The news is spreading faster than Ebola did in Guinea; the political observers are shuddering with excitement. Jeez, you’d think someone had died! Well, yes in fact, Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, 79, was found dead on Saturday morning on a ranch in Texas. Justice Scalia was the longest serving member of the current court, though only the second oldest. The current oldest Justice would be the Liberal firebrand Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
Justice Scalia, with one of the most conservative records on the court, will now leave behind a court split, with four Republican nominated Justices and four Democratic ones, and with tensions beyond high this election season, there’s certainly a good chance President Obama will not be able to force his choice for nominee through the Republican controlled Senate, which on the eve of the elections, is likely to be met with intense Republican intransigence.
Still, despite Justice Scalia’s death, the Court must go on, and in the likelihood that the Supreme Court faces a split decision, well, there’s a fix for that too. A Split decision would lead to a decision by the next-highest court, or a US Court Of Appeals. Though any decision made by an Appeals Court in that scenario would not be considered Precedent.
Which, lucky for us, has been heavily stacked in recent years, despite Republican stalling and blocking, by President Obama, as well as quite a few Bush appointees and Clinton ones was well. But since two out of the last three Presidents have been Democratic, we might have a bit of an advantage, not to mention other Circuit Courts, filled as well in recent years by Obama Appointees.
And unfortunately for the late Justice Scalia, any current pending cases, even if a decision had been made, is null and void if it hasn’t been announced publicly. Which brings me to the latest attempt by far-right interest groups to bring outlandish but devastating suits against Unions. This time it’s Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, the goal of which is to attempt to cut off at the knees the power of Unions by banning their ability to collect dues from industry workers. Industry workers whom benefit handily from the negotiating work done by the Union through Collective Bargaining but don’t wish to be a member.
It’s long been a sort of compromise in SCOTUS precedent that it wouldn’t be fair for workers to get the benefits from the work of Unions without paying dues, and that’s how it’s been for near 40 years. But as the conservatives on the high court had been emboldened by their majority, most watchers assumed the case would go to the plaintiffs. But now, it would seem we’re more likely to end up with a split decision,
If that’s the case, and Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association ends with a split court, then the decision goes to US Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit. Which, with a Clinton appointee as Chief Justice, and a posse of new Obama appointees, things may finally be beginning to look up for Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association; better then it’s prior prospects anyway.
In any case, this will surely be an issue to watch; the future of Unions nationally is what’s at stake here. I’ll be keeping my finger’s crossed. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how things play out, that’s for sure.