Tuesday round-up

This week marks the 10-year anniversary of Justice Elena Kagans confirmation to the Supreme Court, and USA Todays Richard Wolf examines the heavy influence she has had during her first decade as a justice. Kagans ability to find common ground with conservative justices and to pick her battles when she dissents has helped the court maintain most of its luster as the least political branch of the federal government, Wolf writes.

At the same time, the political branches continue to focus on the court during this election year. Sahil Kapur of NBC News reports that Democrats are warning Republicans not to fill a possible Supreme Court vacancy this year after denying President Barack Obama the chance in 2016, saying it would embolden a push on the left to add seats to the court whenever they regain power. In a Washington Post column, Paul Waldman commends the Democrats threat to add seats to the court and calls on the partys presumptive presidential nominee, Joe Biden, to support the threat if Republicans attempt to fill a last-minute vacancy.

Briefly:

• In Newsweek, Josh Blackman reacts to a series of stories by CNNs Joan Biskupic last week that revealed, based on anonymous sources, numerous details about the courts private deliberations. Blackman writes that the leaks have no doubt destroyed trust and camaraderie among the justices, and he calls on Chief Justice John Roberts to restore order and unity to the court or, if he cannot, to resign.
• In an essay for the Regulatory Reviews ongoing Supreme Court series, Rachel Rebouch explains what Roberts concurring opinion in June Medical Services v. Russo might mean for the future of judicial review of abortion restrictions. In particular, she applies the Roberts concurrence to the Indiana abortion restrictions the court recently sent back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, noting that in light ofJune Medical Services, the 7th Circuits analysis of how state requirements erect obstacles to abortion access is all the more important.
• In the Chicago Law Bulletin, Daniel Cotter describes the apoplectic reaction from some conservative politicians to the Supreme Courts recent order turning down a Nevada churchs emergency request for an exemption from the states social-distancing rules.

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