Tag: hearing

Chief Justice John Roberts declines to appear at Senate judiciary hearing

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John Roberts, the US supreme court chief justice, has declined to testify at a forthcoming hearing before the Senate judiciary committee that is expected to focus on judicial ethics.
The committee’s Democratic chairman, Dick Durbin, had asked the chief justice to appear before the panel to address potential reforms to ethical rules governing the justices. The senator cited “a steady stream of revelations regarding justices falling short of the ethical standards”.
Roberts’ brief response, issued by a supreme court spokesperson, said he would “respectfully decline” the invitation. In a letter to Durbin, Roberts said such appearances by chief justices were exceedingly rare given concerns about the separation of powers between the branches of US government and the “importance of preserving judicial independence”.
Durbin had earlier asked Roberts to investigate ties between Justice Clarence Thomas and a wealthy Republican donor.
Thomas, the longest-serving of the court’s nine justices, has been under pressure after published reports by the news outlet ProPublica detailing his relationship with Harlan Crow, including real estate purchases and luxury travel paid for by the billionaire Dallas businessman.
In a statement on Tuesday, Durbin said: “I am surprised that the chief justice’s recounting of existing legal standards of ethics suggests current law is adequate and ignores the obvious. The actions of one justice, including trips on yachts and private jets, were not reported to the public. That same justice failed to disclose the sale of properties he partly owned to a party with interests before the supreme court.”
The Senate judiciary committee would proceed with a 2 May hearing as planned, according to Durbin.
“It is time for Congress to accept its responsibility to establish an enforceable code of ethics for the supreme court, the only agency of our government without it,” Durbin said.

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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 26, 2023
Roberts declines to appear at Senate’s Supreme Court ethics hearing

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But a Durbin spokesperson told POLITICO Tuesday that Roberts declined to appear for the hearing. Durbin has previously said he plans for the hearing to proceed even if Roberts declined to appear.
“I am surprised that the Chief Justice’s recounting of existing legal standards of ethics suggests current law is adequate and ignores the obvious. The actions of one Justice, including trips on yachts and private jets, were not reported to the public. That same Justice failed to disclose the sale of properties he partly owned to a party with interests before the Supreme Court,” Durbin said in the statement.
He added: “It is time for Congress to accept its responsibility to establish an enforceable code of ethics for the Supreme Court, the only agency of our government without it.”
In a letter to Durbin explaining his reasons for declining, Roberts wrote that a chief justice’s testimony before Congress “is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence.”
Durbin, who is also the majority whip, has previously suggested the committee cannot subpoena Roberts because of the absence of Sen. Dianne Feinstein , a longtime Judiciary Committee member who has been away from the Senate for months while being treated for shingles.
The ProPublica report detailed two decades of Thomas’ relationship with Crow, which included trips on Crow’s private jet and yacht, as well as visits to Crow’s lavish properties.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 26, 2023
No decision on Muslim quota till hearing on in SC, says Bommai

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Dharwad: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said his government has informed the Supreme Court that it will not take any decision regarding the reservation for Muslims till the matter is before the court.
In his reaction to the media over the quota for the Muslims, he said the case is posted for hearing on May 9 and no stay order has been issued by the court.
Bommai also said that the Congress leaders’ stand that the government gave away the quota meant for Muslims to others was not correct.

“There are 17 sub-sects among the Muslims and all of them are in the Backward classes. Here also they get reservations about economic backwardness. They are entitled to the quota as per the decision of the government. So, there is no question of doing injustice to the Muslims as the yardsticks are not changed,” he said.
Bommai also said that there will be no doubt that Karnataka will completely become BJP after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He also said that he has challenged Leader of Opposition in Assembly Siddaramaiah to prove the charges levelled against him. “I know about the people who are making the charges against me unnecessarily. A lot of complaints are against Siddaramaiah and he has been caught telling lies. All the cases against him are referred to the Lokayukta.”
He quipped that “Congress means corruption and corruption means Congress”.

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#decision #Muslim #quota #hearing #Bommai
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 25, 2023
House Democrats will hold a “shadow” hearing this week with a panel of medical experts and advocates on the “the state of a post-Roe America.”

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The Democratic Women’s Caucus is encouraging members both to ask the panelists questions and “share abortion stories from their state/districts.”

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#House #Democrats #hold #shadow #hearing #week #panel #medical #experts #advocates #state #postRoe #America
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 24, 2023
Same-sex marriage: Hearing on April 24 postponed

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court Constitution Bench will not be hearing various petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage on Monday due to the indisposition of two judges who are part of the five-judge bench.
Five Judge Bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Thursday announced that the constitution bench will hear the various petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage from Monday to Friday.
But the SC has now notified that on account of the indisposition of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice S Ravindra Bhat, it will not able to hold the court on April 24.

The Constitution Bench comprising the Chief Justice, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Ravindra Bhat, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice PS Narasimha is dealing with a batch of petitions pertaining to ‘marriage equality rights for LGBTQAI+ community’.
The Constitution Bench started hearing the petitions on April 18.
Various petitions are being dealt with by Supreme Court seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage. The Centre has opposed the petitions. One of the petitions earlier raised the absence of a legal framework which allowed members of the LGBTQ+ community to marry any person of their choice.
According to the petition, the couple sought to enforce the fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ individuals to marry any person of their choice and said that “The exercise of which ought to be insulated from the disdain of legislative and popular majorities”.
The petitioners, further, asserted their fundamental right to marry each other and prayed for appropriate directions from this Court allowing and enabling them to do so.

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#Samesex #marriage #Hearing #April #postponed
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 23, 2023
Elton John joined a Senate Foreign Relations hearing to voice support for extending a bipartisan AIDS relief program.

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“There is no better symbol of American greatness than PEPFAR,” John said during his opening remarks.

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#Elton #John #joined #Senate #Foreign #Relations #hearing #voice #support #extending #bipartisan #AIDS #relief #program
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 19, 2023
SC approves hearing petition to probe Atiq Ahmed killing

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea seeking a probe into the killings of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf.
The plea sought a direction for setting up of an expert committee headed by a former apex court judge to investigate the killings. The case will be listed for hearing on April 24.
Advocate Vishal Tiwari moved the apex court seeking an independent expert committee and also sought an inquiry into the 183 encounters that have taken place in Uttar Pradesh since 2017.

Ahmad and his brother were shot dead by three assailants, posing as journalists, while they were being escorted by police personnel to a medical college in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj for a check up on Saturday night.
The plea sought guidelines to safeguard the rule of law by constituting an independent expert committee under the chairmanship of a former Supreme Court judge and also to inquire into the 183 encounters which had occurred since 2017 as stated by Uttar Pradesh Special Director General of Police (Law and Order).
The petitioner also sought a probe into the murder of Ahmad and his brother under police custody and stressed that “such actions by police are a severe threat to democracy and rule of law and lead to police state”.
The plea said extra judicial killings or fake police encounters do not have a place under the law and further argued that in a democratic society the police cannot be allowed to become a mode of delivering final justice, as the power of punishment is only vested in the judiciary.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 18, 2023
Senate Dems weighing a Clarence Thomas invite to future Supreme Court ethics hearing

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Earlier in the day, when asked if he’d consider subpoenaing Thomas for his testimony, Durbin told reporters that his panel would “talk about a number of options.”
Thomas’ behavior was “high on the list” of topics discussed Monday evening, said Blumenthal, who added that there is no final decision yet on who else should testify.
Durbin has not yet confirmed that Thomas would be asked to testify. Any subpoena that Democrats might issue, should the justice turn down such an invitation, would likely be challenged and could end up before Thomas and his colleagues at the high court.
Judiciary Democrats already sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts urging him to investigate Thomas’ undisclosed acceptance of luxury travel and gifts from wealthy GOP donor Harlan Crow. Later reports from ProPublica delved into the sale to Crow of three Georgia properties, including the home where Thomas’ mother currently lives.
“What he did is really unprecedented, the magnitude of the gifts and luxury travel but the money changing hands and the nondisclosure,” said Blumenthal.
Senators are still hoping that the Supreme Court will take its own action, but Durbin said his panel was also open to discussing proposals to impose a formal code of ethics on the court.
“This reflects on the integrity of the Supreme Court. [Roberts] should take the initiative and initiate his own investigation and promise results that answer this problem directly,” the chair said on Monday.
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#Senate #Dems #weighing #Clarence #Thomas #invite #future #Supreme #Court #ethics #hearing
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 18, 2023
‘Hypocrisy’: New York Democrats deride Judiciary Committee’s Manhattan hearing

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He later told reporters outside the hearing: “It is really troubling that Americans’ taxpayer dollars are being used to come here on this junket to do an examination of the safest big city in America.”
A rowdy crowd of anti-Trump protestors demanded to be let inside the federal building in lower Manhattan as the committee heard testimony from a formerly incarcerated bodega clerk and the mother of a homicide victim, among others who testified.
The hearing — titled “Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan” — was called by the committee in the wake of the arraignment of the former president, who, ever since being criminally indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan, has attacked Alvin Bragg, the district attorney leading the case, for not addressing local crime instead.
His GOP allies have leveled similar criticisms. Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the committee, called New York a “city that has lost its way” during the hearing.
“Here in Manhattan, the scales of justice are weighed down by politics,” Jordan later added during the hearing, accusing Bragg of taking a “soft-on-crime approach to the real criminals.”
The mayor and other Democrats were quick to point out Monday that crime in many major categories is on the decline. A letter sent to Jordan last week cited recently released NYPD statistics showing murders are down roughly a tenth from at this time last year. Shootings and transit crimes have decreased, too.
The full picture of crime statistics in New York is more of a mixed bag, though. Felony assaults are up, driven largely by domestic incidents and attacks on police officers, and major felony arrests are at a high not seen in more than two decades.
Adams also pointed to data reported in the New York Daily News Monday morning suggesting that residents of Jordan’s home state of Ohio are far more likely to die from gun violence than New Yorkers.

Wirepoints, an Illinois-based nonprofit, found in February that New York City had among the lowest homicide rates among the nation’s largest cities.
Adams said neither he nor anyone from his administration was asked to speak.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who represents New York’s 13th District, also took issue with Republicans on the committee criticizing crime in the state without backing stronger federal gun control legislation.
“The common denominator in most homicides across the country is a gun,” he said during the hearing.
The GOP’s embrace of the issue of crime in their attacks against Bragg — and the other side’s full-throated response — is indicative of just how salient the issue remains in New York politics, and of its soreness for Democrats in the wake of midterm losses and a much closer than anticipated gubernatorial race. Even public safety-focused Democrats like Adams have struggled to make voters think they’re making headway on the issue.
Manhattan Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, a former chair of the committee, warned voters not to be “fooled.”
“This hearing is being called for one reason and one reason only: to protect Donald Trump,” he said at the news conference with Adams.
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#Hypocrisy #York #Democrats #deride #Judiciary #Committees #Manhattan #hearing
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 17, 2023
Trump’s next in-person hearing in hush money case set for Dec 4

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New York: The next in-person hearing in a criminal case against former president Donald Trump in New York City has been set for December 4, roughly two months before the official start of the 2024 Republican presidential primary calendar.
Trump, the first former US President to be criminally charged, has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records at his arraignment in a Manhattan court on charges relating to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
At the December in-person court appearance, State Supreme Court Justice Juan M Merchan will decide on the expected motions to dismiss the case.

Following Trump’s arraignment, prosecutors said they expect to produce the bulk of the discovery in the next 65 days, CNN reported.
Trump’s team has until August 8 to file any motions and the prosecution will respond by September 19. Judge Merchan said he will rule on the motions at the next in-person hearing on December 4.
Trump’s attorney Jim Trusty said Tuesday he expects “robust” motions to challenge the case and hopes they can succeed in stopping the case.
If not, Trusty said he expects Trump’s attorneys will “figure out if there’s a way to try to push this earlier” than the December 4 hearing.
Trump, 76, has already announced that he will seek the Republican Party’s nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

The Iowa Republican caucuses will be held on February 5, 2024, marking the start of the party’s primary season.
That underscores how Trump’s legal troubles could shadow him into the period when voters are picking a candidate to nominate for president, The Hill newspaper reported.
The New Hampshire primary, the first one on the Republican calendar, is scheduled for February 13.
Trump is expected to use the charges against him to try and rally support among Republican voters, arguing he is a victim of a politically motivated prosecution. A Saint Anselm College poll released Tuesday showed Trump with 42 per cent support among likely Republican primary voters, well ahead of Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, who garnered 29 per cent support, the newspaper said.
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#Trumps #inperson #hearing #hush #money #case #set #Dec
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 5, 2023