The unique problems posed by voting-by-mail are being blamed for election fraud in New Jersey and for a now-three-week delay in counting ballots for New York City’s primary elections, with many races yet to be decided. These difficulties may foreshadow larger … Continue reading New York, New Jersey mail-in voting problems may foreshadow difficulties in upcoming presidential vote
The Supreme Court agreed to review a First Amendment lawsuit in which a Georgia college belatedly expanded free speech on campus after a Christian student ran afoul of its constitutionally suspect campus “speech zone” policy. The court granted a petition for … Continue reading Supreme Court agrees to hear Christian student’s case against restrictive campus speech policy
President Donald Trump vowed to fight on after the Supreme Court rejected his claim that he enjoys immunity from state criminal proceedings while in office and found that a New York grand jury may continue to seek his tax records. At the … Continue reading Supreme Court allows NYC prosecutor, but not Congress, to access Trump’s tax returns
The Supreme Court ruled 7–2 that the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause exempts religious organizations from employment discrimination lawsuits and from a requirement to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees. Both rulings are victories for the Trump administration. The First Amendment to the … Continue reading Supreme Court protects religious freedom in labor law, contraception rulings
The Supreme Court stayed a lower court ruling and allowed a slew of pipeline projects to move forward under a fast-track permitting process but left out the controversial, long-delayed expansion of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. The 1,200-mile Keystone XL … Continue reading Supreme Court greenlights pipeline projects, except for Keystone XL
The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the constitutionality of “faithless elector” laws that allow states to fine or remove Electoral College members who fail to vote for the presidential candidate they were pledged to support. While some states have laws that punish such electors for not voting for the candidate to which they pledged support, there have long been legal questions about the enforceability of such laws. The ruling in two separate appeals came July 6, as the next presidential election approaches on Nov. 3. “Today, we consider whether a State may also penalize an elector for breaking his pledge and voting for someone … Continue reading Supreme Court unanimously upholds ‘faithless elector’ laws
The Supreme Court agreed July 2 to consider the Trump administration’s appeal of a lower court’s decision compelling the U.S. Justice Department to give Congress documents from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The case is cited as Department of Justice v. House Committee on the Judiciary. As is its custom, the Supreme Court didn’t provide reasons for its decision to review the March 10 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that ordered the Justice Department (DOJ) to produce the documents. The D.C. Circuit previously ruled … Continue reading Supreme Court to decide if Trump administration must hand over secret grand jury documents to House
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 Department of Revenue is also a victory for the Trump administration, which had supported the students and their parents. Oral arguments took place Jan. 22. It’s also “an important victory for religious liberty and religious equality in the United States,” U.S. Attorney General William Barr said in a statement after the opinion was released to the public. “As the Court explained, … 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 abolished in the future if the proper procedure is followed, as the court acknowledged in its June 18 ruling, the decision sets up an election-year fight over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that has offered relief to about 700,000 individuals. When President Donald Trump announced in 2017 he would end DACA, he expressed sympathy for DACA recipients … 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