Ivanka Trump and her 5-year-old daughter Arabella attended Wednesday’s Supreme Court session, and got a taste of the justices’ daily work issuing opinions and hearing oral arguments.
Kathy Arberg, the court’s spokeswoman, said President Donald Trump’s daughter received an invitation from Justice Anthony Kennedy, who met her during an inaugural lunch on Jan. 20.
Following the hearing, Trump tweeted a picture and a reflection about the experience, which she said was a teaching moment for her daughter.
The Supreme Court heard only one oral argument on Wednesday ― a highly technical dispute about federal pre-emption of certain arbitration agreements.
Far more interesting were two rulings the justices announced at the beginning of the session ― one dealing with accommodations for students with disabilities, the other about race discrimination in the criminal justice system.
In the discrimination decision ― a 6-2 ruling by Chief Justice John Roberts ― the Supreme Court said that a Texas death row inmate was denied effective assistance of counsel when his defense attorney introduced courtroom evidence that asserted his client was more likely to be a dangerous person because he is black.
“Our law punishes people for what they do, not who they are,” Roberts wrote. “Dispensing punishment on the basis of an immutable characteristic flatly contravenes this guiding principle.” The ruling will allow the inmate, Duane Buck, to receive a new sentencing hearing.
The Supreme Court doesn’t allow cameras inside the courtroom. But Arthur Lien, a longtime court artist, captured a sketch of Trump and her daughter.
