Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
25%
5 of 20 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
67/100
Reason's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
In a recent edition of this newsletter, I asked whether Justice Samuel Alito would come to regret making "the same mistake" as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who famously declined to retire from the U.S. Supreme Court when the Democrats still had control of the Senate and Barack Obama was still president.
asserted
Obama → ask → Senate
Instead, by stubbornly remaining on the Court until her death in 2020 at the age of 87, Ginsburg effectively made it possible for her replacement to be picked by President Donald Trump and swiftly approved by a Republican-controlled Senate.
asserted
replacement → remain → Senate
That's how the conservative law professor Amy Coney Barrett came to replace the liberal legal icon Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
asserted
professor → come → Court
After this week's midterm massacre for the Republicans, we may get the chance to find out if Alito's judicial career will end on a similarly Ginsburg-ian note.
uncertain
career → get → note
You’re reading Injustice System from Damon Root and Reason.
asserted
You → read → Root
The Republicans lost big almost everywhere in Tuesday's midterm elections, but the loss of the Senate may prove to be the most painful of all in the long run, as it will give the Democrats the power to block any judicial nominee that Trump puts forward in the next two years (once the new Senate has been officially seated).
uncertain
Senate → lose → years
Alito, who is 76 years old, seemingly intends to remain on the bench for as long as possible.
asserted
who → intend → bench
But will it be long enough to ensure that a Republican is president and the Senate is back in the hands of the GOP when he finally does decide to retire?
asserted
he → ensure → GOP
The combination of a Republican-held White House and Republican-held Senate may not even be electorally possible thanks to this week's results until 2032.
uncertain
combination → hold → 2032
And when you happen to be in your mid-70s like Alito is, that's a long time to wait while you cross your fingers and hope for the best against the vagaries of ill health or sudden accident.
asserted
you → happen → health
I can't imagine Thomas relishing the thought of a Democratic president picking his replacement.
asserted
president → imagine → replacement
But time and fate may give him no say in the matter.
uncertain
time → give → matter
As the great existential philosopher Sturgill Simpson put it, "life ain't fair and the world is mean."
asserted
world → put → it
One thing seems clear enough: There is less than zero chance of the new Democratically controlled Senate approving any Supreme Court nominee that Trump puts forward in the waning years of his second term.
asserted
Trump → seem → term
Indeed, the Senate's Democratic majority may not approve any Trump nominee to any judicial post, preferring instead to leave the federal courts under-staffed until a new slew of liberal jurists can be safely appointed.
uncertain
slew → approve → jurists
If a vacancy does unexpectedly arise on the Supreme Court sometime in the next two years, I would not expect it to be filled until after the 2028 election.
asserted
it → arise → election
In Other Legal News
The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case that asks whether a Catholic preschool's right to the free exercise of religion is infringed when a state denies it the ability to participate in the state's universal preschool program because the school won't accept LGBTQ families.
asserted
school → hear → families
Judging by the oral arguments, the Catholic preschools who brought the case stand a good chance of prevailing.
asserted
who → judge → chance
While the Supreme Court's three Democratic appointees seemed skeptical that any kind of rights violation had occurred, a majority of the Court's Republican appointees seemed to think otherwise, and that would be enough votes to decide the case in favor of the Catholic schools.
asserted
that → seem → schools
A decision in the case is expected by late June 2027.
asserted
decision → expect → June
The Aporia
