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The Senate Judiciary Committee kicked off its confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett today with a predictably partisan spin. There were dog whistles from Republicans about religious tests and procedural complaints from Democrats in defense of the Affordable Care Act and against advancing Barrett’s nomination before November 3. But all things considered, the first day of the hearings was relatively uneventful, which may have come as a shock to those who watched the rather lively Brett Kavanaugh hearings in 2018.
Our podcast hosts argue that boredom is a win for the Biden campaign’s Do No Harm strategy, as any sound bite attacking Barrett’s religion or character could depress the Democratic candidate’s current 10-point lead over Trump. David argues that if Democrats want to preserve Biden’s steady lead, they will do everything to avoid even “a single viral moment that puts them in the villain role” during these hearings. Check out our latest episode to hear David and Sarah discuss the Affordable Care Act’s lifespan, partisan judicial elections on the state level, and the Capitol Hill Baptist Church lawsuit.
Show Notes:
-FiveThirtyEight’s presidential polling average, and The Sweep: The Witching Hour.
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1) As a native, David should know that is not how one pronounces Appalachia lol. It has a hard "atch," please and thank you ; )
2) We have so many good "coal judge" stories here in southern WV and eastern KY - it was (and is) an absolute mess. Some great legal tales to dive into one day, for sure. My great-great grandfather in Mingo County, WV, became a JP to help provide for his family after he was paralyzed from the waist down in a mine accident. This was back when JPs only got compensated if they ruled in favor of the plaintiff. And apparently he was known as a very pro-miner, pro-union, anti-coal company JP who always ruled one way. (Also all his brothers were ruffians who moved between illegal scheming and law enforcement quite smoothly lol, but that's a story for another day.)
3) Speaking of WV and elected judges: I'm sure you all saw in the news several years ago when we impeached our entire state Supreme Court. If I remember correctly only two justices actually left the court, and they were replaced by the governor - with my Congressman, who had just lost his Senate race primary, and the Speaker of the House of Delegates. I don't think either of them had practiced law in years.
Out here in California, at least some judges are handled by a retention system. Longer-lived residents than me tell me that the state threw out a bunch of Supreme Court judges awhile back for what was viewed as a too-defendant-friendly ruling, once -- back in the tough-on-crime days and all.
And much more recently, in the case of the Stanford swimmer who sexually assaulted a woman, the judge who took a sentence recommendation deemed too generous to him got turned out by a recall. https://abcnews.go.com/US/california-voters-oust-judge-sentenced-stanford-swimmer-months/story?id=55684700 Unfortunately my local vote couldn't carry the day in that case. (I agreed with the legislative change to amp up the penalty range, tho. In-normal-range as the kid's sentence was, the range was just wrong.)