Lawrence Hurley
@lawrencehurley.bsky.social
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Senior Supreme Court Reporter, NBC News Human-powered https://www.nbcnews.com/author/lawrence-hurley-ncpn1298564 Signal: @lawrencehurley.25
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lawrencehurley.bsky.social
If you need to contact me confidentially, you can reach me via Signal: lawrencehurley.25
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
HIGH STAKES: The Supreme Court this week considers whether to cast another blow against the landmark Voting Rights Act in a case that could lead to fewer minorities in Congress & state legislatures.

Here's what it's all about:
www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...
Stakes are high for voting rights as Supreme Court again tackles Louisiana redistricting dispute
The conservative majority could use the case to further weaken the landmark Voting Rights Act, which was enacted to protect minority voters.
www.nbcnews.com
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
icymi, from Sept. 4:
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
🚨EXCLUSIVE:

Federal judges tell NBC News the Supreme Court has got to do a better job of explaining emergency rulings, with frequent decisions in favor of Trump at least appearing to validate harsh criticism of the judiciary at a time of rising threats:

www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...
In rare interviews, federal judges criticize Supreme Court's handling of Trump cases
Ten judges tell NBC News the Supreme Court needs to explain its rulings better, with some urging Chief Justice John Roberts to do more to defend the judiciary against external criticism.
www.nbcnews.com
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
I'm kind of intrigued by the house in Takoma Park that has a Cybertruck parked outside. Does not compute.
Reposted by Lawrence Hurley
sherylnyt.bsky.social
BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
It's like the "stick to sports" argument all over again (except of course, when we agree with what you're saying, then please speak).
joshchafetz.bsky.social
So ... Catholic *traditionalists* want a pope who doesn't involve himself in global politics?
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
And I'm stuck on what Roberts wrote in Milligan upholding constitutionality of race-based redistricting under Section 2 just two years ago:
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
With SCOTUS taking on race & redistricting again next week, it strikes me as quite something that Thornburg v. Gingles was unanimous.
www.oyez.org/cases/1985/8...
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
I have always thought Cash is way cooler than Dylan or Springsteen.
wsj.com
Compared to Dylan and Springsteen, country-music legend Johnny Cash can seem deeply uncool. It took time for me to appreciate his profound, plainspoken strength, writes Jon Fasman.
Essay | Can We Finally Give Johnny Cash His Due?
Compared to Dylan and Springsteen, the country-music legend can seem deeply uncool. It took time for me to appreciate his profound, plainspoken strength.
on.wsj.com
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
Trump's disdain for international institutions is only matched by his desire to be accepted by them.
pbump.com
The right’s Nobel obsession is useful because it is inexplicable as anything other than trying to make Trump personally happy. 95% of all Trumpworld obsessions have the same root (2020 election, James/Comey) but rarely is it so hard to retcon a justification for it.
atrupar.com
BARTIROMO: On your point about the Nobel Peace Prize, do you think maybe the reason Trump won't get it is because you had to get the application in before Jan. 31, and that was only 11 days into his term?

SCALISE: Look, they can play technicalities. They gave it to Obama for just getting elected.
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
A law professor is probably writing an article right now explaining how Trump has the authority to fire the Nobel Committee.
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
White House response is measured as always:
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
It kind of feels like the Washington Post will keep shedding journalists until the only thing left is an AI bot trained on the writings of Ayn Rand.
Reposted by Lawrence Hurley
jayshams.bsky.social
I've been wondering why Dominion Voting Systems suddenly reached settlements with Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and One America News.

Turns out, it's been purchased by a Republican-owned election tech firm that insisted on it, per Axios.

www.axios.com/2025/10/09/d...
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
Incidentally, I just asked Louisiana AG Liz Murrill why she signed on to the same brief backing Trump. She said her state would welcome National Guard deployment and thinks states should handle Trump "with gratitude, rather than hostility."
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
But Oklahoma's attorney general joined this brief backing Trump:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
larryferlazzo.bsky.social
Oklahoma’s Republican governor criticizes guard deployment. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/u...
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
But Oklahoma's attorney general joined this brief backing Trump:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
larryferlazzo.bsky.social
Oklahoma’s Republican governor criticizes guard deployment. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/u...
Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, a Republican and the chairman of the National Governors Association, on Thursday criticized the deployment of Texas National Guard troops to Illinois as a violation of his beliefs in federalism and “states’ rights.”

His comments, in an interview with The New York Times, marked the first time a Republican governor has questioned the interstate deployment of National Guard troops over a governor’s objections. Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois and other Democratic elected officials have been strongly critical of the move and have implored Republican governors to join the opposition.

Mr. Stitt on Thursday said, “We believe in the federalist system — that’s states’ rights,” adding, “Oklahomans would lose their mind if Pritzker in Illinois sent troops down to Oklahoma during the Biden administration.”
Reposted by Lawrence Hurley
schraubd.bsky.social
I have to point out that the day before this 9th Circuit panel revved up to decide that Portland was too dangerously war-torn to rely on regular law enforcement to keep order, my Portland-based law school somehow safely hosted a different 9CA judge for a normal law school event.
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
Alex Jones has asked the Supreme Court to immediately put his almost $1.5 billion defamation judgment on hold, citing the imminent threat of InfoWars being handed over to The Onion.

If there isn't a stay, "InfoWars will have been acquired by its ideological nemesis and destroyed," the filing says.
Reposted by Lawrence Hurley
donmoyn.bsky.social
The guy who seems to be setting the GOP shutdown position, Russ Vought, promised to put federal employees in trauma, and to use the shutdown to fire them and block their backpay.
atrupar.com
Scalise: "When a good day for you is defined by how much suffering you can impose on other people, maybe you need to look in the mirror and check yourself at the door and wonder what it is you're up here trying to accomplish."
Reposted by Lawrence Hurley
joshuajfriedman.com
Chief Judge Kendall's statement comes as last night an Army commander told a federal court that DHS had so far made two requests for National Guard deployments in the Chicago area: (1) at the Broadview ICE facility, (2) at the Dirksen Courthouse on Friday. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
As of 1430 CDT on October 8, 2025, ARNORTH has received two requests for protection support. First, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested federalized National Guard personnel to support protection of federal property and personnel at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois. Second, the Federal
Protective Service (FPS) requested federalized National Guard personnel to support protection of
the Federal District Court on Friday, October 10, 2025 due to two high profile cases involving
DHS activities and personnel in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area.
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
This case is relevant in the context of Trump's National Guard deployment as DHS is citing it as one example of why troops are needed.
bradheath.bsky.social
A woman who was shot multiple times by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents did not ram them with her car and had her weapon stored in her purse at the time of the incident, according to her lawyer, contradicting accounts by the Department of Homeland Security.

www.reuters.com/world/us/bod...
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
Iowa and these other 17 states all back Trump's National Guard deployment in Chicago:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...