ED MORRISSEY Sep 14, 2021 3:01 PM ET
At least two court members see the need to dial down the hysteria over the Texas decision, which is at least grounded in precedent and law. The ruling itself strongly implied that the plaintiffs in this case had insufficient standing for a temporary restraining order, and that there was nothing yet to restrain anyway. There are cases already percolating in Austin that would resolve both issues if the respondents can force them into federal court, which the Supreme Court would eventually have to address on the basis of more acute issues.
Breyer obviously disagrees on the issue of standing and ripeness, and declared that in his dissent. But he also understands the basis on which the other five jurists ruled, and knows that the issue is far from settled. For what it’s worth, although the outcome of the Supreme Court denial of the TRO petition pleases me, I do think that Breyer had the better argument on the law. And when those cases come to the court with the standing and ripeness issues resolved, I suspect that a TRO will be forthcoming, perhaps even explicitly on the basis of Breyer’s dissent.
Source: Breyer: The Texas abortion ban decision was “very bad,” but not political – HotAir