Tag Archives: SCOTUS

Trump Refuses To Answer Gay Marriage Question

From the Daily Mail: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump refused to answer a question about same-sex marriage during a press conference Saturday night, following his electoral split of four primary and caucus states with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. DailyMail.com asked Trump to say whether or not he favors marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, and whether U.S. Supreme Court …

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ALABAMA: State Supreme Court Dismisses Marriage Challenge, Roy Moore Says Ban Is Still In Effect

And the Alabama crazy train continues to roll on. Via AL.com: The Alabama Supreme Court this morning dismissed petitions by the Alabama Policy Institute, the Alabama Citizens Action Program and Elmore County’s probate judge that had sought a landmark ruling declaring the state’s prohibition on gay marriage still stands. Today’s ruling means same-sex marriage is still intact in Alabama and …

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REPORT: White House Vetting Eighth Circuit Court Judge Jane Kelly For SCOTUS Nomination [VIDEO]

From the New York Times: The White House is vetting Jane L. Kelly, a career public defender turned federal appellate judge, as a potential nominee for the Supreme Court, as President Obama closes in on a decision that could reshape the court for decades and create an election-year showdown with Republicans. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been conducting background …

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Liberty Counsel Loses AGAIN As SCOTUS Refuses To Hear Appeal Of New Jersey’s Ban On Ex-Gay Torture

The Supreme Court has denied cert on Liberty Counsel’s appeal seeking to overturn New Jersey’s ban on ex-gay torture. How many losses does this make for Liberty Counsel in just the last year? Mat Staver is missing Antonin Scalia: “In a country born on the will to be free, it is a sad day when that nation turns its back …

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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Speaks During Oral Arguments For The First Time In A Decade

With Scalia gone, Clarence Thomas finally finds his voice. The Daily Beast reports: The famously quiet Justice Clarence Thomas reportedly spoke up Monday morning and asked questions during oral arguments Monday in a case about gun ownership. Thomas has refrained from asking questions from the bench during Supreme Court hearings for the past ten years. According to a Bloomberg reporter, …

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Sandoval Withdraws From SCOTUS Consideration

Mediaite reports: After reportedly being vetted by the Obama administration, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has withdrawn himself from consideration for the open seat on the Supreme Court. “Earlier today, I notified the White House that I do not wish to be considered at this time for possible nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States,” Sandoval said in a …

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ALABAMA: Lawyer Sues Obergfell Majority SCOTUS Justices For $6M For Causing Him Mental Anguish

Alabama lawyer Austin Burdick has filed a $6M federal lawsuit against the five Supreme Court justices who voted with the majority in Obergefell. Because mental anguish. And other stuff! Seriously! AL.com reports: Burdick is suing the five justices for violations of the 5th Amendment, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and seeks, among other things compensatory damages, punitive damages, …

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REPORT: Antonin Scalia Spent His Final Hours With Members Of A Secretive Society Of “Elite Hunters”

Shades of Opus Dei. From the Washington Post: When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died 11 days ago at a West Texas ranch, he was among high-ranking members of an exclusive fraternity for hunters called the International Order of St. Hubertus, an Austrian society that dates back to the 1600s. After Scalia’s death Feb. 13, the names of the 35 …

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MoveOn Hits GOP With Reagan’s Words [VIDEO]

From MoveOn: Senate Republicans just announced that they won’t even allow a committee hearing on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee—and they don’t even care who the nominee is. This is the most blatant partisan obstruction we’ve ever seen. Even Republican Senators Mark Kirk and Susan Collins—and former Republican Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor—disagree with it. In fact, you know …

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Donald Trump Promises Pat Robertson: I’ll Appoint SCOTUS Justices Just As Right-Wing As Scalia [VIDEO]

Brian Tashman reports at Right Wing Watch: While speaking today with televangelist Pat Robertson at Robertson’s Regent University, Trump specifically praised Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, the two most conservative justices on the Supreme Court. “Justice Thomas doesn’t get enough credit,” Trump said. “He’s a wonderful man, he’s a wonderful guy.” After criticizing Chief Justice John Roberts as not being …

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REPORT: White House Vetting Moderate GOP Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval As Possible SCOTUS Nominee

From the Washington Post: Brian Sandoval, the centrist Republican governor of Nevada, is being vetted by the White House for a possible nomination to the Supreme Court, according to two people familiar with the process. Sandoval is increasingly viewed by some key Democrats as perhaps the only nominee President Obama could select who would be able to break a Republican …

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President Obama Pens Guest Column For SCOTUSblog: I Take My Appointment Responsibility Seriously

President Obama today penned a column for SCOTUSblog. It begins: The Constitution vests in the President the power to appoint judges to the Supreme Court. It’s a duty that I take seriously, and one that I will fulfill in the weeks ahead. It’s also one of the most important decisions that a President will make. Rulings handed down by the …

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Progressive Group Warns Of 2000-Style “Chaos” If GOP Does Not Allow SCOTUS Nomination [VIDEO]

From the Agenda Project: Yesterday, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that not only would they not approve any individual that President Obama nominates to the Supreme Court, they would refuse to hold even cursory hearings. In response, the Agenda Project Action Fund released a provocative new ad targeting GOP obstructionism in the Supreme Court fight. “Constitution or …

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SCOTUS Doctor: Scalia Had Several Major Ailments

So it turns out he wasn’t murdered after all. PROBABLY. From the Associated Press: A letter from the Supreme Court’s doctor says Antonin Scalia suffered from coronary artery disease, obesity and diabetes, among other ailments that probably contributed to the justice’s sudden death. Presidio County District Attorney Rod Ponton cited the letter Tuesday, when he told The Associated Press there …

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POSTED: My Second Column For Pride Life

Two weeks ago I launched a twice-monthly column for the website of Britain’s Pride Life magazine, a quarterly LGBT rights and lifestyle magazine. Today’s second installment picks up on last week’s rundown of the leading GOP presidential candidates, their varying anti-LGBT positions, how they fared in the early primaries, and their unified calls to block President Obama from appointing the …

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Democratic National Committee Launches SCOTUS Campaign: #FillTheSeat To Advance LGBT Rights

A new video just in from the DNC: The Democratic National Committee has launched a new media campaign, #FillTheSeat, to explain why it’s so critical for Republican senators to do their jobs and allow a vote on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. Each day this week, the DNC will highlight how the Republican obstruction on the vacancy in the Supreme …

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John Oliver Rips GOP On SCOTUS Vacancy [VIDEO]

Via Raw Story: On HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” host John Oliver ripped into Republicans for their ever-evolving reasons for trying to hold off voting on a new U.S. Supreme Court justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia. GOP presidential contender Ted Cruz established an arbitrary 80-year time frame during which he said no president ever got a hearing for a …

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HRC Calls For LGBT SCOTUS Justice

Yesterday Human Rights Campaign head Chad Griffin urged President Obama to appoint an LGBT person as Antonin Scalia’s successor. He writes: To have a representative on our nation’s highest court would send a powerful message to the millions of LGBT people who have struggled for recognition — and respect — for many decades. Today, we have other legal champions who …

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ALABAMA: Haters File Complaint Against State Supreme Court Over Inaction On Blocking Obergefell

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and the rest of the his court are being attacked from the right. From World Net Daily: Marriage activists in Alabama have filed complaints with the state Judicial Inquiry Commission against the nine members of the state Supreme Court because they have failed to rule on the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s …

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Westboro Baptist Pickets At Scalia’s Funeral

This morning members of Westboro Baptist are picketing outside the funeral of Antonin Scalia, who “well knows and understands the folly and fatality of that Catholic Monster he spent his life time nourishing and worshipping.”  Because, presumably, Scalia is now in hell with billions of other Catholics. Today’s protest is rather notable in light of the Supreme Court’s landmark 2011 …

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