129 Comments

Thank you Joyce for holding hands with us so we can understand the legal ramifications of these many events. Speaking of understand, when I read you referring to "disco", I had a mental block for a sec ... all I could envision was John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever! Cue The Bee Gees!!!😂 Then it hit me! DISCOVERY!!! 🥳😀👍

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Me, too! Stayin’ alive!

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🎶 Whether you're a Brother Whether you're a Mother 🎶

🎶You're Stayin' ... 🎶

🎶 Watch ya doin' in your Bed? ...Ya should be Dancin'. Yeah🎶

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Thanks, Marian. My mental block lasted much longer than a second!

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Same here.

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Jun 26, 2023·edited Jun 26, 2023

Don’t forget ABBA, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Earth Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan, KC and the Sunshine Band, Sister Sledge, Kool and the Gang, and the band that seemed to carry the disco mantle; The Village People.

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E, W & Fire Groove Yourself: 🎶 Move yourself & glide like a 747 ... up in the sky ... heaven🎶

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Ah, those were the days! S.S.="We are Family"

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😀

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Remember John Travolta’s father in Saturday Night Fever? He kept slapping him in the head while they were at the dinner table. Maybe he should be the judge in the tRump cases 😂😂

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I was going to google it, then saw your post. Thank you!

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And there was THAT too! 😂

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This week will definitely be a busy one for the Justices. But two of them, at a minimum, will have only' July, August and September to jet around the world in private jets, to eat in 5-star restaurants, and to bed down in private luxury homes - - and not have to pay for a bit of it. Or even any taxes on this 'lifestyle of the top 1/100th of 1% '. Oh, the privation!! And if three months per year isn't enough for those two, perhaps they could decide to retire.

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And when they do retire will the "friends" that they have made while in SCOTUS slowly drift away or drop them like hot rocks?

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What do you think!? Those useful judges will serve no purpose for them if they can't sway the decisions of the court. That's why those immoral and religiously biased judges will hang on till they die or rot from dementia. Aside from speaking fees, there's really nothing else that would afford them those luxurious perks they have grown so accustomed to. They pay for those things with our liberties.

The choices of the judges in the highest court in the land need to be made with greater care and scrutiny. And lifetime appointments need to be abolished.

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Wait! Wait! I thought they had already been diagnosed with dementia. After all they seem to have lost the capacity to distinguish between constitutional law and religious dogma, not to mention $$$ vs integrity. 😥

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They know exactly what they are doing.

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For sure, they do. My comment was, of course, sarcastic.

The fact that they know is most disconcerting. Several of these justices and TFG’s cabinet along with some Congressional folks have been making speeches for the last several years, maybe decade, promoting the notion of stopping the secular society and returning to religious principles as they define them. Ugh.

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Sorry. hard to find humor in any of this.

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Those two justices would not consider retirement! What would they do without the SC? They wallow in the grand attention! No one is going to do anything!?! Those justices are important there! Their post is safe as safe can be! They even have security protection, and a big black car with driver! Feel the importance!

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Jun 26, 2023·edited Jun 26, 2023

JA, I still hold on to the hope that this situation will be rectified by holding them accountable for trading bogus judgements for profit. I don't know how, but it needs to happen.

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I don't see them retiring as their job seems to be printing money for themselves and their already super rich " buddies "

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We certainly live in interesting times. The last 7 years still feel surreal at times. Thank you, Joyce, for making everything easier to understand and track.

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Yes, a busy week! I am dreading the SCOTUS decisions. But, I have faith in the Eastman hearing!

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Joyce: what would be Smith’s thinking by laying out his entire case and full witness list to Trump? There is zero chance of a guilty plea; no chance of a flip for a deal! Or did he possibly think that was possible? If so, doesn’t that raise a question about DoJ’s political acumen as Trump would never-ever admit he was wrong to keep those docs in his personal office and even in his desk?

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Smith is required by law to furnish all Brady material and discovery to the defense. Secret witnesses and evidence are not permitted, to the best of my knowledge. This is not Kafka's court.

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founding

Jack Smith’s motion to have a CIPA conference is a tutorial on CIPA. Worthy of Joyce Vance!

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Agree but Smith went overboard it appears; most folks like Joyce were surprised!

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Unless you're Smith, prosecuting a case of the magnitude of this one where you're doing everything possible not to lose the case either on appeal or even before trial, neither Joyce nor anyone else can do more than make guesses.

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Certainly possible if not probable

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Jack Smith certainly understands Trump and his impetuous, undisciplined nature. Trump is a walking, squawking case of the Dunning Kruger Effect which stipulates that those that ain't smart ain't smart enough to know they ain't smart. The whole MAGA movement is a collective narcissism exercise whereby reality is perceived through one's own needs, necessitating highly personalized grievance and victimhood to explain why the world doesn't go along.

Having been a child co-dependent in a chaotic household, I understand the danger of retarded emotional development that once served to protect a child that is wholly inappropriate to adulthood. Most of us embrace the struggle to understand and move on, but Trumpism is a textbook exercise in immaturity. Instead of monsters under the bed we have a deep state that allows supporters to ignore the reality-based law and nuance in favor of a self-serving victim narrative, led by an emotionally childish parent figure who it is believed will end what is "unfair" quickly and decisively.

MAGA-ism can't be cured until members decide to fix themselves (not likely), otherwise they will dig in deeper to their narcissistic narrative. We must be thankful for Jack Smith as the only solution is not to vainly try to cure it, but to isolate it though ceasing to enable it and for enough voters to render it impotent. Just like McCarthyism 70 years ago.

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This why we need all the Trump's trials televised. To sow the seeds of doubt about Trump. To help those that who have not drunk enough kool-aid to decide for themselves.

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Jun 26, 2023·edited Jun 26, 2023

Thank you for the rundown of what to expect for court dates and procedures. It’s clear that any person, whether attorney, elected officials or assistants, end up in trouble if they are connected to tfg. We’ve all been warned since childhood to watch the company we keep. If tfg goes free and his protectors pay big time, this will be one more time he has slithered away. It’s time for tfg to pay for his crimes. And any possibility that TFG could run for any office while under investigation seems insane. Isn’t one way to prevent him from running for President again to charge and convict him for Treason ? A longshot.

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It is a shame that Walt Nauta does not have a trusted friend or family member who has the insight to tell him he is being set up by tfg. He is blinded by a loyalty to an unworthy individual, who will sell him out in a second. The trump attorney representing Nauta is conflicted and is working to protect trump by advising Nauta to not flip and trump will take care of him always. Flipping is his only way to avoid significant jail time. He is DOA if he continues on this path and just cannot see the risk of attaching himself to a grifter.

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I think attorneys for the Georgia fake electors were called out on not offering their clients a deal that was offered. It will be interesting to know if that happens again with Nauta and his free attorneys.

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Walt is an adult and makes his own choices, and he’s likely to experience the federal prison system because of his choices, it makes you wonder about the people our Navy is producing. Can you even imagine being someone’s valet, not to mention the insipid imbecile’s, just look at the photo of him adjusting the clown’s collar, it’s pathetic.

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Sometimes the obvious is not what is really going on, IMHO.

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Thank you Ms Vance. your thoughts in Civil Discourse are the highlight of my day. I've given up speculating on what decisions this Supreme Court will make on anything. The only reliable decisions come from Kagan, Ketanji Brown, and Sotomayor. The other 6 are a flip of the coin. Maybe which side of the bed they roll from. Trump is more reliable, whatever the more illegal, unlawful, or unethical course will be the one he takes. He views the law in two lights: If he gets his way and it pleases him it's good. If he is held responsible for anything, it's bad.

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I think that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is having an influence on the conservative members of the court in certain kinds of cases. Not sure what yet, but I see her as the new element that made our last case different. Imagine if you think you are just and the only Black person in the court, is telling you that people with his skin color do not matter, and he is your example of what some Black people want, and he is the only Black person you have talked to perhaps your entire life. Now enter Ketanji Brown Jackson with an entirely different point of view and suddenly you have to recognize that there are other ways to think than that of Injustice Thomas of how Black people should be treated. It is going to get harder to justify your racist positions when you have someone you work with presenting a different side. I imagine she has a strong voice because the evidence would be the last unexpected ruling protecting voting rights in which she is the new dynamic on the courts. She might have swayed InJustice Roberts, and InJustice Kavanaugh. I recently wrote InJustice Roberts telling him he should resign and ask JusticesThomas, Alito and Gorsuch for the appearance of being corrupt and its negative effect on the legitimacy of the courts. After that I read that Barrett also engaged in unethical behavior because she sold her home to a conservative group that appeared before the court. We can imagine that she might have gotten more money than the house was worth. One can see Justice Brown Jackson has been presenting a different opinion right from the beginning.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ketanji-brown-jackson-in-dissent-issues-first-supreme-court-opinion

Then the Supreme Court ruled in favor of keeping Native American children within their tribe for adoption. There the majority ruled with Justice Brown Jackson too, but one cannot help but wonder whether she helped influence that.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-rejects-race-based-challenge-native-american-adoption-law-2023-06-15/

The only holdouts being InJustices Thomas and Alito. Those two are in a special category of evil. So, I am interested to see her influence on the court, because she represents the change we want to see on the court.

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More like whose bed they're sleeping in.

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Thank you Joyce for keeping us informed. You are our guiding light to Justice.

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Mmmmmm.... Trump hangs himself. that's be a sight worth seeing.

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or stands in the middle of 5th Avenue and SHOOTS himself.

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Wouldn’t he just have a lackey do it for him?

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And, that would guarantee martyrdom?

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Depends on staging and blocking. Its all about appearsnces

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I'm good with that.

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Poor tree

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Vulgar! Plus demeaning for Nauta. After all . . .

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I really did laugh out loud.

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Some mornings I wake up + Google Breaking News to see if dfg has died overnight due to his disgusting diet & the stress of convictions, pending mega trials he faces, etc. I want him to live a long life in prison.

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I'm fine with whatever removes him from the scene.

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Thanks Joyce. I hope new ethics laws are being entertained for SCOTUS. And shouldn’t we have some kind of ethics provisions in Congress for how members perform their duties that have nothing to do with working on new laws but instead waste everyone’s time with nonsensical blathering? What I’m worried about now is the plans 45 is plotting to overthrow the next election because we all know it will be Biden and TFG in 2024. Those classified docs that 45 probably still has may play a big part. I’m just sayin’. A heavy week to keep up with. Your explaining with so much clarity what we need to know ahead of it helps us stay afloat. Thanks again 🗽🇺🇸

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It’s time for the legal repercussions of Trump and his equally deluded buddies’ actions to bear legal fruit in the form of prosecution and preferably prison time.

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I'm exhausted.

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Is there a specific reason why you pointed out that the defendant in the Idaho murder case was being represented by a Public Defender. Some of the most talented criminal defense attorneys are Public Defenders and many in private practice started out and got their training as Public Defenders. He’s lucky he’s not being defended by some publicity seeking hack who tries to put on a good show to garner publicity for themself.

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Due process, Gideon v Wainwright. And. Yes, Public Defenders do provide effective assistance to the Defendant. Note, all Defendant's Counsel cannot be as good as John Adams defending Red Coats. More in this tbread throughout this week. Check SCOTUSblog.com for Live feeds.

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founding

Speechless and heavy hearted.... Vote Vote Vote 💙💙💙

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Besides celebrating my 75th with family on the 29th of June, this is a full week of Trump related litigation and writing for me. I will stay away from SCOPUS decisions at least until after they occur if at all.

I do have a few thoughts related to Smith v. Trump and his valet---In my mind the government with the disco and its guide to follow the evidence was great intimidation at least for the defense counsel, if not Trump. As for plenty of rope for Trump to hang himself that is the interesting question to me--will Trump have the ability to contain himself. He never has done so before and yet not any peeps from him on this so far.

As for Eastman's disbarment trial, here is my Salon piece from the weekend:

https://www.salon.com/2023/06/24/coup-memo-lawyer-may-face-disbarment--but-thats-the-least-of-john-eastmans-problems/.

According to my older brother who before retiring from the law had more than 40 years of litigating experience in California, the California Bar Court --apparently the only one in the US --- has a history of leniency as well as not a whole lot of respect from members of the California Bar. Although in this instance, Eastman should be permanently disbarred if the court wants some kind of respect or credibility, it will reach the same kind of decision that Chapman University's Law School did, when he was immediately fired from his 20 plus years of professing at the first opportunity.

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founding

Liked your Salon article. Thanks

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