Harvard's Laurence Tribe ( @tribelaw) joined Jim to talk about the Supreme Court, and the 2016 election.
Tribe said that the court is doing its job, and doing its best. However, with the court divided four to four, it means that some lower court decisions will have the last word. "An eight justice court cannot be allowed to become the new normal," he said. Tribe said that Merrick Garland would be a great justice, and deserves a most serious deliberation.
They discussed the partisan nature of supreme court nominations. Tribe said that both sides are going to try to have their side with a majority, and he doesn't see a way to get out of it. "Grownups have to play a larger role in the process," he said. Tribe said that Clinton will take into account whether she can nominate someone who could generate consensus. It's no longer likely that the GOP will win, said Tribe. He said it's unconstitutional to not nominate a justice, however no court can force the senate to do its responsibility.
Tribe said it is dangerous that Trump is going to hold us all in suspense. He said that every candidate in history has said they will accept the result of the election, and it is outrageous and dangerous for Trump to say otherwise. Tribe said that Trump's theory, with angry people supporting it with assassination threats, leads to a formula akin to a civil war.
On Trump's legal threats to his accusers of sexual assault, Tribe said that he will represent anybody that Trump tries to bully. He said that while he doesn't believe anyone should compare anyone to Hitler, Hitler threatened and carried out threats of suing critics.
They discussed previous court decisions that could be affected by this election. Tribe said that Citizens United could change under a Clinton presidency. He said that Row v. Wade would be on the chopping block under Trump. There are things we take for granted that could be overturned, he said.
