Federal judge blocks Texas' 6-week abortion ban

[MrsAxilla]

Federal judge issues order blocking Texas' 6-week abortion ban

"From the moment S.B. 8 went into effect, women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution," US District Judge Robert Pitman said in the decision, granting a request from the Justice Department, which brought the lawsuit.

MSNBC was raving about how solid the opinion is but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.  Link in the article.

[Pom]

Fuck all the way off, Greg Abbott.

[aurora]

I'm reading that Texas has already appealed, so there's a good chance this could see saw back and forth.

Still, a positive step.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Oct 6, 2021 21:25:44 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Federal judge issues order blocking Texas' 6-week abortion ban

"From the moment S.B. 8 went into effect, women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution," US District Judge Robert Pitman said in the decision, granting a request from the Justice Department, which brought the lawsuit.

MSNBC was raving about how solid the opinion is but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.  Link in the article.

I haven't read it all but the highlights I've read are pretty amazing.

[fortnightlily]

Oct 6, 2021 21:59:01 GMT -5 aurora said:

I'm reading that Texas has already appealed, so there's a good chance this could see saw back and forth.

Still, a positive step.

I imagine this was part of the intent, no? To make it provocative enough to try to get it challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court to give the Conservative justices the chance to overturn Roe.

[Susie]

The judge who wrote the opinion is an Obama appointment.  Well done sir.

I figured this decision was 100% going to be appealed, no matter which way it went.  It's nice that it went this way for now, but I'm worried about bigger picture.  If on appeal to the 5th circuit, Pitman is reversed and SB 8's constitutionality is upheld, will there be an appeal to SCOTUS?  Do you take the risk that SCOTUS could use it is a vehicle to gut Roe v. Wade?  Or do you leave the women of Texas without a basic healthcare need?  I could see SCOTUS deciding only on the issue of standing and not reaching the merits, but still.  I can't believe this is where we are as a country, that we need to worry about this.

[Susie]

Oct 7, 2021 11:19:59 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

Oct 6, 2021 21:59:01 GMT -5 aurora said:

I'm reading that Texas has already appealed, so there's a good chance this could see saw back and forth.

Still, a positive step.

I imagine this was part of the intent, no? To make it provocative enough to try to get it challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court to give the Conservative justices the chance to overturn Roe.

You mean the judge's intent in how he wrote the opinion?  No, I don't think so, he's an Obama appointee, and I have no reason to think he's trying to make it easier or create an opportunity for SCOTUS to overturn Roe.

[fortnightlily]

Oct 7, 2021 11:43:00 GMT -5 Susie said:

Oct 7, 2021 11:19:59 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

I imagine this was part of the intent, no? To make it provocative enough to try to get it challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court to give the Conservative justices the chance to overturn Roe.

You mean the judge's intent in how he wrote the opinion?  No, I don't think so, he's an Obama appointee, and I have no reason to think he's trying to make it easier or create an opportunity for SCOTUS to overturn Roe.

No, I meant the intent of the Texas law. I think they expected it to be challenged immediately so this isn't really a 'loss' for them. But still glad it's on hold.

[Susie]

Oct 7, 2021 11:53:39 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

Oct 7, 2021 11:43:00 GMT -5 Susie said:

You mean the judge's intent in how he wrote the opinion?  No, I don't think so, he's an Obama appointee, and I have no reason to think he's trying to make it easier or create an opportunity for SCOTUS to overturn Roe.

No, I meant the intent of the Texas law. I think they expected it to be challenged immediately so this isn't really a 'loss' for them. But still glad it's on hold.

The way it was drafted, evasion of judicial scrutiny was a big driver.  Interesting article on the drafter, who is a former Scalia law clerk:

www.nytimes.com/2021/09/12/us/politics/texas-abortion-lawyer-jonathan-mitchell.html

[wanderingback]

It is now back in affect unfortunately. We knew it wouldn’t last very long.

[basilosaurus]

Oct 8, 2021 21:15:38 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

It is now back in affect unfortunately. We knew it wouldn’t last very long.

Wait, what? How? Does the act of appeal negate the decision? I've followed various cases through the years, and the impression I get is there's a temporary block of a new law until it can be more definitively decided. I'm far from a legal scholar, but I've followed quite a few of these cases with just slightly more education than my l&o degree. 

[Bad Dingo]

Oct 9, 2021 2:12:00 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Oct 8, 2021 21:15:38 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

It is now back in affect unfortunately. We knew it wouldn’t last very long.

Wait, what? How? Does the act of appeal negate the decision? I've followed various cases through the years, and the impression I get is there's a temporary block of a new law until it can be more definitively decided. I'm far from a legal scholar, but I've followed quite a few of these cases with just slightly more education than my l&o degree. 

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58853859

[thedutchgirl]

There is already a case at the Supreme Court this year with a good chance of eating away at Roe. It’s an appeal of Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks.

It’s a more straightforward challenge than Texas’s law

Here’s one article about it. I do presentations through my firm every year about the previous Supreme Court term and previews of upcoming cases. This is one I am talking about right now

www.npr.org/2021/09/20/1038972266/supreme-court-date-roe-wade-dobbs-jackson-womens