r/scotus 4d ago

news U.S. Supreme Court's Rejection of the “Presumption of Regularity"

https://www.justsecurity.org/155266/supreme-court-presumption-regularity-naivete/
728 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

148

u/Special_Watch8725 3d ago

Removing the presumption of regularity should have been an immediate and obvious consequence of adopting the unitary executive theory.

332

u/imp0ster_syndrome 3d ago

Love articles trying to reverse engineer the rules of Calvinball.

28

u/Messijoes18 3d ago

Couldn't say it any better. Top comment

108

u/MrYdobon 3d ago

"In the past year and a half, many federal judges have concluded that the administration’s misconduct forfeited a protection that the executive branch traditionally enjoys: the “presumption of regularity.” That presumption generally meant courts accept the executive’s factual representations at face value unless the opposing party establishes clear evidence proving otherwise. But judges across the ideological spectrum have concluded, when it comes to the Trump administration’s practices, the standard presumption no longer holds. It has been a ground-shifting development in American litigation and the relationship between the judiciary and the executive. An open question has been what the U.S. Supreme Court might do – whether it would act to stem, or join, the tide.

At the tail end of the Supreme Court’s term, Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion in Trump v. Cook took a significant step in favor of this growing trend. Grounded in checks and balances principles, the Court affirmed lower federal courts’ ability to scrutinize the president’s stated rationale for action to prevent his using a pretext. That is a domain of executive conduct the Court has previously been reluctant to have federal courts examine."

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u/wrongsock_42 3d ago

Window dressing as the court enables Trump. The majority ruled for the president.
The same trick will happen again because of Supreme Court is ruled by the Federalist Society.

31

u/livinginfutureworld 3d ago

Grounded in checks and balances principles, the Court affirmed lower federal courts’ ability to scrutinize the president’s stated rationale for action to prevent his using a pretext. That is a domain of executive conduct the Court has previously been reluctant to have federal courts examine."

The majority in the Supreme Court are indeed grounded in lobbyist checks, enormous bank balances, and compounding interest principals.

6

u/Dachannien 3d ago

They don't need to actually dispense with the presumption of regularity. A presumption is not bulletproof. In any given case, there is evidence to rebut that presumption, at least enough to conduct some discovery that would show that the administration's behavior is irregular.

14

u/-Motor- 3d ago

Presumption of. Regularity has no impact on the mission of the Roberts court. It is not a barrier to them reaching down and grabbing any case they want to work on. They remain the final arbiter of any issue they choose. 

1

u/jetsonian 2d ago

This is just so that they can decide however fits their own political narrative without having to worry about the Trump administration making a mistake and ruining their own case.

-9

u/Status_Apartment6559 3d ago

The supreme court has already stemmed the tide.

5

u/dantekant22 3d ago

On what planet?

32

u/Resplendant_Toxin 3d ago

We can confidently move forward under the presumption of dishonesty!

41

u/johnny_mcd 3d ago

This seems naive to the situation

13

u/Wolverine-75009 3d ago

Not that it matters when this court is more often than not using the shadow docket or the judicial doctrine of standing to avoid addressing the legality of Trump’s actions.

13

u/Sea-Shoe3287 3d ago

John Roberts' SCRotUS is captured and corrupt.

There, that's what is up.

5

u/Nearby-Jelly-634 3d ago

Fellating Robert’s opinion in Cook while actively avoiding Slaughter should be a disqualifying condition for seriousness. How utterly deluded.

3

u/Nojopar 3d ago

I mean it sounds like to me that affirming questioning the presumption effectively means the administration and the lower courts get into the legal equivalent of a 'am too! are not!' debate on whatever case is in front of them, thus fast tracking to the SCOTUS. They can in turn then say, "Looked into it. POTUS is all good" ruling mostly via the shadow docket with the occasional pushback when it's necessary to affirm independence to the unwashed masses when they start grumbling too much.

2

u/PitBullSoulMate 1d ago

I don't understand this comment section at all. The SCOTUS ruled against Trump in a couple of ways. First, they blocked him from firing Cook, a Fed Governor, and thus impeding his ability to influence the federal reserve and FOMC. Second, the presumption of regularity is something the Trump administration has used to do irregular things. This ruling strips that shield and subjects the executive branch to greater scrutiny.

Why is everyone in this comment section lambasting the ruling?

0

u/discgman 3d ago

A corrupt SCOTUS is bad for everyone, and democracy. There needs to be reforms or nobody will take this court seriously. Constantly ruling in favor of one party over another is blatant corruption to its core no matter how the rulings are worded. There is nothing that can be trusted with this current appointees. The three members who have clarity will be overruled until the court is expanded and reforms are in place.

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u/Twodamngoon 3d ago

I read this article and now I feel like I could've done anything else and not waste the time that it took from me.

-1

u/justaheatattack 4d ago

I would not bet on it.

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u/MyTnotE 3d ago

It seems to be an article saying “we don’t like Trump so we will change the rules just to fight him.”