This wasn’t just more than I had hoped for, it actually turned out to be more than I had even realized was possible. We all remember the basics of Florida’s new voting law, mail in ballot restrictions, drop box restrictions, early voting restrictions, and oh yeah, making giving food and water to people waiting in line a criminal act.
Well, fuck that noise. At least so sayeth Chief Florida federal district judge Mark Walker. With a passion. He not only came ready to rock, he brought the chips and beer with him. In a scathing 288 page ruling, Walker took Florida’s new law, rolled it up, wrapped it in duct tape, and then beat Florida Governor Ron Pissantis and the Florida legislature over the head with it.
The length and depth of the ruling are critical. Because the next stop is the much more conservative 11th circuit court of appeals. In going into minute detail on every issue, Walker is trying to make his ruling pretty much bulletproof on appeal. And one of the ways he tried to do that was by providing a detailed 40 year history of Florida GOP voting shenanigans.
And for 288 pages, Walker hammered home a two step polka, race and partisanship. He drew comparisons to features in the new law to similar past attempts that had been found unconstitutional. And he went through one-by-one and struck down almost every discriminatory item in the new law, removing the new restrictions.
And then he finished his ruling by doing something I didn’t even know was legally possible. He is clearly pissed off at the brazenness of Florida’s attempt to make voting more difficult for minorities. So he gave an order prohibiting the Florida legislature from making any changes to the protected items in his ruling for a period of 10 years without prior US court approval!
If that sounds somehow familiar, it should. It’s called pre-clearance, and it was a main pillar of the voting rights law that SCOTUS gutted several years ago. But in his ruling, a federal district court judge imposed his own pre clearance on Florida for being such a naughty monkey.
Two things to remember here. Time is not on Florida’s side. It’s already April 1st, my 19th anniversary. There’s little chance of getting the appeal on the docket and heard by the court before Florida’s primary elections, so it will likely be on hold. And whatever the outcome, even less chance of getting a hearing and ruling by SCOTUS before the November election. There is always the chance of a temporary stay on the judges ruling, but with 288 pages of legal logic, that becomes harder to pull off.
There are already similar lawsuits in motion in Georgia, Texas, and Arizona, and possibly other places as well. The speed and decisiveness with which Judge Walker moved gives them a gift. It’s called legal precedent, and this judges ruling is something that the plaintiffs in other cases can argue in their suits. This isn’t over by a long shot.
The law, like religion, is full of self serving posers, greedy, & hypocritical. However, when a true believer comes along & actually lives up to the ideals, it reminds all of us what is possible, & why it is vital. It only takes one person to make significant contributions for all of us. Let’s hope it stands & others follow.
My computer skills are limited and creating a short (less than 30 seconds) video is no more within my capabilities than flying/landing a high performance jet on an aircraft carrier. However if I could I’d use RBG’s comment in her dissent of Robert’s gutting of the VRA about taking away the umbrella during a pouring rain. The video would be of someone wearing a Voting Rights sign holding an umbrella as some people wearing masks of well known GOP types were “golden showering” (not graphic – maybe statues wearing the masks or with names written on them would do) and Roberts come striding along with a clerk holding a HUGE umbrella and snatching the one from the Voting Rights person – as the laughter rang down from those doing the golden showering. I bet it would go viral. And someone could rig a flatbed to drive as close as you can get to the Supreme Court building showing it so Roberts (and the other five Federalist Society Fascists) would know damn well what was out there. And those who cover the court would have the GUTS to ask them about it ON THE RECORD. And when Roberts or any of the others claim they hadn’t seen it or heard about it ask them (while still on the record) if they’d be willing to swear to it under oath! (Preferably with a camera rolling, or at least audio!)
Roberts has just been called out big time by a District Judge. What can he do? I want to see those who cover the Court HOUND his (Roberts’) ass mercilessly about this decision. Partly because he can’t answer as it’s something that will wind up before him. He and his cohorts can only sit there and take it.
Giggle and guffaw.Sounds like a truly annoyed judge. Maybe they shouldn’t have made their intentions so.obvious. The GA law is even.more obviously discriminatory with making giving a bottle of water to.someone in.line to.vote a crime. Is using the restroom.criminal.too?
Happy Belated Anniversary Joseph! Oh and excellent article as usual!