The Slatest for Feb. 7: Will Trump’s SCOTUS Case Be Like Bush v. Gore All Over Again?

The Supreme Court is poised to consider two major cases that could influence the U.S. presidential election—and it’s giving us flashbacks to Bush v. Gore. “One of the major criticisms from the left of the court’s opinion in Bush was that it was a ‘one day only’ ticket to hand George W. Bush the presidency without establishing a legal precedent to apply to other cases,” Richard L. Hasen writes. He explains why the court can’t afford to repeat the same mistake.

Plus:

• Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern home in on the easy-to-miss detail at the heart of Trump’s big court defeat.

• Donald K. Sherman argues that the Trump ballot case is this generation’s Brown v. Board of Education.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis admitted to having a relationship with one of her employees—but does that actually mean she can’t prosecute Trump anymore? Shirin Ali spoke to four legal experts about how bad this whole thing really is, and all of them had doubts about the allegations against Willis.

The Wall Street Journal wrote a horribly racist op-ed on Arab Americans in Dearborn, Michigan. Aymann Ismail unpacks the mess behind a story that’s already having real-world consequences.

There sure are a lot of Republican billionaires funding the Democratic primaries! Alexander Sammon examines how it could pose a threat to Dems retaking control of the House.

No, really! There would be no Barbie—and no backlash over those Oscars “snubs”—without it. Sam Adams deconstructs how The Lego Movie transformed the way Hollywood blockbusters are built.

Did Taylor Swift make a punctuation error in her new album title? Slate copy chief Sarah Rutledge gives her official ruling.

… much like these tiny fish that are extremely important for the future of the ocean. Russell Jacobs examines the debates about how we should protect them, and when.

Thanks so much for reading! We’ll see you back here tomorrow.