Everyone understood this to be true: the courts, DOJ, even the VRA's detractors! For 60 years one interpretation has been clear -- until some circuit court judges recently started rewriting history. SCOTUS should not go along with them.

Last night, historians weighed in with SCOTUS to set the record straight: Since the beginning, everyone understood that voters can use Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to challenge discriminatory maps.

Their brief: www.brennancenter.org/sites/defaul...
@alexkeyssar.bsky.social @brennancenter.org

The appellate court said voters cannot sue to challenge discriminatory maps under the Voting Rights Act. The brief explains that's wrong, showing that courts, Congress, the Dep't of Justice, private attorneys, and others have long understood that Section 2 allows voters to do just that. 2/2

Today, a group of historians, including Brennan Center Historians Council member @alexkeyssar.bsky.social, filed a brief urging SCOTUS to hear Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe. 1/2 bit.ly/4gUM8mK

Amidst many funding cases, it's easy to forget that challenges to the administration's attempted funding freeze are still working their way through the courts. Two amicus briefs filed this week in one of those cases, Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, highlight the enormity of what's at stake:

Unanimous First Circuit takes pains to emphasize that this was an incredibly easy case to decide, despite writing a very long opinion knocking down every ridiculous argument the Trump admin made.

That includes lessons on why we must have a capacious understanding of birthright citizenship today. The lesson: The US tried a regime of exclusive citizenship in the past (see Dred Scott) and we fought the Civil War to end it.

The 1st Circuit reaching the right result -- and exemplifying ways to use history that are non-originalist. History is not a source of commands (contra originalism) but, when understood properly, it does provide real lessons for prudent decision-making in the present.

And for a (fantastic) read on the "lessons of history" and the constitutional threat of Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, see this amicus brief from @marthasjones.bsky.social and @katemasur.bsky.social:
www.brennancenter.org/media/13981/...

BREAKING! 1st Cir. blocks Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship. Strong, clear close:

We can win if we fight

This is how a patriot carries himself. Judge Young was appointed by Reagan, BTW.

Unfortunately, this piece from @sam-breidbart.bsky.social and myself on the administration's efforts to seize legislative authority remains more relevant than ever. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

In a single paragraph, SCOTUS allowed the executive branch to withhold $4 billion in funds Congress appropriated for foreign aid. Make no mistake: this is a major assault on Congress's power of the purse and yet another step towards giving the president king-like power to defy the legislature.

As manager of @statecourtreport.org's case database at the @brennancenter.org, I'm rolling out a series discussing trends we're seeing in our database cases. Read the first of the series here, and find out what state courts are saying in response to challenges to Covid-19 era government policies 👇👇

Forever hope to be known as “a man, mid-pastrami” @jasondiamond.bsky.social

Forever hope to be known as “a man, mid-pastrami” @jasondiamond.bsky.social

I wrote for @theatlantic.com today on the NYC Council's attempt to kill the city's upcoming housing referendum www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

From the Mayor O’Dwyer playbook?

This is a remarkable article. Federal judges are increasingly speaking out against SCOTUS’s approach to the shadow docket. This isn't typical & underscores the impossible position for lower courts when SCOTUS makes new law on its emergency docket – especially when it doesn’t explain its rulings. /1

The Brennan Center filed a brief in Louisiana v. Callais. The Supreme Court is being asked to address whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act continues to be constitutional. The brief illustrates why the ruling could have a significant impact on the future of local elections. 1/ bit.ly/46i36Yu

@brennancenter.org Historians Council Member @janemanners.bsky.social filed a brief dismantling a major claim of the Trump admin's theory of executive power: that the president can fire certain agency leaders at will, no matter what Congress said when legislating those agencies into existence.

⏰Reupping this thread on @janemanners.bsky.social latest brief taking on the unitary executive theory. This is a must-read for anyone interested in a historical corrective to the administration's claims... @brennancenter.org

Read more: www.brennancenter.org/media/14360/...