ajaMD
3.3K posts

ajaMD
@AlanAnnenberg
Retired and rewired vascular surgeon




I just listened live to today's Supreme Court hearing. Pretty fascinating. My take: the literal reading of the 14th Amendment with conventional interpretations favors the defense So the case will hinge on the Justices' modern interpretation of the terms "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" and "domicile" One thing that struck me as odd/vulnerable in the defense's argument. She put forth that the framers of the 14th Amendment created a "closed ring" of exemptions (diplomats, Native Americans, etc) AND THEN said there can never be any more exemptions than these EVER -- even if Congress votes unanimously to add a new one Seems non-sensical to me to place such an eternal constraint on an issue that has been argued multiple times in past centuries. If the Justices' think so, too, then that opens the door to modern interpretation. When it comes to the issue of the flood of illegal immigrants, the defense's position is pretty much: "We don't care if it's good or bad for the country. The 14th Amendment guarantees their kids are US citizens". This does raise the question: if a law, even a Constitutional Amendment, is deemed to no longer serve the national interest, shouldn't there be a process for changing it?









Oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara -- the critical birthright citizenship case -- commence. Solicitor General D. John Sauer begins by explaining what "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" means. And he lays out the perverse incentives and outcomes the misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment has created.






Justice KBJ: "If I steal a wallet in Japan, I am subject to Japanese laws….. in a sense, it's allegiance." Her case for birthright citizenship:



















