Any other SC would have enough justices on it that respect the process of the courts enough that the idea of forcing through a decision in light of the new evidence that is still being brought forward and litigated would be an impossible step. The fact that people still think this court will make a decision despite the ongoing litigation, and even try to shut down any further proceedings, shows how partisan its makeup has become, and how much people expect it, at some point, to make political decisions over legal decisions, and ones that will benefit the Republicans instead of Americans.
I guess we will find out tomorrow if the SC is going to take steps to support forcing Republican rule onto the nation, or respect the laws and procedures of the court system they are sworn to uphold.
What ever it turns out to be, it will be 5-4. Bank on it.
Don’t get your hopes up.
It should be 8-1 with the result serving notice that the zealot Thomas needs to retire. I have settled for now in the wrong damn dimension
EDIT: ok, per comments, having a POS justice retire now would be is poor choice. Perhaps Thomas has a come-to-Jesus moment combined with a Scrooge night dream experience and changes his ways!
Though, wishing for an 8-1 ruling already puts me way out in fantasy never-gonna-happen land.
No, no, no. We need Thomas to stay on until 2021. Can’t allow Trump to lock in another long-term seat.
Be careful what you ask for. Were Thomas to retire now or by next fall’s session, Trump would appoint his replacement, with the possibility (likelihood?) that Thomas’ replacement could be more extreme and zealous than Thomas is.
Yeah, Castor immediy made me aware of my ill advised wish. Editing. 
Fix is probably in anything, with him leaving either this summer or next.
The Court would not have accepted the petition (they simply could have denied it without more than a couple of words) and announce that it will be considered on conference this Thursday (which they never do) if they weren’t going to grant the Petition. That’ my opinion. I’m working on a case in the United States Supreme Court now, also with procedural wrinkles. The Court does its business according to their published rules and procedures about how a case comes before them to adjudicate.
I think this is a very good sign. If the Court rules with all that new evidence out there, it would be worse than Bush v Gore. Keep your eye on Roberts. He’s the new swing vote and the keeper of the Court’s credibility as an independent body. This is a wonderful opportunity for Roberts to do that. I think the Court will adjourn without a decision and send the case back to the District Court. We’ll know quickly enough.
What I’m banking on is that if the decision is anything but to return the case to the lower court they will state that this decision may not be used as precedent.
If it’s to remand, I think it won’t be 5-4. The rest of the gang likely see no reason to waste what shreds remain of their reputations on a losing case. (And this one, imo, at least, is such an obvious call that you would get into “good behavior” territory.)
I was thinking that there would be no way trump could replace Thomas–but then I snapped out of it and realized that trump and McConnell would not care about standing tradition (replacing him with an African American justice, or of course McConnell’s newest tradition that a SOTUS justice cannot be replace during an election 
). Also, would Ben Carson accept the nomination?
Don’t count on it, my friend. Gorsuch is turning into a more reliable swing vote than Roberts. And that ain’t saying much…
I don’t think you’ll see a vote. The Court doesn’t report on votes in conference. Technically, the case is already back in the District Court because the Fourth Circuit granted the unusual request by the lower court to call the case back. Most likely result is that the Petition is granted without opinion or the Court in some fashion affirms what the Fourth Circuit did.
Brilliant work by the lawyers down in the Fourth Circuit who created this situation for the plaintiffs.
I dunno. Roberts strikes me as too careful and mindful of the court’s already strained legitimacy to turn it into the judicial arm of a virulent minority.
Why would they do this if they had already decided not to allow the question? Seems as if they would just ignore the issue as moot.
Nah, he enjoys the perks and power too much. (And perhaps rubbing himself under his robe just before nodding off during briefings). - Just sayin’.
So? I do this work every day. Things at the Court rarely work like the stereotypes of the Court and this or that justice. Even if it were true that the majority votes in a partisan way for Republicans all the time, Trump is not a Republican. He’s a tyrant. The Solicitor General’s arguments in Court have gotten a lot of weight in the past. Noel Fransisco comes before the Court these days on behalf of a DOJ that argues in federal court that children in concentration camps at the border don’t need toothbrushes and soap. Watch what happens when one of these subpoena cases reaches the Supreme Court. They will throw Noel Fransisco out on his ass and affirm all the lower courts.
I think they will all be “Damn, we dodged a bullet!” and, sadly, it’s not their fault it can’t go one way or the other at this time. It’s Robert’s only way out.
But, luckily for us that means no citizenship question.
Shorter SCOTUS: “Lack of planning on your part does not an emergency make on our part.”