David Lat’s Original Jurisdiction Substack provides a great resource to help you understand the Supreme Court’s vacancy. David’s column helps me to understand his perspective. Today’s newsletter comes from #TeamKruger–literally. Kruger Network (likely Justice Stevens staff members, ex-DOJ employees, academics) seems to be unhappy about Jackson and Childs receiving too much oxygen. David received an “open letter” from them. Justice Kruger would be “horrified” if her team sent this letter, according to reports. They wrote it anyway.
The first was #TeamKruger’s criticism of Judge Childs’s “small army” of politicians and operatives pushing for her. Then they wrote, Biden shouldn’t choose justice that is based on political favour-trading, or political fallout. What do you think of Rep. Clyburn’s statement?
Zweiten, #TeamKruger suggests Biden can’t reliably count Childs vote. Biden will choose Childs over Childs in favor of such niceties, like a compelling personal tale. And what? It is really Her father was a victim of this! Childs may also be a Black woman, who might exhibit conservativism. The Washington Post couldn’t be reached for comment. This well-constructed sentence probably went through multiple committee review:
Judge Childs would be a good choice for a Court with a 3-3 vote in their favor, which is a court that favours liberals. With that kind of dominance, you’d have the luxury of picking someone based on such niceties as a compelling personal story and a non-Ivy educational background, and things like her lack of appellate experience, her being a decade older, and her conservatism in employment law and criminal law wouldn’t matter that much. Even if she loses her vote, you could still win the case.
Burn.
#3. #TeamKruger states that Jackson and Childs would both have to learn the job. Elena Kagan was unable to be reached for comment.
Judge Jackson (who has only been an appellate court judge for under a year) and Judge Childs (who has never been one), have not had this opportunity. And the Supreme Court—at least for a liberal justice at this critical point in our nation’s history, with abortion, gun control, and affirmative action on the line—is no place for learning on the job.
Ouch.
This is something I enjoy, one-for-one. The worst part?