Are members of the Supreme Court insane?

[Tony_FLADEM]

The Supreme Court ruled that State Legislators can formulate Congressional Districts any time they feel like it - not just every 10 years. Now every election cycle Legislators throughout the country are going to be doing that instead of dealing with other issues effecting their states. This is the craziest thing I have heard in a long time.

:wtf:

[ladjf]

1. No, just egotistical and partisan. The right wingers have been

given a mission and they are hell bent on accomplishing it.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

2. After today's ruling I'm beginning to wonder about them. n/t

[jonolover]

3. what does this mean?

nt

[RagAss]

5. It means what we have now....we will have forever...

Misery to the fifth power.....

[On the Road]

4. Is the 10-Year Cycle in the US Constitution?

(Or state constitutions, for that matter?) I was under the impression that it was a long-standing informal arrangement.

I do agree with you that it has the potential for setting off an unending round of partisan redistricting all over the country. I hope there is some way to avoid that.

[greenbriar]

7. yes, it is in the constitution

specified in 10 year increments

[greenbriar]

8. From Wikipedia

United States Census
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1880 US Census of Hoboken, New JerseyThe United States Census is mandated by the United States Constitution<1>. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats ("congressional apportionment"), electoral votes, and government program funding. (Some states also conduct statewide censuses as the need arises; these are called state censuses.)

The census is performed by the United States Census Bureau. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790; there have been 21 federal censuses since that time. The next census will be taken in 2010. A detailed page on the most recent census can be found at United States Census, 2000.

[greenbriar]

9. Article 1 Section 2

Representation and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers ... . The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct."
-- Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States

[On the Road]

13. What Was the Basis for the Republicans Violating That Provision?

I haven't followed the legal arguments.

[annabanana]

14. The Constitution says seats may be reapportioned

every 10 years. Nowhere does it prohibit doing it at any other time. (That is the problem)

[On the Road]

19. I See

Thank you for the clarification. I thought I had heard on NPR that there was no prohibition on intermediate reapportionments, but it depends on how you understand the language.

[ClassWarrior]

6. No, they're criminals and cronies. Why do you think they're called...

...the Extreme Court?

B-)

NGU.

[KansDem]

10. I believe that many of the Supreme Court justices are way over their heads

It's like taking some legal novice or first-year law student and placing them on the highest court of the land. I just don't think they have the intellect and philosophical foundation for the SCOTUS.

[iconoclastNYC]

11. The RATS court = Roberts Alito Thomas Scalia

Really lay bare the projection at the heart of the right's "activist judges" meme.

[Cha]

21. The RATS on the

court..the bubonic plague kind.

[DELUSIONAL]

12. GOP = insane = justices appointed by GOP therefore insane

GOP appointed justices are insane.

And democrats who voted for the GOP appointed justices are insane.

[lonehalf]

15. Ten Years?

Just think. When we return to power we can do the same.

It looks like to me that every time one party loses a single seat when their party is in control of the State House we will see a re-districting.

[zanne]

16. Exactly.

So this means that either Republicans are incredibly short-sighted, or they plan to be in power forever.

[windbreeze]

18. OR

"they plan to be in power forever".....sounds about right to me...because I really believe that IS their plan...IF something doesn't happen between now and the midterms in Nov, to prove it, I will be truly surprised......
wb

[greenbriar]

17. AT TAXPAYERS EXPENSE

:banghead:

[Donald Ian Rankin]

20. Hang on a second.

The Supreme Court didn't rule that it was a good thing that legislators do that; they ruled that it wasn't banned by the US constitution. As far as I can tell (note that I'm not an expert on American constitutional law by any stretch of the imagination, but hey) they were absolutely right: the tenth amendment suggests that "may do X every ten years" does not imply "may not do X at any other time".

Your position appears to be that the Supreme Court should have taken into account whether or not legislators redistricting regularly would be a good thing or not when making their ruling. I think this is a mistake - the court's role is not to make moral judgements, it's to interpret the law. They ruled on whether or not it was constitutional, not one whether or not is was good, and as far as I can tell they got it right.

I don't know the first thing about constitutional law; I'm quite prepared to be told I and the judges were wrong by someone saying "No, clause X opf the Constitution implies that..." (although I won't nexessarily take such an opinion as more authoritative than that of the Supreme Court); I'm not, however, convinced by the argument "this is bad, so they should have forbidden it". That's the job of the electorate and the government, not the courts.

[butterfly77]

22. I believe some are ....

arrogant and senile