One person. He alone is over the 11th circuit.

Political corruption...it's not just for breakfast anymore.

President Bush yesterday chose Clarence Thomas, a conservative black federal appeals court judge, to replace Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court, saying he is "the best person at the right time."
July 2, 1991

I was surprised when Thomas hasn't intervened in the trump documents situation, that is also under his jurisdiction.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

[www.washingtonpost.com]

Last month, a district court judge said prosecutors could not question Graham about portions of the calls that were legislative fact-finding. But the judge said Willis’s team could explore coordination with the Trump campaign in its post-election efforts in Georgia, public statements regarding the 2020 election and any efforts to “cajole” or “exhort” Georgia election officials.

In its order Thursday, the 11th Circuit panel agreed with the lower court judge that those actions “could not qualify as legislative activities under any understanding of Supreme Court precedent.” Two of the three judges on the panel were nominated by Trump.

The reasoning of the 11th Circuit judges appears sound.

...Which is undoubtedly why Thomas published his order without comment:

UPON CONSIDERATION of the application of counsel for the applicant,
IT IS ORDERED that the August 15, 2022 order of the United States 
District Court for the Northern District of Georgia,
case No. 1:22-CV-03027, as modified by the district court’s 
September 1, 2022 order, is hereby stayed pending further order 
of the undersigned or of the Court.

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Quote

“Without a stay, Senator Lindsey Graham will soon be questioned by a local Georgia prosecutor and her ad hoc investigative body about his protected ‘speech or debate’ related to the 2020 election,” Mr. Graham’s lawyers wrote in their application. “This will occur despite the Constitution’s command that senators ‘shall not be questioned’ about ‘any speech or debate.’”

Well, not exactly:

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They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

Does whispering to the Georgia SoS about invalidating or otherwise altering votes in a presidential election really qualify as a speech or debate in the Senate?

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Ombligo
I was surprised when Thomas hasn't intervened in the trump documents situation, that is also under his jurisdiction.

His wife isn't in the middle of the document scandal. She is in the middle of trying to overthrow the election.

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Skill without imagination is craftsmanship. Imagination without skill is Modern Art.

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pdq
Does whispering to the Georgia SoS about invalidating or otherwise altering votes in a presidential election really qualify as a speech or debate in the Senate?

Reminds me of something someone posted a few years back about House members putting thousands of pages in the Congressional record that had nothing to do with anything they said or did on the floor because they can't be criminally prosecuted on information presented to the House in the ordinary course of business.

It protects them from libel, for example, so they can say whatever they want in the record and when it's republished they say they're immune from lawsuits because the original publication was done in an official role as a lawmaker.

It's an expansive doctrine, but historically it has not extended to activities such as fundraising or political strategizing, and certainly would never (in the past) have been applied to political strategizing for another candidate.

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The Forum doesn’t have an emoji to express my feelings on this news.

I wonder if Graham made those phone calls from the Senate or House buildings? That might protect him.

Thomas is, at best, a tragedy.

It’s a temporary measure, until the court as a whole can make a decision.

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S. Pupp
It’s a temporary measure, until the court as a whole can make a decision.

I'm guessing that decision depends on whether they need deflection or they need affirmation for some tortured decision about trump.

just a speed bump - no need to freak out...

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hal
just a speed bump - no need to freak out...

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samintx
The Forum doesn’t have an emoji to express my feelings on this news.

Funny, the first emoji that came to mind was this...

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

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PeterB

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samintx
The Forum doesn’t have an emoji to express my feelings on this news.

Funny, the first emoji that came to mind was this...

Not for me.

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It is what it is.

The Supremes somehow get envoled and vote. That will be the real test.

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Northern California Coast

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samintx
The Supremes somehow get envoled and vote. That will be the real test.

Well, they will now. Either they take it on, or they tell Thomas to stop bothering them, in which case the questioning goes on.

If they do take it on, they will likely shoot it down, and then (again) the questioning goes on.

But if they take it on, and decide that trying to subvert an election is protected by the Constitution, then we’re all in big trouble…

I'm confused. If there are 13 circuit courts, doesn't that mean there are 4 circuit courts not overseen by a Supreme Court justice?
In any event, this seems like a no-brainer reason for expanding the court to 13 members.

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$tevie
I'm confused. If there are 13 circuit courts, doesn't that mean there are 4 circuit courts not overseen by a Supreme Court justice?
In any event, this seems like a no-brainer reason for expanding the court to 13 members.

Some justices oversee 2 circuit courts, for example Kavanaugh is the Circuit Justice for the 6th and 8th Circuits.

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JoeH

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$tevie
I'm confused. If there are 13 circuit courts, doesn't that mean there are 4 circuit courts not overseen by a Supreme Court justice?
In any event, this seems like a no-brainer reason for expanding the court to 13 members.

Some justices oversee 2 circuit courts, for example Kavanaugh is the Circuit Justice for the 6th and 8th Circuits.

A valid argument for expanding the SCOTUS Bench to 13.