Organizers of an award named after late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg abruptly canceled this year’s awards gala when the liberal jurist’s family complained after learning that some of this year’s awards were to be given to non-liberal honorees. … Continue reading RBG Award organizers scuttle gala after criticism by late Supreme Court justice’s family
Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical of state arguments on March 18 that the federal government was wrong to communicate with social media platforms about public health issues during the recent pandemic. At the same time, during oral argument in Murthy … Continue reading Supreme Court appears wary of limiting Biden admin’s social media contacts in free speech case
The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling that reversed regulations that had made abortion pill mifepristone easier to obtain. The case, to be heard on March 26, is the Supreme Court’s most important abortion-related … Continue reading Biden DOJ asks Supreme Court to toss abortion pill restrictions
The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 against a man convicted of felony distribution of methamphetamine, a ruling that seems likely to frustrate the efforts of many federal prison inmates who seek to reduce their sentences under the Trump-era First Step Act. … Continue reading Supreme Court narrows Trump’s First Step Act in 6-3 vote
Public officials may block people on social media in certain situations, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on March 15. At the same time, the court held that public officials who post about topics pertaining to their work on their personal … Continue reading Supreme Court rules public officials may block their constituents on social media
The company that makes the abortion pill mifepristone urged the Supreme Court to throw out a challenge to loosened regulations that made the pill more accessible to women. The case, which will be heard later this month, is the Supreme … Continue reading Abortion pill maker urges Supreme Court to throw out legal challenge
A federal judge in Louisiana paused an entertainer’s trial for gun possession until the U.S. Supreme Court decides if a federal law barring certain people from having firearms is constitutional. The criminal proceeding comes after the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 … Continue reading Rapper’s gun trial delayed until upcoming Supreme Court ruling
A civil rights group claims Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is trying to short-circuit a recently filed racial discrimination lawsuit. The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) filed a federal lawsuit last month against Ms. Ivey, a Republican, claiming that Alabama … Continue reading Civil rights group asks court to block Alabama appointments law
The Alabama Supreme Court’s finding last month that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are considered minor children under state law has been hailed by the pro-life movement. But the effect of the ruling was soon blunted when … Continue reading Pro-Life activists embrace Alabama IVF ruling
A civil rights group is suing Alabama for allegedly implementing illegal racial quotas in appointments to the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board (AREAB). The lawsuit comes after Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) issued a report last year showing that as many … Continue reading Alabama sued over ‘racial quota’ for real estate appraisers board
The Supreme Court ducked a lawsuit over so-called bias response teams at Virginia Tech, ruling on March 4 that the case should be sent back to a lower court. After the litigation was initiated, Virginia Tech rescinded its bias response team policy, thus mooting, or ending, the legal controversy. Two conservative justices dissented, saying that the Supreme Court should have agreed to hold oral arguments to give a public airing of the issues involved in the case. A liberal justice also dissented, saying that the Supreme Court shouldn’t have vacated the lower court’s ruling. The case, Speech First Inc. v. Sands, … Continue reading Supreme Court sidesteps ‘speech police’ case at Virginia Tech
Pro-life high school students in the fifth-largest school district in the United States are claiming victory after a local school district settled a lawsuit about students being denied free speech rights. The Clark County School District in Las Vegas recently … Continue reading Las Vegas pro-life students prevail in federal lawsuit over suppression of views
The Supreme Court seemed inclined to send a dispute involving Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange that wants to force disgruntled customers into private arbitration instead of adjudicating their complaint in the courts, back to lower courts for reconsideration. The customers’ … Continue reading Supreme Court seems ready to punt arbitration dispute involving cryptocurrency giant
The Supreme Court declined to take up the appeal of a school administrator who claimed a school district retaliated against her for drawing attention to a funding disparity in the construction of schools in black and white neighborhoods. The Supreme … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear school administrator’s retaliation case
The Supreme Court considered on Feb. 27 whether federal law overrides a New York state law that compels banks to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts. The justices heard oral arguments in the case known as Cantero v. Bank of … Continue reading Federal banking laws should override state laws, Supreme Court hears
Parent groups are suing New York state in federal court over an educational program they say discriminates against Chinese American students. The new civil rights lawsuit comes amidst of wave of alleged racial discrimination at the nation’s colleges and universities. … Continue reading Parents sue New York state over alleged racially discriminatory education program
Florida and Texas should be allowed to regulate how social media platforms moderate content, lawyers for the two states told the Supreme Court on Feb. 26. During oral arguments, the justices seemed to be grasping for a new rule they … Continue reading Supreme Court struggles with regulation of social media
The Supreme Court decided on Feb. 26 to reject a case about whether honking a car horn is a constitutionally protected form of free speech. Although Americans have long sounded vehicle horns to express themselves politically, many states, including California, … Continue reading Supreme Court rejects free speech challenge to California honking law
The Supreme Court issued two orders that may allow the borders of a disputed state legislative district in Washington state to be finalized before elections later this year. The political territory in dispute is Legislative District 15 in the central part of Washington. The district is currently represented by state Sen. Nikki Torres, state Rep. Bruce Chandler, and state Rep. Bryan Sandlin, all Republicans. A state redistricting commission redrew the electoral map, but the lower courts struck it down for violating the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA). Democrats control both chambers of the state legislature. The Senate has 29 Democrats … Continue reading Supreme Court allows dispute over Washington legislative district to continue
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled this week that Georgia is not allowed to try a mentally ill man for a second time despite conflicting jury verdicts. The case goes back to 2012 when Damian McElrath, then 18, killed his … Continue reading Supreme Court bars Georgia from retrying mentally ill man for murder