Montana’s decision to exclude religious schools from a state scholarship program funded by tax credits violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a divided Supreme Court ruled June 30, handing school choice advocates a significant victory. The 5–4 decision in Espinoza v. Montana … Continue reading Supreme Court opens education tax credit program to religious schools
Although the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), formed in the wake of the 2008 financial crash, is unconstitutional, the powerful agency may continue to exist under new rules, a divided Supreme Court ruled. The 5–4 ruling handed down June … Continue reading Supreme Court allows consumer watchdog agency to stand, strikes down internal structure
A Louisiana law that requires abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges close to where the procedure takes place is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5–4 vote. The June 29 ruling in the case, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, … Continue reading Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana law that limits access to abortion
The Supreme Court refused last week to bend Ohio election rules to accommodate marijuana decriminalization advocates who failed to gather enough in-person petition signatures to get their referendum question on the Nov. 3 ballot in several cities. The emergency application to stop Ohio from enforcing its … Continue reading Supreme Court: Ohio pot referendum petitions must have signatures
The Supreme Court ruled June 25 that the federal government may continue deporting illegal aliens, including failed asylum-seekers, who are placed in the fast-track deportation queue, quickly after they lose their legal fights. The 7–2 ruling was a victory for President … Continue reading Supreme Court approves Trump administration’s use of fast-track deportations
Citing the current public health emergency, Democratic officials in Minnesota have decided to bypass a state law requiring absentee ballots to be accompanied by the signature of a witness, a move that critics say opens the door to voter fraud. Removing … Continue reading National campaign to remove vote-by-mail safeguard gains victory in Minnesota
The Supreme Court imposed limits on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s ability to compel defendants through the federal court system to disgorge profits earned through fraud. In 2019, the SEC reportedly recovered a total of $3.2 billion in profits from people determined … Continue reading Supreme Court restricts SEC’s power to recover profits obtained through fraud
The Trump administration failed to follow the law when it tried to rescind DACA, then-President Barack Obama’s program that temporarily shielded young people who came to the United States illegally from being deported, the Supreme Court ruled. Although the program could yet be … Continue reading Supreme Court blocks Trump’s bid to immediately end DACA
As governments gear up contact-tracing efforts aimed at containing the spread of the CCP virus, critics worry privacy will be compromised, which some say could threaten freedom. The push to implement widespread contact tracing, which involves tracking infected people and those they have come in … Continue reading Virus contact tracing opens door to privacy violations, critics say
In a dramatic departure from the legal status quo, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 on June 15 that employees can’t be fired from their jobs because of sexual orientation or gender identity. The ruling is a defeat for the Trump administration. During oral arguments … Continue reading Supreme Court finds firing employees for being gay or transgender illegal
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a rule June 12 that follows on federal court rulings finding the Obama administration overreached when it issued an unusual rule prohibiting discrimination in health care and health insurance on the … Continue reading HHS rule removes nondiscrimination protection for gender identity
Small businesses and a religious group are suing Illinois over a law requiring that all health insurance policies sold in the state provide coverage for elective chemical and surgical abortions, with no exemptions, even for churches. The lawsuit, cited as Illinois … Continue reading Illinois sued over law compelling health insurance coverage for abortions
A public health tactic called “contact tracing” may soon become as necessary a part of Americans’ vocabulary as “social distancing” became earlier this year when governments launched containment efforts against the CCP virus. Contact tracing is a tool in the public … Continue reading Contact tracing may soon be on the agenda
News Analysis The Black Lives Matter movement, which has come to be associated with recent race riots following the death of George Floyd, has become an influential player in U.S. politics, as it has gained a following by claiming that blacks are … Continue reading Black Lives Matter began with claim of systemic racism
The Supreme Court agreed June 8 to review the refugee case of a Guatemalan national facing deportation who argues that U.S. immigration authorities failed to follow proper procedure in his case. Cited as Niz-Chavez v. Barr, the case is an appeal from the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit Court … Continue reading Supreme Court agrees to review refugee case of Guatemalan claiming fear of violence should he be deported
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously slapped down a federal judge’s ruling forcing Texas to allow all its residents to vote by mail on the theory that doing so would prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, … Continue reading Federal appeals court rules pandemic no reason to force all Texans to vote by mail
University professors across the country have publicly expressed support for the rioters who have been terrorizing communities since graphic video of the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody was published. Floyd was a middle-aged black man who died … Continue reading Academics nationwide offer aid, support for rioters
In one of the finest addresses of his presidency to date, President Donald Trump took aim at the leftist violence, looting, and anarchy that now dominate the streets, promising to use federal power to crush the radical insurrectionists whom the … Continue reading Trump’s noble, unifying speech for the ages: Antifa won’t be allowed to murder America, the president vows
News Analysis With cities under brutal, sustained assault by seemingly well-organized rioters from coast to coast, President Donald Trump tried to reassure the nation when he recently vowed to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had already taken … Continue reading Antifa: the network of violent revolutionaries behind much of today’s rioting
A federal law barring a Lebanese immigrant who committed felonies from challenging a negative asylum ruling before being deported is invalid, the Supreme Court ruled June 1. The decision is a defeat for the Trump administration, which opposes the man’s … Continue reading Criminal aliens fearing persecution at home have right to appeal deportation, Supreme Court holds