Brennan Center at NYU Law | Used-to-be: Policy Director for Senator Amy Klobuchar + the Senate Rules Committee | VP @ Common Cause | Sr. Counsel to Representative Zoe Lofgren + House Admin Committee Dems | Special Counsel at the FEC | opinions are my own 🏳️‍🌈https://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3myq7lpkvkk2oFresh air in Shenandoah this weekend with dear friends. 🍁🍂25 Oct 2026 22:03 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3myq7lpkvkk2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3myfr2ewenc2xExtraordinary language from Justice Kagan last night. She said SCOTUS has: —“Depriv[ed] masses of citizens” of the right to equality in voting. —Created a “nightmare” with the money it has unleashed in our elections. The kicker: she said that she misses the “kind of legitimacy” SCOTUS once had. https://wapo.st/4BhLsBx21 Oct 2026 18:16 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3myfr2ewenc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3myfirrcdz22bCandidates and political groups have spent more than $137M in AI-generated ads. Researchers analyzed 220 ads, and found that nearly half contained AI-generated depictions of politicians, and about 70 percent had no disclaimer whatsoever. 1/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/us/politics/midterm-elections-ai-generated-ads.html21 Oct 2026 15:48 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3myfirrcdz22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mx7x4z2f7k23What’s changed at the Supreme Court over time—and what does that tell us about Supreme Court term limits? Explore 3 new interactive tools from @brennancenter.org that dig into the data. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/3-charts-show-need-supreme-court-term-limits06 Oct 2026 17:24 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mx7x4z2f7k23https://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mwwk5ufyrc2jExactly one month out from an election that will decide who controls the U.S. Senate -- the chamber every judicial nominee needs to clear -- Justice Alito confirms in a television interview that he is considering retirement from the high court. 1/ https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/02/alito-supreme-court-retirement-0110578902 Oct 2026 23:38 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwwk5ufyrc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mwvhjpt4ac2uNew piece for the @brennancenter.org by Kermit Roosevelt: How to Fix the Supreme Court’s Design Flaw History suggests that giving each president equal influence over the Court’s makeup could produce a healthier institution. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-fix-supreme-courts-design-flaw02 Oct 2026 13:18 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwvhjpt4ac2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mwqgbdkmrs2nI spoke with @axios.com about the Trump administration’s unprecedented use of the shadow docket to get SCOTUS to revive presidential policies that lower-court judges—including judges appointed by presidents of both parties—have found likely unlawful. https://www.axios.com/2026/09/29/trump-supreme-court-shadow-docket-41-applications30 Sep 2026 13:12 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwqgbdkmrs2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mwq6cv6iv22nFriendly reminder that Senator Klobuchar’s father was a sportswriter for the StarTrib and she literally wrote a book on the Metrodome. She knows sports and facts. 🏀✅30 Sep 2026 10:50 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwq6cv6iv22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mwm4wetky22mToday the Trump administration hit a new milestone. It filed its 41st application on the Supreme Court's shadow docket. Forty-one. That's how many it filed during the president's *entire* first term.28 Sep 2026 20:15 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwm4wetky22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mwa2jarfms2iCongressional Women’s Softball Game live on @c-span.bsky.social 🥎24 Sep 2026 00:59 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwa2jarfms2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mvqtopxocc2oNEW: Today Marquette released fresh September polling on SCOTUS. Public approval continues to decline. 📉 But support for Supreme Court term limits remains strong & resilient at 79 percent—including supermajorities of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. https://today.marquette.edu/2026/09/marquette-law-school-poll-finds-approval-of-united-states-supreme-court-declines-from-47-to-43/17 Sep 2026 23:47 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvqtopxocc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mvoslkxfas2xSomething the House of Representatives spent time on today before leaving until mid-November. 🦖🦕17 Sep 2026 04:22 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvoslkxfas2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mvlz47p3rk2aNew Hampshire’s Chief Justice resigned today—the result of an investigation done pursuant to transparent, enforceable judicial ethics rules. By contrast, SCOTUS—the highest court in the land—has no such rules. That must change. https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2026-09-15/nh-chief-justice-gordon-macdonald-resigns-amid-ethics-probe-newhampshire-supreme-court16 Sep 2026 01:41 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvlz47p3rk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mvj5yk2jws2vGreat to join @katieleebarlow.bsky.social to discuss the @brennancenter.org’s recent report on the barrage of threats that federal judges and their families are facing at a time of democracy under strain. District court judges in particular are on the front lines of upholding our Constitution.14 Sep 2026 22:30 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvj5yk2jws2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mvbn2lu3hk2z“Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”—Mr. Rogers11 Sep 2026 22:39 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvbn2lu3hk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3muz4vorkxc2tThe Supreme Court has had its own building for only about 91 years. Kind of remarkable, when you think about it. Congress otherwise loaned the Court space in the Capitol, most recently the Old Senate Chamber.08 Sep 2026 13:28 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3muz4vorkxc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3muienfz6g22aThe AP covers the important research @brennancenter.org published this week about the barrage of threats and intimidation aimed at federal judges. Long term, there really can be a danger to the rule of law, as @gowriramachandran.bsky.social discusses below. https://abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/us-judges-reveal-panic-buttons-private-security-chilling-13612566601 Sep 2026 21:32 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3muienfz6g22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mugadadhdc2aThe @washingtonpost.com just covered a major new report that the @brennancenter.org published today. We interviewed 35 sitting & retired federal judges. What they told us was chilling: judges and their families are facing a barrage of threats to their safety. This must be addressed. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Sep 2026 01:09 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mugadadhdc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mtwlq2ywis2fYes, the Supreme Court appears to be explaining itself more than it used to on select shadow docket cases. No, it does not mean all is well at One First Street NE. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/us/politics/supreme-court-trump-emergency-shadow-docket.html25 Aug 2026 19:51 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtwlq2ywis2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mtungqi73k27Here's what happened today at SCOTUS re: voting ⬇️ [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Aug 2026 01:16 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtungqi73k27https://bsky.app/profile/stevespaulding.bsky.social/post/3mtu2eity622uExcellent profile by the @newyorker.com's Margaret Talbot on the Chief Justice, including the reminder that he was once a strong proponent of term limits for federal judges so that they'd "not lose all touch with reality." https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/08/17/john-roberts-profile24 Aug 2026 19:34 +0000at://did:plc:m5rd36msfoqlm4o7afm4f2ch/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtu2eity622u