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Wake Up To Politics - October 3, 2014

Thursday, October 2, 2014
29 Days Until Election Day 2014
764 Days Until Election Day 2016
Supreme Court News

  • “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!”: Supreme Court Return for New Term Today is the first Monday in October, and that means the Supreme Court of the United States is back in town, ready to tackle cases in a Term.
  • The Associated Press has a roundup of some of this Term’s hot cases, with issues ranging from mistaken traffic stops to prison beards to redistricting to the Israeli capital controversy, social media, discrimination, and more.
  • But the most-watched issue at the Supreme Court this term isn’t even on the docket: gay marriage. This is John Roberts’ 10th Term as Chief Justice, and it is the Supreme Court’s fifth with the same justices, a five-member conservative majority which has been a champion for the right.
  • The Roberts Court has, however, strayed to the left-wing on gay marriage, making history with a ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013. The court will have many chances in the upcoming weeks to take on appeals from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin, where same-sex marriage bans are being struck down. Any one of these appeals could be heard by the top court, which could end in ruling there is constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
  • As always, the two justices to watch if a case on gay marriage were to emerge would be Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy. For the former, this could be a legacy-sealer on his 10th year on the court, a chance to become the Earl Warren of gay marriage; the latter, while conservative, has penned some of the court’s key decisions on the issue.
  • At precisely 10:00 AM Eastern Time, the Marshal of the Court will announce the entrance of the Justices into the courtroom. Those present will rise as a gavel is sounded, and the robed justices take their seats with the traditional chant dating back centuries: “The Honorable, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!”

White House Watch

  • The President’s Schedule At 11:30 AM, President Obama will meet with financial regulators to discuss new rules governing Wall Street.
  • At 3:05 PM, the President will be briefed on the Ebola outbreak by his national security team, as a man with the disease fights for his life in Dallas.
  • Finally, at 5:35 PM, Obama will speak at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser.
  • Biden’s Day Vice President Joe Biden will head to Los Angeles today to headline a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) fundraiser for Democratic women in Congress. Biden will be joined at the event by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Grammy Award-winning singer Carole King will perform. The fundraiser, which costs up to $32,400 per couple, will be held at the home of film executive Jim Gianoulos and his wife Ann.

Question of the Day

  • Today’s Question What was the first Supreme Court case to find an Act of Congress unconstitutional?
  • For newer subscribers: this is the column where I print an occasional trivia question related to the day’s news. It is not a rhetorical question J: please answer it by emailing me to wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com or tweeting me (@WakeUp2Politics)!
  • Good luck! Winners’ names will be posted with the answer in tomorrow’s Wake Up!
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