#appeal for clemency

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Pour grossière indécence," Le Soleil. October 21, 1942. Page 4. --- Un fonctionnaire, convaincu de grossière indécence et d'actes socratiques, a été condamné à une amende de $50 hier après-midi, en Cour du recorder. Il avait été arrêté il y a une quinzaine de jours par le détective Charles Fiset, de l'escouade des moeurs. Le recorder a usé de clémence envers lui en ne l'envoyant pas en prison parce que ce séjour aurait sans doute fait perdre son emploi à l'individu. Ce dernier promit solennellement de s'amender.

[AL: He was arrested for attempting to procure sex with another, younger man.]

[youthchronical]

South Carolina inmate to face firing squad in rare US execution - The Times of India

South Carolina inmate to face firing squad in rare US execution (Picture credit: AP) Brad Sigmon, a 67-year-old death row inmate in South Carolina, is set to be executed by firing squad on Friday evening, marking the first such execution in the United States since 2010. Unless granted a last-minute reprieve by the governor or the US Supreme Court, Sigmon will be the fourth person in nearly five…

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

NATIVE POLITICAL PRISONER LEONARD PELTIER HAS BEEN GRANTED CLEMENCY!

HE'S COMING HOME!

He will serve the remainder of his sentence under home confinement. He will be out of prison and able to be with family and friends after nearly 50 years of his suffering in prison, numerous legal appeals, and beseeching president after president to release him.

He is not pardoned. But this is much better than dying in prison among strangers.

Biden Grants Last-Minute Clemency To Leonard Peltier

Via Mahtowin

[saywhat-politics]

Trump pardons a bunch of white-collar crooks

President Trump on Friday pardoned two startup founders convicted of investor fraud, and three crypto exchange co-founders who had plead guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws.

Why it matters: There's never been a better time to be a white-collar crook.

Pardon 1: Trevor Milton, co-founder and CEO of bankrupt electric truckmaker Nikola Motors.

His most egregious act may have been sharing a video that purported to show a fully functional prototype, whereas the truck actually was rolling down a small hill. And then there was the lying about billions of dollars in orders.

Milton was sentenced to four years in prison for both securities and wire fraud, and ordered to pay nearly $700 million in restitution. He had been free on appeal, during which time he donated bigly to Trump-related groups. Oh, and his lawyer was the brother of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Pardon 2: Carlos Watson, co-founder and CEO of defunct Ozy Media.

You may remember Ozy Media for a phone call during which Watson's co-founder, who plead guilty and cooperated with prosecutors, pretended to be a YouTube executive while on a reference call with prospective investor Goldman Sachs. Plus, lots of lying about company financials and proposed deals.

Watson was literally on a plane to prison when the pardon arrived. In a statement, he reiterated his argument that the prosecution was "driven by a malicious campaign orchestrated by a jealous competitor at a rival media company" — an absurd claim based on the phone call first being reported by then-NY Times reporter Ben Smith, whose former company once held takeover talks with Ozy.

He also claimed that Ozy "was on the brink of becoming Silicon Valley's first Black-owned publicly traded company before these wrongful actions derailed our progress." Ozy had never filed paperwork to go public, nor were there any such conversations ever reported. Instead, it was trying to raise new VC funding.

Finally, Watson thanked Alice Marie Johnson, who was famously granted clemency by President Trump after public support from Kim Kardashian.

Pardon 3: Co-founders and a former employee of BitMEX, who had violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement AML and KYC procedures. The exchange itself later pleaded guilty to similar charges.

The quartet had been tried by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as had been Trevor Milton. It's the same office that charged and convicted Trump, earning his public ire. Watson was tried by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The bottom line: Elizabeth Holmes, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Charlie Javice should be sitting by the phone.

[globalnewscollective]

Death by Gas or Firing Squad? The US's Alarming Regression and Echoes of 1933 Germany

In a chilling move reminiscent of historical atrocities, Louisiana plans to execute inmates using nitrogen hypoxia—a method that replaces oxygen with nitrogen gas, leading to unconsciousness and death. Scheduled for March 18, 2025, Jessie Hoffman Jr. faces this untested execution method, sparking legal challenges on grounds of cruelty and violation of religious beliefs.

Adding to the grim developments, South Carolina recently carried out its first firing squad execution in 15 years. Brad Sigmon, 67, convicted of a 2001 double-murder, chose this method over electrocution or lethal injection, fearing prolonged suffering. Despite appeals for clemency and concerns about mental illness, Governor Henry McMaster allowed the execution to proceed.

These developments draw unsettling parallels to Germany in 1933, where state-sanctioned methods led to widespread atrocities. The revival of nitrogen hypoxia and the use of firing squads raise profound ethical and human rights concerns, echoing dark chapters of history.

As Louisiana and South Carolina revive controversial execution methods, the adoption of nitrogen hypoxia and firing squads invite scrutiny and debate over their humanity and potential consequences.

[femmchantress]

Some fascinating Louisiana news for y'all. So recently, the office of the Pope reached out to our (Catholic, Democrat) governor, John Bel Edwards, and implored him to grant some sort of clemency to our glut of death row inmates. Either converting their sentences to life in prison or pardoning them. John Bel, as a southern democrat, has been very silent on his view of the death penalty for most of his career - but now that he's term-limited out of running for governor again, he's become a very public supporter of abolishing it.

Our (Catholic, Republican) state attorney general, Jeff Landry, who is also the frontrunner in the upcoming gubernatorial election, is attempting to subvert the clemency appeal of death row inmates and prevent a single appeal from being heard. Both because he is an ardent supporter of the death penalty, and so that he can drum up political clout among the pro-death penalty conservative voters throughout Louisiana and minimize the chance of him not making the run-offs.

[blackpearlblast]

Kevin Keith's 27 day hunger strike and the censorship around it

(most post body text copy-pasted from Death Penalty Action news email)

From prison, Kevin planned to manage a publicity campaign to call attention to his hunger strike and his demand for a just resolution to his case, however... the day he started his hunger strike, he was moved to solitary confinement. A prison executive came to see him... 

First she demanded that he hand over all of his documents, his paper, stamps, envelopes and his pen. Then she informed him of a policy change: Prisoners on a hunger strike are not allowed to communicate with the outside world.

Kevin had told his lawyers and some members of the media of his plans, but that was it. I certainly had no details, and Kevin's brother Charles also had no details. Worse, there was no way to contact or even visit Kevin, because he was in the hole (solitary confinement).

Kevin held out for 27 days.

His lawyers came to check on him once a week to make sure he was OK, but that's it.  No media responded to his plea. No celebrity supporters tweeted about his plight. We at Death Penalty Action had no information, and could therefore do nothing.

Even as Kevin drank copious amounts of water, he still was dehydrated. Kevin received intravenous hydration ten times, on the following dates:

February 7

February 12

February 14

Twice on February 16

Twice on February 18

Twice on February 22

And we had no idea.

Kevin says he found a spiritual benefit to the experience, but he stopped when the prison doctor warned him that he risked damaging his kidneys. They threatened him with being transferred to the hospital, restrained, and force-fed. At that point, he decided to end his hunger strike.

Kevin Keith is still waiting for Governor DeWine to act on his request for executive clemency. As you may recall, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him back in November. It is unclear what additional legal avenues he has available to him.

to support kevin keith, you can sign his petition, send him money so that he can buy food to help as he recovers from his hunger strike, and watch his brother charles keith's 6 minute video on his experiences fighting the death penalty.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

George Chidi at The Guardian:

The Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, has pledged to drive forward in her prosecution of Donald Trump, even as he once again ascends to the presidency. But the Georgia court of appeals may have other plans. The appeals court on Monday abruptly canceled oral arguments scheduled for 5 December in Georgia v Trump et al, the racketeering case alleging that Trump and more than a dozen of his allies conspired to steal the 2020 election. The court offered no explanation, and has not replied to a request for comment. Trump’s appeal of Fulton county superior court judge Scott McAfee’s order, which declined to disqualify Willis after bombshell revelations about a romantic relationship with her chosen special prosecutor, was to be argued before a three-judge panel. As part of their effort to dismiss the case, Trump and his co-defendants alleged Willis’s relationship meant she should be recused from the case.

Most cases before the appellate court are decided on pleadings, without oral argument. Nonetheless, the panel’s cancellation unleashed a wave of speculation about their intentions. “There’s a decent chance that the appeal gets dismissed as improvidently granted because the court wants Judge McAfee to address how the case will proceed now that Trump is president-elect,” said Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law professor in Georgia and a close observer of the case. It is also possible that the appellate judges may have concluded that “defendants didn’t satisfy their evidentiary burden and so there’s no need for [the appeals court] to intervene”. Trump’s election has meant an end to federal prosecutions. Jack Smith announced that he would wind down the case involving Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and election interference shortly after the election. Federal prosecutors are now concerned that a vengeful White House will target them in retribution.

Trump’s lawyers on Wednesday asked the judge overseeing the hush-money criminal case for permission to make yet another play for dismissal, arguing that throwing out the case was necessary “in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power”. The sentencing date of 26 November for his conviction is on hold. If the court sets the Manhattan conviction aside, Georgia is the last line of prosecution remaining against Trump. It is a state-level case, in a state that has no meaningful avenue for executive clemency. Willis reaffirmed her intent to pursue prosecutions on the case in comments last week, potentially waiting for Trump to come out on the other side of his four-year term. “If someone has an indictment in this office, no matter who they are, we continue to pursue those charges,” Willis, who was just re-elected to a second term, said at a media availability. “I’m here for eight more years, is my plan, so if that’s what it takes for us to get justice in some cases, we come to work every day, we’ll come in and look for justice.”

Fani Willis’s Georgia v. Trump prosecution could be on very shaky ground post-Trump victory.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"WEINER AND BEER SUPPERS TO FRIENDS HELD 'EXCUSE'," Toronto Star. October 7, 1942. Page 8. ---- Newmarket Man, 84, Convicted of Selling and Jailed for Two Months ---- PAROLE SUGGESTED ---- Newmarket, Oct. 7 - John O'Connor, 84, was convicted of selling liquor and sentenced to two months in jail by Magistrate W. N. Robinson in police court here. The magistrate recommended that if application be made for parole, the parole be granted. A charge of illegal possession was withdrawn.

In defence, O'Connor said. "I didn't sell beer to anyone. They got all they wanted for nothing."

"If you had been giving beer to friends, I don't think you would have had it under lock and key," declared the magistrate.

Crown Attorney N. L. Mathews said accused had purchased $200 worth of beer in three months.according to the liquor control slips. O'Connor admitted he had had at large quantity of beer delivered to his house but denied selling it. He said he drank "quite a lot" of liquor himself and that he often had as many as seven or eight friends in for a weiner supper at which time he served beer. "There were 11 cases of beer delivered in one week." commented the crown. There must have been several weiner suppers that week." Questioned by the crown as to where he got the money to pay for the beer, accused stated a Mr. McNertney, who sometimes stayed with him, had paid for some of the beer. which he, the accused, signed for. He said that he often received gifts of money from friends.

Cross-examined further, the accused denied that the woman who was in his home when it was searched had been drinking beer.

Counsel for the defence, Charles Evans, pointed out that the defendant had been in the hospital from May 15 to May 30, during which time six purchases of beer, amounting to $47.60 had been made in Mr. O'Connor's name by some other person.

Constable James Sloss, chief of Newmarket police and relief inspector for the town testified that Mr. Connor had an approximate income of $28 a month. He stated that on July 31, at about 3 p.m., when searching accused's residence he found two other persons, one at woman with three children. Among the dinner dishes on the table a number of beer bottle caps and! three partly consumed glasses of beer. In the back room he found 33 quart bottles of beer and a part- ly consumed bottle of liquor.

"Under Lock and Key" "After considering this case carefully and taking into account the age of accused, I must come to the conclusion he kept liquor for sale." stated Magistrate Robinson. "I must in view of the age of accused give every consideration to every doubt that there might be. Between May 15 and May 30, $47.60 was purchased. I am not considering that. During the months of June and July I find that the accused did receive beer to the amount of $152.40. If the accused had been giving beer to friends who called. I do not think that he would have had it under lock and key."

Continuing Magistrate Robinson said. "This man has not been in trouble before. I think it is unfortunate that he should run a place like that and allow a woman whose husband is in the army to go there and bring three small children. She went there as often as three times a week to get beer. I am going to give the minimum penalty of two months. I am willing to pass along a recommendation for a parole."

[mariacallous]

No governor has ever commuted a death sentence in the state, where 46 other prisoners have been executed since the death penalty resumed in the U.S. in 1976. Seven have died in the electric chair and 39 others by lethal injection.

In the early 2000s, South Carolina was among the busiest death penalty states, carrying out an average of three executions a year. But officials suspended executions for 13 years, in part because they were unable to obtain lethal injection drugs.

The state Supreme Court cleared the way to resume them in July. Freddie Owens was the first to be put to death, on Sept. 20, after McMaster denied him clemency. Richard Moore was executed on Nov. 1 and Marion Bowman Jr. on Jan. 31.

Going forward the court will allow an execution every five weeks.

South Carolina now has 28 inmates on its death row including two who have exhausted their appeals and are awaiting execution, most likely this spring. Just one man has been added to death row in the past decade.

Before executions were paused, more than 60 people faced death sentences. Many of those have either had their sentences reduced to life or died in prison

A South Carolina man executed by firing squad is the first US prisoner killed this way in 15 years

[follow-up-news]

Two prisoners who are among the 37 federal inmates whose death sentences were commuted last month by President Joe Biden — a move that spares them from the death chamber — have taken an unusual stance: They're refusing to sign paperwork accepting his clemency action. Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis, both inmates at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana,filed emergency motions in federal court in the state's southern district on Dec. 30 seeking an injunction to block having their death sentences commuted to life in prison without parole. The men believe that having their sentences commuted would put them at a legal disadvantage as they seek to appeal their cases based on claims of innocence.

[savvylittlecoxswain]

How to Throw Your Coxswain in the Water

Rob Colburn via row2k

“For most coxswains, being thrown in is the perfect end to a perfect day, and they enthusiastically join in. There are always a few dissidents who allow trivial fears of hypothermia, toxic runoff, or impalement on a submerged log, to cause them to resist. Coxswain escapes are serious and time-consuming; once loose, they can wedge themselves like hermit crabs into impossibly small crevices in the luggage compartment of the bus or under the sink in the training room, and -- depending on how much weight your cox has had to cut for the race -- it will cost you at least half of a box of fig newtons to lure them out again.

One of the rowers -- someone big and who is impervious to appeals for clemency (such as your five seat) must keep firm hold of the coxswain from the moment the shell returns to the dock. It is not enough simply to run a trailer strap through the gussets of his or her jacket -- coxswains can gnaw right through those. If things are busy on the dock, and no one can be spared for sentry duty while the shell is washed down and put away, temporarily empty the equipment box. (Most coxswains can be made to fit as long as you fold them properly, and if enough rowers stand on the top to press it down. Remember to punch some holes in the lid)

One very cold day early in the season, the winning coxswain of a crew which shall remain nameless (it's not the one you're thinking), succeeded in getting the drop on his rowers, forcing his exhausted crew to chase him on race-tired legs. He got as far as the soccer fields before they tackled him, dragged him down to the boathouse, stripped him to the essentials, and threw him in. They then lined up on the edge of the dock and pushed h im in again every time he tried to climb out. He had turned a very satisfactory shade of blue before they relented.

They made their point.

[lunas-nargle]

↳ fifteen

chapter fifteen of "meddle about" series brian o'connor x reader

xv. sentenced

At the end of the day, Dom still ended up in handcuffs. 

Y/n sat between Brian and Mia as they waited for the judge to sentence Dom. Monty sat beside Mia, holding her hand soothingly, Y/n holding the other tightly, as they tensely stood up as instructed, watching the judge walk to his seat. 

"Please be seated." someone said, letting everyone sit back down. Brian put his arm around the back of Y/n, trying to provide some comfort to her. 

"Please rise, Mr. Toretto," the judge said. Dom silently stood. "I've listened to the testimony...and taken into special consideration...Agent O'Conner's appeal of clemency on behalf of Mr. Toretto, that his actions directly resulted in the apprehension of known drug trafficker, Arturo Braga." Y/n felt her stomach and lungs squeeze as the judge continued. "However, this judiciary finds that one right does not make up for a lifetime of wrongs," 

Y/n let out a shaky breath. Hearing this, Brian moved his arm that was wrapped around Y/n. 

"And as such I find that I am forced to level the maximum sentence under California law." 

Brian couldn't hear anymore. He stood up, and walked off upset. 

"Dominic Toretto," the judge said, as a tear slid down Y/n's cheek. "You are hearby sentenced to serve 25 years to life at the Lompoc maximum security prison system without the possibility of early parole. This court is adjourned."

[dertaglichedan]

‘Black Widow,’ Who Murdered 3 Ex-Lovers, Freed in Biden’s Historic Clemency Spree

Biden said all his clemency recipients were 'convicted of non-violent crimes'

A Maryland woman dubbed the "Black Widow" for murdering two husbands and a boyfriend for insurance money is now free after President Joe Biden commuted her 40-year prison sentence, undercutting the White House's claim that Biden released only "non-violent" offenders in a clemency bonanza last week.

Among the 1,500 federal convicts granted clemency was Josephine Virginia Gray, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2002 for insurance fraud schemes connected to the murders of three men between 1974 and 1996. Gray was resentenced to the same amount of time again in 2006 following a series of appeals.

Gray, who collected $165,000 from the three insurance settlements, was charged with murder by Maryland state authorities but ultimately convicted in federal court in 2002 for insurance fraud for violating what’s known as the "slayers rule," which prohibits killers from receiving inheritance and insurance proceeds from their victims' death. Witnesses at Gray’s various trials accused her of using intimidation tactics—including threats of voodoo—to coerce them into remaining silent. "It was the witchcraft, mostly," Lenron Goode, the brother of Gray's third victim, told the Washington Post in 2002.

Gray did not face a murder trial in state court after Maryland's state attorney said her hefty federal sentence "ensures she will die in prison."

The COVID-19 pandemic allowed Gray—and the rest of Biden's clemency recipients—to serve out their sentences in home confinement. Now, Biden has freed Gray altogether in what the White House called the "largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history." Biden, in order to correct historical "injustices," granted clemency to those "convicted of non-violent crimes who were sentenced under outdated laws, policies, and practices that left them with longer sentences than if the individuals were sentenced today," the White House said.

But Gray’s body count "puts the lie to [Biden’s claim that] these are non-violent offenders," according to a former federal prosecutor who handled her case.

[themenendezbrothers]

Useful links

Erik and Lyle's discipline record.

Confession tape transcripts.

Erik's C-File

Lyle's C-File

Ninth Circuit Appeals Court Brothers appeal the denial - Part One. Part Two.

Erik: 2nd trial - penalty phase - attorney's plea to the jury.

Lyle: 2nd trial - penatly phase - attorney's plea to the jury.

Erik's declaration || (Andy Cano letter/Roy Rosello)

Written by Erik "coming home"

Erik's letter to Andy Cano

The Menendez Family website Lyle Menendez's Essay - "I will change your verdict."

Erik Menendez Insight Statement

Lyle Menendez, Personal Rehabilitation Narrative.

Report and Recommendation 2003 (Erik)

Report and Recommendation 2003 (Lyle)

Habeas - May 3, 2023 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS - May 3, 2023

Resentencing memo one, two, three

Habeas

Request to Grant Clemency for Erik Menendez, CDCR #K14101

Request to Grant Clemency for Lyle Menendez, CDCR # K13758

Clemency 10/30/24

Justice For Erik and Lyle

Law Offices of Cliff Gardner

Los Angeles District Attorney

Attorney Mark Geragos on X

Ana Maria Baralt-TikTok

Ana Maria Baralt - Instagram

Robert Rand on X -

Robert Rand on Instagram

Hazel Thornton on Instagram

Lyle Menendez on Facebook

Rebecca on X

Tammi Menendez Instagram

Tammi Menendez on X

Talia Menendez IG

Robert Rand's Blog (menendezmurders.com)

Hazel Thornton You Tube Juror in Erik's jury in the 1st trial.

Court TV- (Trial) Menendez Trials on YouTube

The Menendez Brothers: The Official Companion Podcast  Netlfix - The Menendez Brothers Documentary.

Book - They Said We'd Never Make It - My Life With Erik Menendez (Tammi Menendez)

Book - Norma Novelli - The private diary of Lyle Menendez

[foreverlogical]

It long had seemed that the “stall” would be the worst thing the Supreme Court could do when it came to Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution. How naive.

Delay there will be. The six justices in the Republican-appointed supermajority held, “A former president is entitled to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his ‘conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.’” They added, “There is no immunity for unofficial acts.” Rather than make clear that trying to overthrow the Constitution’s peaceful transfer of power is not an official act, the justices send the whole matter back to trial judge Tanya Chutkan. Expect more consideration, more parsing, more rulings, more appeals. It will all likely end up at the Supreme Court again in a year, if the whole prosecution isn’t shut down entirely.

But damage to our system goes well beyond delay. Trump v. U.S. astounds in its implications. It grants the president the power of a monarch. Richard Nixon defended his conduct in Watergate, telling interviewer David Frost, “When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal.” Effectively, the Supreme Court’s supermajority has now enshrined that brazen claim.

To be clear, there are reasons to be nervous about prosecuting former chief executives, so some standards make sense. In this case, though, the Court has issued an instruction manual for future lawbreaking presidents: Make sure you conspire only with other government employees. You’ll never be held to account. 

What makes something an official act? “In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives,” the justices ruled. And a jury cannot learn about the other parts of a criminal conspiracy that may involve official acts.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not agree with this last critical point. She said that of course juries can consider the context of a criminal act. Neither Justice Samuel Alito (who flew insurrectionist flags outside his two homes) nor Justice Clarence Thomas (whose wife was on the Ellipse on January 6) recused themselves. They cast the deciding votes to keep from jurors the full story of the attempted overthrow of the Constitution. 

The founders said repeatedly that presidents have no special immunity, as a brief filed by the Brennan Center on behalf of top historians made plain. After all, that was one of the very things about the British monarchy that they hated and against which they rebelled.

Even more directly, this ruling undoes the restrictions on presidential abuse of power put in place by officials and jurists of both parties since the 1970s.

The imperial presidency described an age of growing executive authority and abuse of power. It came crashing to an end during Watergate and after revelations about the misuse of intelligence and law enforcement by Nixon’s predecessors.

The presidential immunity concocted today would have blessed most of Nixon’s crimes. Nixon ordered his White House counsel to pay hush money to burglars in an Oval Office meeting on March 21, 1973. Presumptively an official act? He dangled clemency before E. Howard Hunt, one of the conspirators. Use of the pardon power — entirely immune? He resigned when a tape revealed he had ordered the CIA to go to the FBI to end the investigation of the burglars sent by his campaign committee. “Play it tough,” he told his White House chief of staff. On its face, official.

What about other criminal cases involving high officials? In the Iran-Contra scandal of the late 1980s, numerous officials were charged (including the national security advisor and the defense secretary). Ronald Reagan faced no charges, but not because he was presumed immune. What if he did break the law — would he have escaped accountability? In 2001, federal prosecutors probed whether Bill Clinton sold pardons. They cleared him — but issuing a pardon is surely an official act.

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said it plainly: “Under [the majority’s] rule, any use of official power for any purpose, even the most corrupt purpose indicated by objective evidence of the most corrupt motives and intent, remains official and immune. Under the majority’s test, if it can be called a test, the category of Presidential action that can be deemed ‘unofficial’ is destined to be vanishingly small.” 

So, yes, all this will delay Trump’s trial. In that sense, he gets what he craved. But the implications are far worse for the structure of American self-government.

It is a massive failure for Chief Justice John Roberts. The other major rulings on presidential accountability for legal wrongdoing have been unanimous. U.S. v. Nixon (limiting executive privilege) was written by the Republican chief justice Nixon appointed, and it was unanimous. Clinton v. Jones (opening the president to civil suit even while in office) was unanimous. Let’s grant that Roberts is an institutionalist. He is presiding over the collapse of public trust in the very institution he purports to revere.

And Trump v. U.S. has enormous implications for the future of the presidency. Remember that utterly bonkers hypothetical from the appeals court argument — that a president could order SEAL Team Six to assassinate an opponent? Sotomayor again: “A hypothetical President who admits to having ordered the assassinations of his political rivals or critics . . . has a fair shot at getting immunity under the majority’s new Presidential accountability model.” 

We read sonorous language in the majority opinion that “the president is not above the law.” But just in time for Independence Day, the Supreme Court brings us closer to having a king again.