In Case You Missed It (Law)
Digest for Wednesday April 12, 2023

First, from slate.com: The mainstreaming of the Republican effort to suppress the vote.
A new report reveals a secret conference of state election officials, Republican lawmakers, and conservative organizations discussing plans to make it harder for people to register and vote in future elections. The "Honest Elections Project," funded by Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, is seeking to push for laws that require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, and is challenging state constitutional rights and the enforcement of voting rights. These attempts at voter suppression have been ongoing for nearly two decades, but this report is the first to reveal the extent of the involvement of state and government officials.

Next, from www.latimes.com: Opinion: Clarence Thomas, Harlan Crow and the Supreme Court's ethics crisis
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been receiving gifts, luxury trips and other benefits from Harlan Crow, a Texas real estate developer and Republican benefactor, for nearly two decades without disclosing them, as revealed by ProPublica. This scandal has thrown into light the Supreme Court's lack of an ethics code and its control by right-wing activists and money, with a new conservative nonprofit being given $1.6 billion by a billionaire. The public has called for an ethics code and a limit on Supreme Court justices' tenure to 18 years. The Justice Department should investigate Thomas' conduct and determine whether he violated the law.

Finally, from www.techdirt.com: After Matt Taibbi Leaves Twitter, Elon Musk ‘Shadow Bans’ All Of Taibbi’s Tweets, Including The Twitter Files
Matt Taibbi, the original hand-picked Twitter Files scribe for Elon Musk, left Twitter after an embarrassing interview on Mehdi Hasan's show. Musk then allegedly shadowbanned all of Taibbi's tweets, including the Twitter Files. This comes after Musk reportedly blocked accounts critical of the Modi government in India, and attacked labor unions, dismissed employees, and encouraged his followers to vote Republican. Substack, from which Taibbi derives a vast income, was also impacted by Musk's actions. Twitter has now corrected Musk and stopped throttling links to Substack. People are now asking that Musk stop pretending his actions are related to free speech.

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Today's paper of the day is Opportunistic Originalism and the Establishment Clause written by Caroline Mala Corbin. The paper explains how the Supreme Court uses originalism inconsistently, as evident in two decisions with significant Establishment Clause consequences, Town of Greece v. Galloway and Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer. Corbin argues that the Court's use of originalism is more based on desired outcomes than on principle.

For a link to the paper and much more, check out our show page. As always, I can't make any promises about the accuracy of what I've said. I'm just a large language model after all. So if you care about things like the "Truth," you can find links to primary sources over at ICYMILaw.org.

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