supreme

6Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

With New Controversial Cases That Stand To Change Many Americans’ Lives, The Supreme Court Is Back In Session – Here’s What To Expect

Following a dramatic year of controversial rulings, the Supreme Court began hearing new cases on Oct. 3, 2022, with a full agenda. The court overturned abortion rights and expanded gun rights in June 2022 as the new conservative supermajority began to exert its influence. Some of the court’s most important upcoming cases focus on the future of affirmative action, equal treatment of LGBTQ people, and the control of election laws. The court will hear the cases in the fall and then likely issue rulings in spring 2023. As a close observer of the court, I think this term’s rulings will continue to reject the court’s previous liberal decisions and instead reflect a conservative interpretation of the historical meaning of the Constitution. At least three of those upcoming rulings are likely to...

Justice Clarence Thomas Is Poised To Lead The Supreme Court Rolling Back More Landmark Rulings

5Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Justice Clarence Thomas Is Poised To Lead The Supreme Court Rolling Back More Landmark Rulings

With the opening of the U.S. Supreme Court’s new session on Oct. 3, 2022, Clarence Thomas is arguably the most powerful justice on the nation’s highest court. In 1991, after Thomas became an associate justice and only the second African American to do so, his power was improbable to almost everyone except him and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas. He received U.S. Senate confirmation despite lawyer Anita Hill’s explosive workplace sexual harassment allegations against him. Today, Thomas rarely speaks during oral arguments, yet he communicates substantively through his prolific written opinions that reflect a complicated mix of self-help, racial pride and the original intent of America’s Founding Fathers. He isn’t chief justice. John Roberts Jr. is. But with Thomas’ nearly 31 years of ...

Supreme Court To Revisit LGBTQ Rights – This Time With A Wedding Website Designer, Not A Baker

19Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

LGBTQ

Supreme Court To Revisit LGBTQ Rights – This Time With A Wedding Website Designer, Not A Baker

A simmering, difficult, and timely question returns to the Supreme Court this fall: What happens when freedom of speech and civil rights collide? The court took up similar questions four years ago in the famous “gay wedding cake” case, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, about a baker who refused to provide services for a same-sex couple based on his religious beliefs. The justices ruled in his favor, but did so on narrow grounds, sidestepping the direct constitutional questions over freedom of religion and free speech. Now, another case from Colorado about free speech and same-sex marriage has made its way to the court: 303 Creative v. Elenis. As a professor of law and education who pays particular attention to First Amendment issues, I see the case highlight...

What You Need To Know About The Supreme Court’s Roe Decision

27Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

What You Need To Know About The Supreme Court’s Roe Decision

After half a century, Americans’ constitutional right to get an abortion has been overturned by the Supreme Court. The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – handed down on June 24, 2022 – has far-reaching consequences. The Conversation asked Nicole Huberfeld and Linda C. McClain, health law and constitutional law experts at Boston University, to explain what just happened, and what happens next. What did the Supreme Court rule? The Supreme Court decided by a 6-3 majority to uphold Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. In doing so, the majority opinion overturned two key decisions protecting access to abortion: 1973’s Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, decided in 1992. The opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, said that the Constitutio...

At The Supreme Court – Clarence Thomas And His Wife’s Text Messages Highlight Missing Ethics Rules

22Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

At The Supreme Court – Clarence Thomas And His Wife’s Text Messages Highlight Missing Ethics Rules

Time and time again, the nation’s highest court has come under fire for failing to manage potentially unethical behavior by its justices. In the past, the Supreme Court of the United States has cast aside pleas to adopt an ethics code for the justices. Now, the actions of Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, Virginia – who pushed the White House to overturn the 2020 presidential election – have once again thrown light onto this long-standing conflict: How accountable should the justices be? No justice In general, ethical behavior by judges in our federal system is governed by the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, which was adopted in 1973. The code applies to federal judges and magistrate judges serving in the courts of appeals, district courts, bankruptcy judges, the Court of Internat...

Meet Possible Supreme Court Contender South Carolina Judge J. Michelle Childs

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Meet Possible Supreme Court Contender South Carolina Judge J. Michelle Childs

Among the women considered to be front-runners for the Supreme Court nomination, Judge J. Michelle Childs has some high-profile and vocal backers —as well as a background that sets her apart from the current justices. Like all the other names being considered, Childs, a judge from South Carolina, would be the first Black woman nominated to the court. Unlike many of those considered for and ultimately nominated for the Supreme Court, though, she graduated from public universities, potentially bucking the narrow Ivy League pedigree that has become conventional for Supreme Court justices. Childs, 55, has served as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina since 2010. In December, Biden nominated Childs to fill a vacancy on the appellate court in the D.C. Circu...

The Uproar Over The First Black Woman Supreme Court Nominee

2Apr

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VIDEO REELS

The Uproar Over The First Black Woman Supreme Court Nominee

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement in late January, after months of pressure from progressives. At 83, Breyer is the oldest member of the nation’s highest court and is one of three liberal justices remaining on the nine-member body. Now, Democrats, who retain the slimmest of majorities in the U.S. Senate, have a chance to replace Breyer with a younger liberal justice. President Joe Biden, in keeping with his campaign promise to name a Black woman to the court, announced in January, “The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court.” Republicans and conservatives immediately protested the announcement,...

Key Takeaways From Supreme Court Ruling – Trump’s Blocking Of Jan. 6 Docs Rejected

21Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Key Takeaways From Supreme Court Ruling – Trump’s Blocking Of Jan. 6 Docs Rejected

In a legal blow for Donald Trump, the Supreme Court has cleared the way for presidential records dating from his time in office to be turned over to a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Trump, through his lawyers, had sought to shield over 800 pages of information from the panel, citing executive privilege, which allows for a president to withhold certain information from public release. But in a 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court on Jan. 19, 2022, rejected a request to block the documents from being handed to Congress. The ruling has immediate – and potentially longer-term – consequences. Here are three key takeaways from the court’s decision. 1. Executive power has its limits Trump has championed an expansive view of executive power. During his presidency, he refused to provid...

4 Questions Answered – What Supreme Court’s Block Of Vaccine-Or-Test Mandate, For Large Businesses Will Mean For Public Health

14Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

4 Questions Answered – What Supreme Court’s Block Of Vaccine-Or-Test Mandate, For Large Businesses Will Mean For Public Health

The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13, 2022, blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate, which applied to virtually all private companies with 100 of more employees. But it left in place a narrower mandate that requires health care workers at facilities receiving federal funds to get vaccinated. The ruling comes at a time when the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalization rates continues to soar throughout the United States as a result of the omicron variant. We asked Debbie Kaminer, a professor of law at Baruch College, CUNY, to explain the ruling’s impact. 1. What did the Supreme Court decide? The court’s six conservative justices held that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration exceeded its power in issuing the mandate on private companies, which would have co...

Supreme Court May Have Final Say But, Appeals Court Says Trump Has Given ‘No Legal Reason’ To Defy Congress’ Demand For Jan. 6 Documents

10Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Supreme Court May Have Final Say But, Appeals Court Says Trump Has Given ‘No Legal Reason’ To Defy Congress’ Demand For Jan. 6 Documents

Former President Donald Trump has lost his latest legal battle over documents relating to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, in a case that tests the power of a former president to withhold his records from Congressional scrutiny. On Dec. 9, 2021, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals court said that the Congressional committee investigating the Capitol attack should have access to a trove of evidence that Trump is attempting to shield from the panel. It is the latest ruling in a series of court cases in which Trump has fought legal demands from Congress for documents from his administration. This legal battle pitted the untested powers of a former president to keep his papers from public view against the proven power of the current president to determine which administration documents – from...