Tag Archives: Supreme Court

The Associated Press reports: After an anemic showing in the midterms, Republicans have virtually no cushion in their quest to retain control of the House, which was made all the more complicated by a surprise U.S. Supreme Court decision last month that will likely bring two new safely Democratic districts. Democrats need to pick up just five seats to control …

The Guardian reports: Several lawyers who have had business before the Supreme Court, including one who successfully argued to end race-conscious admissions at universities, paid money to a top aide to Justice Clarence Thomas, according to the aide’s Venmo transactions. The payments appear to have been made in connection to Thomas’s 2019 Christmas party. The payments to Rajan Vasisht, who …

Via press release from Alliance Defending Freedom: In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic opinion protecting the free speech rights of all Americans, commentators and activists have propagated false information about 303 Creative v. Elenis. It’s time to set the record straight. “This desperate attempt to malign ADF, our client, and a critical ruling affirming all Americans’ free …

ABC News reports: On Thursday, the Supreme Court set new limits on affirmative action programs in cases involving whether public and private colleges and universities can continue to use race as one factor among many in student admissions. A little more than half of Americans – 52% — approve of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on restricting the use of …

From the Democratic National Committee: Today, on the last day of Pride month, the conservative Supreme Court issued yet another radical and out of touch opinion that chips away at civil rights laws that protect all Americans, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and religion, from discrimination in public accommodations. Open to the public means open to the public. …

The New York Times reports: The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider whether the government may forbid people subject to domestic violence orders from having guns, setting the stage for a major test of its ruling last year vastly expanding people’s right to arm themselves in public. The case will turn on the scope of a new legal standard …

NPR reports: At the heart of the question is the 2003 HEROES Act, which passed in the wake of 9/11 and gave the education secretary broad power to “modify or waive” provisions of student loan programs in times of emergency. The Biden administration argues that the COVID-19 pandemic constituted one such emergency. Conservative opponents of the plan, however, argue that …

The New Republic reports: Representing the plaintiff—303 Creative, a small business run by a Colorado woman named Lorie Smith—is Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a group whose founder dubbed it a “Christian legal army,” with a long history of opposing civil rights protections for LGBTQ people. But unlike the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, which at least involved real customers wanting a real …

The Guardian reports: The suit centers on Lorie Smith, a website designer who does not want to provide her services for gay weddings because of her religious objections. In 2016, she says, a gay man named Stewart requested her services for help with his upcoming wedding. “We are getting married early next year and would love some design work done …

Politico reports: The high court’s decision hinged on two cases where Students for Fair Admissions is challenging race-conscious practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — the nation’s oldest private and public universities. At its core, the group, which says it represents about 20,000 students, has alleged that Harvard intentionally discriminates against Asian American applicants. …

“Justice Thomas clearly had the best argument of the day. He recognized the case that they were deciding was actually completely moot. They shouldn’t even had a decision and yet, they kind of went out of their way to decide the case. “I think that was the wrong route. And it was — it’s frustrating. It’s particularly frustrating when you …

From the ACLU: The Moore v Harper case hinges on a legal proposition known as the “independent state legislature theory.” The theory asserts that, when it comes to making state laws that apply to federal elections — from drawing congressional district lines, to determining the who-what-when-where of casting a ballot — only the state legislature itself has the power to …

NBC News reports: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed Louisiana’s appeal seeking to prevent the state’s congressional map from being redrawn over claims that it unlawfully dilutes the influence of Black voters. The move via a brief unsigned order was expected after the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 8 that buttressed a key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act …

The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled for the Biden administration in an important immigration case, saying Texas and Louisiana lacked the legal standing to challenge the executive branch’s priorities on who should be deported. At issue is a Biden administration policy that says the Department of Homeland Security should focus on arresting recent border crossers and …

Pro Publica reports: In early July 2008, Samuel Alito stood on a riverbank in a remote corner of Alaska. The Supreme Court justice was on vacation at a luxury fishing lodge that charged more than $1,000 a day, and after catching a king salmon nearly the size of his leg, Alito posed for a picture. To his left, a man …

Florida Politics reports: Ron DeSantis says he can do better than the three jurists former President Donald Trump picked for the U.S. Supreme Court. “Well, actually, I would say we’ll do better than that. I mean, I respect the three appointees he did, but none of those three are at the same level of Justice (Clarence) Thomas and Justice (Samuel) …

The Guardian reports: Alabama discriminated against Black voters when it drew its seven congressional districts last year, the Supreme Court has ruled, a decision that is a major victory for the Voting Rights Act. The decision in the case, Allen v Milligan, means that Alabama will have to draw its congressional map to include a second majority-Black district. Black voters …

The Washington Post reports: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has asked for more time to file annual financial disclosures following criticism that he failed to report luxury travel and real estate deals with a Texas billionaire and Republican donor. Thomas’s 2022 filing was highly anticipated after ProPublica reported on the justice’s financial dealings with his close friend and benefactor, the …

NBC News reports: A crude joke that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., used to mock what he said was then-2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump’s “small hands” will be the centerpiece of a Supreme Court ruling on whether a California lawyer can trademark the phrase “Trump too small.” The court on Monday agreed to consider whether Steve Elster could register the trademark …

CBS News reports: The Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate certain wetlands that qualify as “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, curbing what has long been seen as a key tool to protect waterways from pollution. The high court ruled against the agency in a long-running dispute with Idaho landowners …