WHITE HOUSE COMMISSION STUDIES.SCOTUS ACTS.
SCOTUS ACTS.
President Biden’s White House launched a Commission to probe arguments for and against reforming the Supreme Court. But after 8 months of meetings and deliberation, the Commission has failed to advocate for the necessary reforms to safeguard our rights and our democracy.
This timeline chronicles how the Commission spent months writing a research paper while the conservative Supreme Court justices spent their time actively dismantling our democracy.
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Commission is announced
April 9, 2021
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First Meeting of the Commission
The first meeting of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States lasted less than 30 minutes, despite the conservative justices signaling earlier this week that they are prepared to dismantle Roe v. Wade.
Our statementMay 19, 2021
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SCOTUS Radically Curtails Workers’ Right to Organize
In a partisan 6-3 decision, the Court held that a CA law allowing union organizers limited access to private property in order to organize agricultural workers was an unconstitutional “taking” from property owners, opening the door for business owners to litigate every regulation they oppose including workplace safety and nondiscrimination rules.
Our statementJune 23, 2021
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Second Meeting of the Commission
June 30, 2021
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Further guts Voting Rights Act
In a partisan 6-3 decision, every conservative on the Court joined in Samuel Alito’s majority opinion dismantling what remained of the Voting Rights Act.
Our statementJuly 1, 2021
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Makes it easier to buy elections
On the same day that the right-wing SCOTUS majority gutted what was left of the Voting Rights Act, it also sided with a Koch-funded group to weaken donor disclosure laws.
Our statementJuly 1, 2021
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Third Commission Meeting
July 20, 2021
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Imposes Trump's "Remain In Mexico" Policy
Following an injunction from a Trump judge ordering the Biden Administration to reimplement the policy several months after it had already been phased out, conservatives on the Court ignored decades of foreign policy precedent to force the Biden Administration to comply and resurrect it.
Our statementAugust 24, 2021
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Blocks Covid-19 Eviction Moratorium
In a 6-3 vote, the far-right SCOTUS majority rejected the Biden Administration’s attempt to extend the nationwide eviction moratorium, potentially forcing millions out of their homes.
Our statementAugust 26, 2021
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Allows Texas to Ban Abortion
Conservatives on the Court allowed Texas to enact a 6-week abortion ban, effectively banning all abortions in the state and nullifying Roe v. Wade for millions of Texans.
Our statementSeptember 1, 2021
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Fourth Commission Meeting
Following the release of a draft report disparaging Court expansion as a necessary reform, several commissioners voiced their concerns about signing onto a report that does not meet this moment.
Our statementOctober 15, 2021
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Hears arguments on Texas Abortion Ban
44 days after the ban went into effect, the Court heard arguments on the legitimacy of the Texas ban -- crucially without providing relief to the millions of Texans unable to access their right to an abortion.
Our statementNovember 1, 2021
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Hears arguments to dismantle state gun control laws
The Court heard arguments in the NRA-backed case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, where a majority of the Court was sympathetic to arguments to strike down a 100+ year old NY gun law and overturn state level gun-control laws nationwide.
Our statementNovember 3, 2021
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Fifth Commission Meeting
The meeting took place 188 days after the Commission was formed. By comparison, the Constitutional Convention in 1787 took only 115 days to draft America’s entire constitution.
Our statementNovember 3, 2021
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Hears Direct Challenge to Roe v. Wade
The Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case that presents conservatives with the chance to end abortion rights as we know them, and a majority of the Court appears ready to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, gutting, if not outright overturning Roe.
Our statementDecember 1, 2021
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Final Commission Meeting
The Commission will have its final meeting after 8 months of deliberation before releasing a final report that will make no specific recommendations while the stolen Supreme Court has spent that time eroding our rights and dismantling our democracy.
December 7, 2021