SCOTUS Weighs Birthright Citizenship. Trump Voting Order Under Fire. GA Lawmaker Goes Off

During oral arguments, multiple Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, expressed significant skepticism regarding the Trump administration's attempt to end automatic birthright citizenship. Roberts stated, 'It may be a new world, but it's the same constitution,' dismissing arguments for a changed interpretation based on modern immigration. Barrett questioned the administration's reliance on 'jus sanguinis' (citizenship by blood) over 'jus soli' (citizenship by soil), noting America's historical adherence to the latter and the implications for adopted children. Justice Kagan also challenged the administration's novel 'domicile' argument, highlighting its lack of basis in the 14th Amendment's 'subject to the jurisdiction' clause.

Ellie Mistl's analysis of the oral arguments, quoting Justices Roberts, Barrett, and Kagan.

The Trump administration's core legal argument against birthright citizenship, particularly the concept of 'domicile' for conferring citizenship, is directly based on the theories of Alfred P. Morse, a 19th-century white supremacist. Morse was the lawyer who argued for segregation in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case. Justices Roberts and Kagan characterized the administration's sources as 'quirky' and 'unusual,' respectively, indicating their awareness of the dubious origins of the legal theory.

Ellie Mistl explicitly identifies Alfred P. Morse as the source of the 'domicile' argument and his role in Plessy v. Ferguson.

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones confirms that Democratic attorneys general across the country are unified and prepared to sue the Trump administration over its executive order on mail-in voting. He describes the order, which proposes individual barcodes on every mail-in envelope, as 'clearly illegal' and an 'overreach' that attempts to dictate state-administered elections. Jones emphasizes that states like Virginia have safe and secure mail-in voting programs and that the administration's claims of voter fraud are 'baseless' and designed to 'sow fear' and 'misinformation' for 'nefarious purposes' like creating a national voter registry.

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones' statements regarding Trump's executive order and the planned legal response.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the 'Roy Johnson Prostate Cancer Screening Bill' (SB19) into law, effective October 1st. This legislation mandates that insurance companies cover prostate cancer screenings at no cost for men over 50 and high-risk men over 40. The bill is named in honor of black journalist Roy Johnson, whose public sharing of his prostate cancer diagnosis galvanized support. Johnson highlights that 1 in 8 men overall, and 1 in 6 black men, will get prostate cancer, with black men being three times more likely to die from it due to late detection. The bill aims to remove financial barriers and encourage early screening, which is now a simple PSA blood test.

Roy Johnson's account of his diagnosis, the legislative process, and the bill's provisions.

Georgia State Representative Tanya Miller delivered a powerful and 'flabbergasted' rebuke to her white colleagues who supported Confederate monuments. She distinguished American chattel slavery from biblical slavery, emphasizing that chattel slavery treated people as property to be 'murdered, raped, sold, stolen,' and declared 'three-fifths of a human being.' Miller asserted that the Civil War was 'fought over slavery' and condemned the 'celebrated ignorance' and 'disdain' for history shown by those defending Confederate memorials. She argued such monuments belong in museums, not public spaces, and vowed legal challenges against legislation that would make it easier to sue over their removal.

Rep. Tanya Miller's speech in the Georgia General Assembly.