“They could have just declined the case” is the overly simplistic but misleading version of Supreme Court law and practice being fed to laypersons by many celebrity television commentators who were rushed on air to breathlessly critique the Court’s grant of certiorari to Donald Trump’s presidential immunity petition.
But they’re not telling you the whole story.
Yes, the Court COULD have declined to take the case. But that’s only part of the story. Among the things the talking heads aren’t telling you is what would happen if the Court DIDN’T take the case.
I understand the author’s points. And if the general public felt that this Supreme Court was fair and apolitical, I would agree with her. But at least one judge is openly corrupt and taking bribes, and nothing is being done about it. And a majority of this court doesn’t seem to care about precedent anymore. How can we possibly give them the benefit of the doubt anymore?