“Only In The Most Critical And Exigent Circumstances”

 That phrase sums up the legal argument of Justice Alito’s dissent in A.A.A.R.P. v Trump. The opinion is a lot of bullet points on the grant of the stay, and nearly every one of them includes a variation on that phrase. 

Basically he and Thomas don’t like it that the majority thought it had to act quickly under the circumstances. 

Popehat has some thoughts:

Martha-Ann Alito gonna be flying a flag tomorrow that just has four bullet points, a face screaming in rage, and a brown guy with a line through him

And:

I know it’s a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it — Sam Alito is a mediocre turnip and the assertion we should take him as a serious intellectual has always been suspect.

Not unlike the obeisance we were supposed to give Scalia. Whatever happened to “originalism,” anyway?

Then there’s my personal favorite:

Angel of the Lord: He is not here, He is risen, just as He said.
Come and see the place where He lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.

Alito: Okay, first of all, this violates ALL sorts of rules

Thomas: This was a LAWFUL execution, who is God to interfere

Shorter Alito: “So the President is playing fast and loose with court rulings in order to deport a bunch of brown people to a foreign prison hellhole from which they’ll never return, so what? You call that an ‘emergency?’”

He does point out that neither the “putative class” is defined, nor the term “government.” The latter bothers him because it can include the President. Which to the majority is clearly the point, but that’s why Alito objects. He does not, however, bother to define “emergency,” except he knows one when he sees one. And a white part-time football coach praying in the field is one, but sending brown people irretrievably to hell, isn’t.

No Easter eggs for Sammy.

Addendum:

On left:

Alito says SCOTUS didn't need to act because DOJ's Ensign informed Boasberg no deportation planes were "then planned" for Saturday

Then planned. Hmmm.

On right:

Ensign actually informed Boasberg, "I’ve also been told to say they reserve the right to remove people tomorrow" (Saturday)

Missing here are quotes from Scalia’s dissent (“on left”) and an excerpt from an article in Politico (“on right “).