the number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices at nine.

Commentary: No Reason for Senate GOP to Wait Until After Election to Confirm Trump’s Ginsburg Replacement to Supreme Court

September 25, 2020September 24, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is under enormous pressure from his Democratic colleagues not to confirm whoever President Donald Trump may nominate to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court before the election.

But in truth, there is simply no reason, neither constitutional nor political, for Trump and McConnell to wait at all.

Pelosi Says ‘Large Number’ of Dems Wanted Her to Shut Down Government to Stop GOP Filling Court Vacancy

September 25, 2020September 24, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she rejected calls from fellow Democrats outside of the chamber who wanted her to shut down the federal government over the Senate GOP’s handling of the Supreme Court vacancy.

“I have the privilege of being a leader in the most diverse party in every possible way including opinion. A large number of people outside, not in the House, but outside wanted me to shut down government because of what they’re doing on Justice Ginsburg. Shut down government? I’m not a big believer in shutting down government,” she

Republicans to Take Pennsylvania Mail-in Voting Case to Supreme Court

September 24, 2020September 23, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Republicans will ask the Supreme Court to review a ruling out of Pennsylvania that extended the due date for mail-in ballots for the coming presidential election. This will be the first political test of the Supreme Court following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last Friday evening.

Commentary: Dear GOP Senate, Please Get This Right!

September 23, 2020September 22, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

As Jack Nicholson said in “Terms of Endearment,” you were just inches from a clean getaway.
Armed with a wholly unimpressive list of accomplishments from the past four years, with the exception of confirming hundreds of federal judges, you were prepared to return home to defend your paltry record with little more than the argument that the other side is much, much worse. Which, lucky for you, is true.

Senate GOP Lines up with Trump to Quickly Fill Court Seat

September 23, 2020September 22, 2020 The Associated Press

Senate Republicans have swiftly fallen in line behind President Donald Trump’s push to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat as one of the last holdouts, Sen. Mitt Romney, said Tuesday he supports a vote despite Democrats’ objections it’s too close to the Nov. 3 election.

Trump, who will announce his nominee Saturday, is all but certain to have the votes to confirm his choice.

Democrats Say They Will Pack the Court if Republicans Vote to Replace Ginsburg in 2020

September 21, 2020September 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Prominent Democrats are threatening to expand the size of the Supreme Court to cancel out President Donald Trump’s court picks if Republicans vote on late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement this year.

Left-wing activists have been pushing Democratic politicians to endorse court-packing since Justice Anthony Kennedy’s 2018 retirement cleared the way for Justice Brett Kavanaugh to join the high court. Some congressional Democrats embraced the idea following Ginsburg’s death Friday night.

Democrats on Filling a SCOTUS Vacancy in 2016: ‘A Responsibility to Vote’

September 21, 2020September 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Several Democratic leaders favored a Senate confirmation vote for President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland in 2016.

Following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Obama nominated Garland, who had been the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to block a confirmation vote for Garland until after the 2016 presidential election, The Washington Post reported.

TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for September 21

September 21, 2020September 22, 2020 Jordan Bondurant

Welcome to another Monday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 43 days until the election on November 3 – and 8 days until President Trump and Joe Biden square off in the first presidential debate.

Commentary: For the Sake of the Constitution, and the Country, Fill Ginsburg’s Seat Quickly

September 20, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday at the age of 87. Her passing was not unexpected. On the contrary, her steadily worsening condition over the past several years left her increasingly incapacitated. After Donald Trump’s election in 2016, many on the Left expressed dismay that she chose to stay on the court rather than resign and let President Obama nominate her replacement.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski Has Said She Will Not Vote on Any Supreme Court Nominee Until After the Inauguration

September 20, 2020September 19, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski has said she would not vote to replace a Supreme Court justice until after the inauguration.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday evening at her home at the age of 87. Murkowski, a pro-choice moderate from Alaska, is often a swing vote in the Senate.

Trump Promises to Nominate a New Justice ‘Without Delay’

September 20, 2020September 19, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

President Donald Trump promised Saturday to nominate a new Supreme Court justice “without delay.”

“We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices,” the president tweeted Saturday morning, tagging the Republican Party in his tweet.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis Says He Will Support Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee

September 20, 2020September 19, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said Saturday that he would support whomever President Donald Trump nominates to the Supreme Court.

Tillis’s statement comes just over six weeks before the presidential election. A seat on the Supreme Court became vacant Friday evening when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died of pancreatic cancer at age 87.

Biden in 2016: SCOTUS Confirmation Can Happen ‘a Few Months Before a Presidential Election’ If Senate Is Involved in Pick

September 20, 2020September 19, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Former vice president Joe Biden said in 2016 that he would have considered a Supreme Court justice nominee in an election year if the president had consulted the senate on the nominee.

“I would go forward with the confirmation process as chairman even a few months before a presidential election. If the nominee were chosen with the advice and not merely the consent of the Senate just as the constitution requires,” Biden said during a 2016 speech at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

After Ginsburg: McConnell Pledges Quick Vote on Successor

September 19, 2020September 18, 2020 The Associated Press

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just over six weeks before the election cast an immediate spotlight on the high court vacancy, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quickly vowing to bring to a vote whoever President Donald Trump nominates.

McConnell, in a statement just over an hour after Ginsburg’s death was announced, declared unequivocally that Trump’s nominee would receive a vote, even though he had stalled President Barack Obama’s choice for months ahead of the 2016 election, eventually preventing a vote.

BREAKING: Supreme Court Says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Died of Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer at Age 87

September 18, 2020September 18, 2020 The Associated Press

Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87.

Trump Releases List of 20 New Possible Supreme Court Picks

September 10, 2020September 9, 2020 The Associated Press

Hoping to replicate a strategy that has long been seen as key to his appeal among conservative voters, President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced he is adding 20 names to a list of Supreme Court candidates that he’s pledged to choose from if he has future vacancies to fill.