Here’s a Little Information About President Trump’s Supreme Court Pick

Current Events

This week President Trump nominated Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Here is a little about Judge Gorsuch and some noteworthy opinions he has issued:

  • He is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
  • He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Law from Oxford University.
  • He clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy.
    • Justice White is noteworthy for dissenting in the Roe v. Wade abortion decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Justice Kennedy is noteworthy for writing the Planned Parenthood v. Casey abortion decision and the 2015 Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
    • This matters, because some people believe looking at who an attorney clerked for after law school is one way to gauge his or her judicial philosophy.
  • President George W. Bush nominated him to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006.  He was confirmed on a voice vote by the U.S. Senate, because his nomination was not deemed controversial.
  • As a federal judge, Neil Gorsuch has issued opinions in favor of religious liberty in lawsuits like the Hobby Lobby case.
  • In 2007 he wrote a dissenting opinion in the Pleasant Grove City v. Summum case. In it he argued it was constitutional for a city to display a donated monument of the Ten Commandments on public property without displaying other monuments. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed.
  • In 2009 he authored the book The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, in  which he analyzed the arguments in favor of euthanasia and assisted suicide, but ultimately provided strong arguments against these practices.

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Notable Bills Filed at the Legislature So Far

Abortion, Home School, Legislature, Marijuana, , ,

We’ve been busy at the Arkansas Capitol Building. Below is a list of some of the notable bills that have been filed at the Arkansas Legislature so far.

Pro-Life

  1. H.B. 1032 (Act 45 of 2016). This good, pro-life bill prohibits some dismemberment abortion procedures–such as the D&E and sharp curettage procedures, in which a living, unborn baby is dismembered. The bill passed the Arkansas Legislature and was recently signed into law by Governor Asa Hutchinson.
  2. S.B. 148. This good, pro-life bill protects babies who survive an abortion from being denied medical treatment, and it ensures doctors and nurses provide reasonable medical care and nourishment to any infant born in Arkansas.
  3. H.B. 1185. This bill makes it easier for the State to give a death certificate to a baby that is miscarried or stillborn. It reinforces the fact that unborn children are people, and that their deaths should be treated the same as anyone else’s.

Home Schooling

  1. S.B. 112. This bill lets home schoolers and private school families deduct certain education costs from their income taxes.
  2. H.B. 1208. This bill clarifies that home schoolers and private school students can enroll in academic courses at their local public schools if their public school district is willing to enroll them. This practice is currently permitted primarily through state rules and regulations. H.B. 1208 writes it into state law.

Marijuana

  1. H.B. 1391. This good bill makes it easier for local municipalities to zone and regulate marijuana farms and marijuana stores.
  2. H.B. 1392. This good bill effectively prohibits the commercial production or sale of marijuana edibles, but lets marijuana cardholders and caregivers mix marijuana with food or drink to aid ingestion. This means a marijuana dispensary would not be able to sell gummy bears or candy bars infused with marijuana–many of which look like ordinary candy–but marijuana users would still be permitted to mix marijuana with food or drink at home.
  3. H.B. 1400. This good bill prohibits marijuana smoking. Smoking is a recreational activity. It is not medicine–in fact, smoking is universally recognized as harmful to a person’s health. Marijuana smoke contains many of the same carcinogens as tobacco smoke, and secondhand marijuana smoke is dangerous for children. As marijuana proponents pointed out time and again last year, smoking is not the only way a person can use so-called “medical marijuana.” With that in mind, this bill prohibits marijuana smoking in Arkansas.
  4. S.B. 238. This good bill amends the deadlines and timetables in the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment to delay implementation of the state’s medical marijuana program until marijuana is legalized at the federal level. Right now, marijuana growers, sellers, and users can be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws even though Arkansas’ constitution says marijuana is legal. S.B. 238 solves this problem by effectively delaying implementation of the state’s marijuana program until federal law allows it.
  5. S.B. 130. This bill clarifies that a person will be considered “under the influence” of marijuana if a test shows he or she has 5 nanograms or more of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) per milliliter of blood. Right now Arkansas medical marijuana amendment does not define “under the influence of marijuana,” and law enforcement does not have a clear means by which to determine if a driver is impaired by marijuana.

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Bill Filed to Delay Marijuana Amendment Implementation

Marijuana

Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway) has filed legislation delaying implementation of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment until marijuana has been legalized at the federal level.

Currently, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment orders the State of Arkansas to begin authorizing and allowing the “medical” use of marijuana despite the fact that marijuana cultivation, sales, and possession are illegal under federal law. S.B. 238 delays the “medical marijuana” program in Arkansas until marijuana’s legal status changes under federal law.

Right now there is no question Arkansas’ marijuana amendment and related laws and programs blatantly violate federal law. Sen. Rapert’s bill puts these programs on hold until federal law changes, making it possible for Arkansas to move forward with a marijuana program that does not fundamentally violate laws established by Congress.

You can read S.B. 238 here.

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