Good morning. The suspect in the killing of a Minnesota lawmaker is now in custody. That’s first. Then, we take a look at the independence of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Plus, we have the latest on the Israel-Iran conflict and tourism protests in Europe.
The two-day manhunt that rattled Minnesota is over: Last night, the authorities arrested a man suspected of assassinating a state lawmaker and shooting another. The suspect, Vance Boelter, 57, surrendered near his home in a rural area southwest of Minneapolis, according to a deputy police chief, after a resident spotted him on a trail camera and officers used a drone to track him as he crawled through an area with thick shrub. The police believe Boelter to be the gunman who killed Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, then, in a separate attack, wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. Boelter had a notebook that mentioned about 70 potential targets, which included politicians and Planned Parenthood centers, officials said. He is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
Two years ago, while reporting a story about how the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion, I discovered something surprising about Justice Amy Coney Barrett. In a secret internal vote about whether to hear the case, she had voted no. This was unexpected. President Trump appointed Barrett to cinch a 50-year conservative legal revolution. A mother of seven, she is on the record as an abortion opponent. And she voted for the ultimate verdict in Dobbs v. Jackson, overturning the federal right to abortion. But her initial reluctance about the case was a clue that Barrett is a more independent figure than the stalwart that many on the right or the left believed her to be. With much of Trump’s agenda headed to the court eventually, she’s not necessarily the safe vote he wants. She is the Republican appointee who has voted most often against Trump’s position. I spent this spring interviewing Barrett’s friends and colleagues as well as people from the court; examining her many years of speeches; and, with the help of scholars, analyzing her voting record. Read the full story. Here are some of the things I learned. Leftward driftBarrett is changing, and a new analysis of her record shows how. She has become the Republican-appointed justice most likely to be in the majority in decisions that reach a liberal outcome.
Or take cases in which liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan voted together. In Barrett’s first term, she was aligned with them only 39 percent of the time (this was in nonunanimous cases for which the justices heard arguments). This term she was aligned with them 82 percent of the time. But Justice Barrett is still very conservative. She helped end federal affirmative action and expand gun rights. When she breaks for the liberal side, it’s rarely in a marquee case. Opposing TrumpSo far, Barrett’s record on Trump-related votes is short but suggestive. Usually, justices show what scholars call “appointment bias,” leaning slightly in favor of the presidents who install them on the bench. Emergency orders are tentative, and not every vote is disclosed. But she has gone in the other direction. Trump has privately complained about her, according to two people familiar with his thinking. On a podcast this spring, Mike Davis, a close Trump ally who once clerked for Justice Neil Gorsuch, tore into her in such crude terms that Gorsuch later called to reprimand him, according to people aware of the exchange. Differences with a colleagueDifferences between Barrett and Justice Samuel Alito arose in her earliest days on the court. In the first major argument she heard, he tried to expand the role of religion in public life. She declined to go along. Next, he wanted to overturn the Affordable Care Act; she voted no on procedural grounds. Alito wanted to hear the abortion case, and she didn’t. In a patent case later that term, they wrote dueling dissents both claiming that Justice Scalia would have favored their positions. For five years, that debate has continued about how far and how fast to go. Alito, 75, is in a hurry to take advantage of the six-seat conservative majority. Barrett, who at 53 is likely to have a long future at the court, is cautious and controlled. He barely disguises his annoyance when the other conservatives don’t go along with him, and he sometimes vents in epically long opinions. After Barrett’s second term, her agreement on outcomes with Alito slid from 80 percent to 62 percent. A justice without a teamOn the court, Barrett sits somewhat apart from the others. Her signature move is joining only slices of her colleagues’ opinions, agreeing with some bits but not others. Even when she agrees with the supermajority, she sometimes argues some of the justices took the wrong route. (One person from the court called her the Hermione Granger of the conservatives, telling the men they’re doing it wrong.) Barrett, a longtime academic, initially wasn’t sure she wanted to be a judge. She still calls herself “a law professor to my bones.” Among the nine members of the court, she is the least experienced judge and the youngest. The one justice not educated at Harvard or Yale, she is a foreigner to the power-player Beltway posts that shaped most of the others. In speeches, she has told striking, and sometimes personal, stories about family, faith, the law and the enormous transition she has been through. Read some excerpts here.
Some of the most consequential decisions of this term still loom. Abbie VanSickle, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains what to look for. If it’s late June, we reporters who cover the Court are on high alert, prepping for major rulings before the official end of the term. This week, we expect some decisions to be announced on Wednesday — and possibly Friday. There are about 20 outstanding cases; here are the five major ones we’re watching. Health care for trans youth: Tennessee barred doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to minors (as did 25 other states). The ruling turns on the Constitution’s equal protection clause and may have broad implications for how gender identity fits into it. Birthright citizenship: The case appears to be about Trump’s executive order ending the longstanding concept that any child born in the U.S. is automatically a citizen. But the arguments are all about “nationwide injunctions” — when or whether a single federal judge should be allowed to temporarily block something from taking effect across the whole country. Congressional redistricting: Did Louisiana focus too much on race in drafting a new voting map that includes two majority-Black House districts? The decision could reshape the balance of power in Congress. Internet porn: Texas (along with 17 other states) has tried to limit access to sexual material for those under 18. The challengers say this violates the First Amendment. L.G.B.T.Q. in the classroom: After Maryland added books with queer themes to its curriculum, some families sued. The justices will decide whether those with religious objections must be allowed to opt out of class discussions. Check out our tracker for more detail, including polling on the issues and how the justices have voted on the cases decided so far.
Israel-Iran Conflict
More on the Middle East
Immigration
More on the Trump Administration
International
Other Big Stories
The government’s refusal to allow citizens to oppose its anti-immigrant policies feels like it imperils the worth of our citizenship, Dara Lind writes. Here are columns by Margaret Renkl on a civil rights museum and David French on Trump’s polling. Save up to 75% on Games. Our best offer won’t last. Add some play to your day with Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, the Crossword and more. Subscribe to New York Times Games and save up to 75% on your first year — get full access to our puzzle archives, play ad free in the app, use tools to help you improve and more.
Big Cheers for No. 14: Thousands of Catholic Chicagoans gathered at the home of the White Sox to celebrate the election of Pope Leo XIV. Low-key charm: Bali is among Indonesia’s most famous tourist stops. Sumba is its perfect foil. |
