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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Democrats' legal brief on Supreme Court: reality check or threat?

"The Supreme Court is not well. And the people know it." That statement comes from a legal brief that a small group of Democratic senators filed in an upcoming New York State gun control case.

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KCRW placeholderBy Rico Gagliano • Aug 19, 2019 • 1 min read

"The Supreme Court is not well. And the people know it." That statement comes from a legal brief that a small group of Democratic senators filed in an upcoming New York State gun control case. Their memo has ignited a firestorm, particularly because of the line that follows: “Perhaps the court can heal itself -- before the public demands it be restructured in order to reduce the influence of politics.” The Democrats say they’re merely giving the court a reality check when it comes to public perception. But others, particularly conservatives, see the memo as tantamount to a threat.

Also, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in California, handed the Trump administration a partial win in its push for an asylum ban. This is the Trump policy that prevents someone from applying for asylum in the U.S. if they passed through another country and didn’t seek protection there first.

And a federal judge threw four of the five south Orange County cities off a lawsuit that advocacy groups filed on behalf of the homeless.

  • KCRW placeholder

    Rico Gagliano

    host of “MUBI Podcast”

  • KCRW placeholder

    Sarah Sweeney

    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

  • KCRW placeholder

    Michell Eloy

    Line Editor, Press Play

  • KCRW placeholder

    Alexandra Sif Tryggvadottir

    Associate producer

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Jessica Levinson

    Professor, LMU's Loyola Law School in Los Angeles

    NewsNational
Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand