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EOLDN, SCOTUS & "One City, One Book"

Notes by Sharon Jarrett

Before the discussion began, a participant mentioned the formation of the Election Officials Legal Defense Network by Ben Ginsburg and Bob Bauer. Ginsburg is the former Chief Counsel to the Republican National Convention and Bauer is a founding member and former Executive Director of Common Cause.

The organization was formed to provide legal assistance to election officials who are threatened or harassed in the performance of their duties. The organization web site is www.EOLDN.org.

The group next began discussing the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. A participant referenced a recent op ed piece by LZ Granderson in the LA Times in which he reviews the non standard documentation being recommended in the case of this nomination. Participants agreed that Judge Brown Jackson was well qualified and had excellent training and experience for the position.

Overall, the group felt she would be confirmed but that it would likely be unnecessarily unpleasant.

The participants then took a turn and discussed the invasion of Ukraine for a period of time.  

When they returned to the discussion of the Supreme Court, a question was raised about the format and size of the Court. The following items were discussed:

• reviewing the process to impeach a member, this was discussed in relation to diminished mental capacity in light of a life time appointment 
• establishment of an age limit for service after which a member would need to retire
• establishment of a term limit...eight to twelve years were discussed
• expansion of the number of members in order to ensure the Court better represented the population as a whole at any given time
• rotating members of the Appeals Court onto the Supreme Court to hear cases. This would have the double benefit of allowing the Court to hear more cases and to have the panels better represent the population.

After the discussion, a participant mentioned the One City, One Book program in Pasadena. The Winter selection is "In the Country of Women" by Susan Straight. The book is a collection of short stories about the female ancestors of the author and her husband. The book was written for the couple's three daughters and details the hardships of a white, poor, immigrant family and the experiences of the descendants of enslaved ancestors.

The March 18th meeting will feature a speaker from Coming to the Table, Pasadena. Wilson Bell and Allison Thomas, leader of the local chapter of Coming to the Table, will be speaking to us. The meeting will begin at Noon PST.