Why the Supreme Court Rebuked the Trump Administration’s Quest for Speedy Executions

Trump people obviously want to be able to give their supporters thrills by doing executions on the run up to next year's elections.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/12/supreme-court-executions-trump-justice-department.amp

By Mark Joseph Stern
Dec 07, 20191:20 PM

On Friday night, the Supreme Court finally ran out of patience with the Trump Administration’s attempts to circumvent the appellate process in search of quick victory. With no noted dissents, the justices refused to set aside a district court decision that blocked the execution of four federal prisoners. Attorney General William Barr had hoped to kill these individuals in December and January. He will now have to wait for them to exhaust their appeals.

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Put differently, the Justice Department told the Supreme Court that it would be “irreparably injured” if it could not execute four men in the next few weeks. The notion that these prisoners’ continued existence somehow injures the federal government is bizarre. So is the DOJ’s attempt to end this case by killing the prisoners before they have a chance to argue their case in circuit court. Can the Justice Department really run to SCOTUS and get permission to execute inmates while they are actively pursuing their rights under law?

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On Friday, however, the Supreme Court finally drew the line. The court denied the DOJ’s request for a stay pending appeal in a two-sentence order noting: “We expect that the Court of Appeals will render its decision with appropriate dispatch.” Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, wrote a snitty statement explaining why he believes the DOJ will ultimately win. (He also pointed out “the prisoners’ 17-attorney legal team,” a gratuitous dig at the lawyers fighting fiercely for the rule of law.) But even these conservative justices had to acknowledge that, “in light of what is at stake, it would be preferable for the District Court’s decision to be reviewed on the merits by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit before the executions are carried out.” (No justice publicly dissented.)

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