court – Page 2

Justices At The Supreme Court Will Consider Gun Rights – If The Fundamental Right To Keep A Gun At Home Applies To Carrying Weapons In Public

2Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Justices At The Supreme Court Will Consider Gun Rights – If The Fundamental Right To Keep A Gun At Home Applies To Carrying Weapons In Public

Morgan Marietta, University of Massachusetts Lowell The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Nov. 3, 2021, on a clear question: Does the constitutional right to possess a gun extend outside the home? The answer may alter gun regulations in many states. The crux of the issue before the court is captured by a debate that Thomas Jefferson had with himself at the time of the founding. When Jefferson was drafting a proposed constitution for his home state of Virginia in June 1776, he suggested a clause that read “No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” In the second draft, he added in brackets, “[within his own lands or tenements].” Jefferson’s debate with himself captures the question posed to the court: Is the purpose of the right to “keep and bear arms” the protection of a...

Supreme Court Rulings Often Exclude Viewpoints Of Black And Latina Justices – But Always Include The Perspective Of White Males

28Oct

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POLITICS

Supreme Court Rulings Often Exclude Viewpoints Of Black And Latina Justices – But Always Include The Perspective Of White Males

David Orentlicher, University of Nevada, Las Vegas In recent decades, much progress has been made in diversifying the Supreme Court. While only white males served as justices for more than 175 years, the court now includes three female justices, one Black and one Latina justice. Despite the increased diversity, however, the court’s voting rules often exclude minority viewpoints. Like most other courts, the Supreme Court decides its cases by a majority vote. If at least five of the nine justices agree on a resolution, they are able to determine the court’s decision and impose their preferred outcome. If other justices disagree, they cannot ensure that their views are taken into account by the majority. They can only write a dissenting opinion to express their disagreement with the major...

A Significant Case Before The Supreme Court – The Second Amendment Could Topple Gun Restrictions

6Oct

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POLITICS

A Significant Case Before The Supreme Court – The Second Amendment Could Topple Gun Restrictions

Eric Ruben, Southern Methodist University The stakes in one of the most significant Second Amendment cases in U.S. history are high. The Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, expected by mid-2022, could declare a New York state restriction on carrying concealed handguns in public places unconstitutional. Such a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, which include a National Rifle Association affiliate, could loosen gun regulations in many parts of the country. In my view as a Second Amendment scholar, this case is also noteworthy in that how the court reaches its conclusion could affect the Second Amendment analysis of all weapons laws in the future. The court is set to hear oral arguments on Nov. 3. Long on the books In 1911, after an increase ...

The US Supreme Court Set To Address Abortion, Guns And Religion

30Sep

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POLITICS

The US Supreme Court Set To Address Abortion, Guns And Religion

Morgan Marietta, University of Massachusetts Lowell The Supreme Court begins its annual term on Oct. 4, 2021, with a packed agenda highlighted by three claims of violations of constitutional rights. One is about religious rights. A second is about gun rights. And the biggest case this year is a challenge to abortion rights. Several states are asking the justices to reconsider Roe v. Wade – the landmark 1973 ruling that established the constitutional right for a woman to terminate a pregnancy, regardless of the moral beliefs of other citizens. Abortion The case is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. The Mississippi legislature passed the Gestational Age Act in 2018, banning abortions after 15 weeks. The law was challenged and is currently on pause until the Supreme Court hears arguments on D...

Court Cases Alone Don’t Transform Society – But ‘Landmark’ Verdicts Like Chauvin Murder Conviction Make History

6Jul

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Court Cases Alone Don’t Transform Society – But ‘Landmark’ Verdicts Like Chauvin Murder Conviction Make History

Jennifer Reynolds, University of Oregon American courts in 2021 have already handed down several potentially historic rulings, from the Supreme Court’s recent decision restricting voting rights in Arizona and potentially nationwide to a Minnesota jury’s conviction of police officer Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd last year. Cases like these are often called “landmark” cases, because they set forth ideas and ideals that may bring about significant changes in the political and legal landscape. Many analysts considered the Chauvin trial, in particular, to be a landmark. In it, police officers actually testified against one of their own, which is rare, and the jury held a white police officer criminally accountable for killing a Black man. On June 25, 2021, the judge sentenced Chau...

6 Questions Answered – Why Facebook Created Its Own ‘Supreme Court’ For Judging Content

4Apr

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SOCIAL MEDIA

6 Questions Answered – Why Facebook Created Its Own ‘Supreme Court’ For Judging Content

Facebook’s quasi-independent Oversight Board on May 5, 2021, upheld the company’s suspension of former President Donald Trump from the platform and Instagram. The decision came four months after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg banned Trump “indefinitely” for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The board chastised Facebook for failing to either set an end date for the suspension or permanently ban Trump and gave the social media company six months to resolve the matter. What is this Oversight Board that made one of the most politically perilous decisions Facebook has ever faced? Why did the company create it, and is it a good idea? We asked Siri Terjesen, an expert on corporate governance, to answer these and several other questions. 1. What is the Facebook Oversight Boa...

A New Supreme Court Nominee Before the Election May Spark a Crisis of Legitimacy

23Sep

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

A New Supreme Court Nominee Before the Election May Spark a Crisis of Legitimacy

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just turned the already frenetic 2020 election into a tornado. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell waited barely two hours before announcing that “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.” And a number of Democratic senators have been almost as quick to denounce that move, especially given McConnell’s refusal to grant a hearing to Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, a full eleven months before the end of Obama’s second term. The politics of it all are fluid at the moment, and nearly impossible to predict. Most Republican senators seem gung-ho to fill the seat, but there is also some dissent, with Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski issuing a statement that there should be no vot...

Supreme Court upholds American Indian treaty promises, orders Oklahoma to follow federal law

4Apr

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IMPACT

Supreme Court upholds American Indian treaty promises, orders Oklahoma to follow federal law

Land in eastern Oklahoma that the United States promised to the Creek Nation in an 1833 treaty is still a reservation under tribal sovereignty, at least when it comes to criminal law, the Supreme Court ruled on July 9. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority, “Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word.” The eastern part of Oklahoma, about half of the state’s total land, was granted by Congress to Native American tribes in the 19th century, and is still under tribal sovereignty, the Supreme Court has ruled. Kmusser, based on 1890s data/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA To most Americans, it may seem obvious that a government should live up to its word. But the United States has regularly reneged on the promises that it made to American Indian nations in the ...

The Supreme Court just expanded the ‘ministerial exception’ shielding religious employers from anti-bias laws

4Apr

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Journalism

The Supreme Court just expanded the ‘ministerial exception’ shielding religious employers from anti-bias laws

Should religious employers be allowed to discriminate? When it comes to houses of worship selecting spiritual leaders, then the answer from lower courts has long been “yes.” Even if, say, a member of the clergy is dismissed on the grounds of their race, gender identity, age or disability. That’s because churches can claim a “ministerial exception” from complying with nondiscrimination laws. The Supreme Court has just expanded that exemption to cover employees at religious schools. In so doing, they may have opened the doors to faith-based providers of services such as health care and social services, as well as education, to openly discriminate against staff who may perform some religious duties. ‘Unwanted ministers’ The ruling in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru is not th...

Latest legal hurdle to removing Confederate statues in Virginia: The wishes of their long-dead white donors

19Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Latest legal hurdle to removing Confederate statues in Virginia: The wishes of their long-dead white donors

A controversial statue of Robert E. Lee will remain in place in Richmond, the former capital of the American Confederacy –- at least temporarily. On June 18, a judge extended an injunction barring the removal of the Confederate general’s statue, stating that “the monument is the property of the people,” not the state of Virginia, which seeks its removal. In early June Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam vowed to dismantle the prominent Lee statue in Richmond, the state capital, following sustained, nationwide protests over police brutality and racism. That plan was blocked by a 10-day court injunction – now extended through late July – based on the petition of a man whose ancestor, Otway Allen, gave Virginia the land the the sculpture sits on. In his petition, William C. Gregory claimed that di...