There are days, indeed, eras, where 5-4 is a "we'll take it" decision.
The Supreme Court presses pause on the Citizenship question on the Census. And it depends entirely on the "competence" of the Trump administration (yeah) to come up with a "reasonable" excuse for it. For now, their reasons are "contrived and not reasonable, according to John Roberts himself. Neal Katyal is celebrating:
NEAL KATYAL: The decision says that Trump's reasons and Secretary Ross's reasons for adding the citizenship question were quote, "contrived and not reasonable." That's a pretty huge statement to come from the Supreme Court of the United States and the Chief Justice writing that opinion. That's the first thing I'd say. And the second is, let's take it beyond the census: this is a pretty pivotal moment in our democracy. I think a lot of Americans are concerned about the rule of law and what this administration is doing. And this Supreme Court today sent a clear shot warning to everyone that when Trump does this, when he makes up stuff, when he has pretextual reasons, they're going to stand up and they are going to police it. It's a really proud day for our democracy and for our federal judiciary.
