Congress and the Judiciary

For Monday: Davidson, ch. 14, LaPira, ch. 9, 12.

For Thu of next week:  what domestic topics do you want to discuss?

ALSO:  FINAL WEEK -- WHAT TOPICS DO YOU WANT TO REVISIT OR ADD?

How the Ways and Means Committee asked Trump's tax returns:

26 USC 6103

Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request, except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.

STILL IN COURT! 

Subpoenas and Contempt of Congress

• The definitive encyclopedia article!
• Inherent contempt
• Civil contempt 
• Criminal contempt

Court-packing  (Davidson 367-368).

A check on the court:  jurisdiction-stripping, or court-stripping (Davidson 365-366 -- a 2020 article

Constitutional Amendments

Response to statutory (vs. constitutional) interpretation (Davidson p. 3363)  Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Supreme Court Nominations

Clarence Thomas:



In hearings, senators try to get judicial nominees on the record.  NOTE WHAT ALITO SAYS (START AT 18:45) ABOUT STARE DECISIS.





Merrick Garland and "the Biden Rule" 

Gorsuch and the nuclear option 

Blue Slips and Senatorial Courtesy (Davidson, 378)

The Trump record on the courts (Davidson 377)

KBJ