“…Today, the Supreme Court granted Laurel Libby, a Maine state representative, an emergency injunction pending appeal. Justice Sotomayor would have denied the injunction, and Justice Jackson wrote a dissent.
I wrote about this case nearly a month ago. Circuit Justice Jackson took her time to call for a response and set the deadline after the Maine legislative session began. In other words, she made it impossible for the Court to provide timely relief. That is some chutzpah after the Supreme Court maligned Judge Wes Hendrix for not ruling in the span of hours. On April 30, I wrote “The Court moves heaven and earth to block removal of alleged gang members who are almost certainly removable, but stays silent when citizens of Maine lose their elected representative.” I’m glad their priorities are straight. On May 1, the Court called for a response, which would be due on May 8.
Today, May 20, the Court finally granted relief. It took the Court twelve days after the briefing concluded to issue the order. I have to think the majority settled on this outcome pretty quickly, especially considering the lopsided vote. What was the delay? It was likely to allow Justice Jackson to write her five-page dissent. When A.A.R.P. came out after midnight, Justices Alito and Thomas noted their dissent is forthcoming. That is always an option. But here, the majority prevented Libby from participating in the session, even as there were five votes to grant relief…”
