In Case You Missed It (Law)
Digest for Monday April 17, 2023

First, from www.washingtonpost.com: Clarence Thomas has for years claimed income from a defunct real estate firm
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been accused of misstating income from a defunct real estate firm on his financial disclosure forms for the last two decades. A pattern of errors and omissions on the forms has raised questions about his compliance with federal ethics law. Congressional Democrats have called for an investigation into Thomas's compliance with federal ethics law and Thomas has not publicly addressed the property transaction.

Next, from www.wsj.com: Montana Lawmakers Approve Statewide Ban on TikTok
Montana lawmakers have voted to pass a bill that would ban the use of the popular social media app TikTok state-wide. If signed by Governor Greg Gianforte, the bill would be the first of its kind in the US, and could face legal challenges. Governor Gianforte has previously banned TikTok on government-issued devices and urged the state university system to do the same.

Finally, from terikanefield.com: A Firehose of Insanity and The Republican Cycle of Radicalization
A federal judge in Texas attempted to outlaw the abortion pill mifepristone, but was blocked by a judge in Washington state. The Department of Justice appealed to the Fifth Circuit, who ruled that mifepristone can remain on the market but with limited access. The Supreme Court issued a temporary stay maintaining the status quo while it hears the case. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that would ban abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, and Justice Thomas was found to have taken large sums of money from Harland Crow. In Tennessee, two Black members were expelled from the Legislature for protesting gun violence, but the white woman who also protested was not. The FBI has arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira for leaking classified US documents on social media.

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Today's paper of the day is The Justice from Monsanto: The Environmental Life and Law of Clarence Thomas by Scott W. Stern. The paper examines the environmental work and ideology of Justice Clarence Thomas and its influence on his conservative political and judicial philosophy. Through the use of never-before-cited archival material, it is argued that Thomas's experience working as a lawyer for Monsanto and then as an advisor to Senator John C. Danforth on environmental issues shaped his views and led to his faith in untrammeled private enterprise and skepticism of the administrative state. Furthermore, the paper documents how these views have been reflected in his environmental opinions, including those in favor of Monsanto.

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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