The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a burglar’s 10 prior convictions arising from a single criminal episode don’t count as multiple convictions under a federal three-strikes sentencing law. The often-litigated federal Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) of 1984 was enacted in response to concerns that a small number of repeat offenders commit a disproportionate number of offenses. The statute requires that a 15-year minimum sentence be imposed on individuals found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm who have three or more prior convictions for a violent felony such as burglary “committed on occasions different from one another.” A violent felony … Continue reading Supreme Court reverses 6th Circuit, tosses enhanced sentence for convicted burglar found with gun

The Supreme Court may be on the verge of clawing back some of the sweeping regulatory authority it unwisely gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 15 years ago at the height of Al Gore-promoted global warming hysteria. This about-face by the high court could come if conservative justices have the courage to do the right thing in West Virginia v. EPA, which the court heard Feb. 28. In all, 19 states are challenging how much power the federal Clean Air Act gives the agency. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican leading the legal challenge, told this writer recently he is concerned … Continue reading A Supreme crackdown on the Environmental Protection Agency? Is the agency becoming a “central energy planning authority”?

The Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration last week, upholding the longstanding state-secrets evidentiary privilege that prevents the disclosure of information deemed injurious to national security. In both cases, the high court reversed decisions of the often-overturned U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Specifically, the Supreme Court blocked testimony by U.S. government contractors about the alleged torture overseas of a suspected Muslim terrorist, and ordered lower courts to reconsider a case in which Muslims claimed the FBI unfairly targeted them in a counterterrorism investigation. In U.S. v. Zubaydah, court file 20-827, an accused terrorist’s lawyer asked the Supreme … Continue reading Supreme Court overturns 9th Circuit in 2 national security-related cases

After questioning the effectiveness of a pandemic-related public health order that allows the government to continue summarily expelling illegal aliens from the United States, a federal appeals court unanimously ruled that the policy may continue, provided that aliens aren’t sent to places where they may be persecuted or tortured. The case deals with expulsions, as opposed to formal deportations, under which the person concerned has the right to a hearing. Critics say the government has been using the public health rationale to justify kicking out aliens without providing due process. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas justified the public health edict … Continue reading Court rules US can’t use CDC order to expel illegal aliens to countries where they may be harmed

Kentucky’s Republican attorney general should be allowed to continue to defend a state abortion law struck down as unconstitutional by lower courts after the state’s Democratic governor refused to do so, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in an 8–1 decision on March 3. Although Kentucky’s abortion law itself wasn’t at issue in the case, this is the court’s first opinion in an abortion-related case since Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s addition to the bench in October 2020 gave its conservative wing a 6–3 majority. The high court examined only whether Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron should be allowed to intervene in the case … Continue reading Supreme Court reverses 6th Circuit, allows Kentucky attorney general to defend abortion law

The Supreme Court was urged on March 2 not to allow an innkeeper near the Canadian border, who sued for being injured by a U.S. Border Patrol agent, to pursue a lawsuit against the agent. The court granted the petition for review (pdf) on Nov. 5, 2021, in Egbert v. Boule, court file 21-147. The case concerns whether the half-century-old Bivens Doctrine, which shields federal agents from legal liability for actions performed in the course of their work, should be expanded to new contexts, such as those with national security implications, something legal observers say the Supreme Court seems unlikely … Continue reading Supreme Court urged to shield Border Patrol agent From liability in incident near Canada border

The Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which was enacted by Congress in 1978 to prevent non-Indian families from adopting Native American children. On Feb. 28, the court granted the petition for review in the case, Haaland v. Brackeen, court file 21-376, which it consolidated with Cherokee Nation v. Brackeen, Texas v. Haaland, and Brackeen v. Haaland. The lead petitioner is U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. Chad and Jennifer Brackeen, a white evangelical Christian couple in Texas, tried to adopt a Native American child, although an appellate court ruled that—under the ICWA—Indian … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear appeal of non-Indian couple denied adoption of Indian child

The Supreme Court questioned on Feb. 28 how much authority the Environmental Protection Agency should have to regulate and curb energy production in order to combat the effects of so-called climate change. The case is West Virginia v. EPA, court file 20-1530, which was consolidated with three other cases. The other cases are North American Coal Corp. v. EPA, Westmoreland Mining Holdings LLC v. EPA, and North Dakota v. EPA. The court set aside 70 minutes for the hearing, but ran well over that time limit. West Virginia and 18 other states are challenging the authority the Clean Air Act provides the EPA. The challengers … Continue reading Supreme Court Hears 19-State Challenge to EPA’s Power Under Clean Air Act

In an effort to kick Republican candidates off the ballot for the crime of supporting Donald Trump, Democrats are reaching back more than 150 years to a rarely invoked constitutional provision designed to prevent Confederates from serving in Congress. Democrats and a handful of Trump Derangement Syndrome-suffering Republicans claim the disturbance on January 6, 2021, that delayed formal congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results for several hours, was an insurrection or rebellion aimed at overthrowing the United States government. Facts are no impediment to this durable leftist fantasy. The facts are that the crowd carried no guns, that … Continue reading Beating Republicans by disqualifying them: Democrats look to Iran and Barack Obama for how to deal with their opponents

An election integrity group is representing a state government whistleblower who claims in a new lawsuit that Delaware is playing fast and loose with state election laws by enforcing statutes that violate the state’s constitution. The Delaware General Assembly approved a law in 2019 that allows early voting in person at least 10 days before the day of a general election. The Delaware State Constitution stipulates that the general election must be held on one specific day only. A Delaware statute also allows registrants to apply to the Department of Elections for something called “permanent absentee status,” even though the state constitution … Continue reading Whistleblower sues Delaware over election laws that unconstitutionally extend voting time

News analysis If she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate and becomes the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and if her judicial track record so far is any guide, Ketanji Brown Jackson will probably be a reliable member of the high court’s three-member liberal bloc. Jackson’s arrival would maintain the current ideological alignment of the court, which now consists of six conservatives–three of whom were appointed by then-President Donald Trump–and three liberals. Born Ketanji Onyika Brown, Jackson turns 52 this Sept. 14. She would replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, who will be 84 on Aug. 15. … Continue reading Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee?

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey told The Epoch Times in an interview that he hopes the Supreme Court will use an upcoming case to rein in the far-reaching powers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to shut down carbon dioxide-generating industries without regard to the economic well-being of those affected. The problem is the EPA is trying to transform itself from “an environmental regulator into a central energy planning authority,” said Morrisey, a Republican. Morrisey is referring to the case known as West Virginia v. EPA, court file 20-1530, which the Supreme Court will hear Feb. 28. West Virginia is a major … Continue reading W. Va. AG hopes Supreme Court will curb EPA authority, prevent it from becoming a ‘central energy planning authority’

The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in a highly technical decision on Feb. 24 that the often-reversed 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was wrong to invalidate a copyright infringement verdict that a California clothing design firm won against the gigantic Swedish fashion retailer H&M. H&M was in the news in 2020 after it and other fashion companies announced they would no longer use cotton originating from the Xinjiang region in mainland China, after reports surfaced that the communist country uses forced Uyghur labor for cotton production. The regime denies the practice, and the Chinese Communist Party launched a propaganda campaign targeting … Continue reading Supreme Court overturns 9th Circuit decision, upholds copyright ruling against H&M

A Native American tribe urged the Supreme Court to allow it to continue to offer bingo games on its land even though Texas maintains state law prohibits tribes from running gaming operations. If the Texas tribe were to win, there could be a ripple effect, spurring more tribe-controlled casinos and gaming operations. Gaming is an industry euphemism for gambling. The Biden administration argued it is unfair that the tribe does not enjoy the same gaming rights that many other tribes around the nation already have. Oral arguments were heard Feb. 22 in the case, Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo v. State … Continue reading In Supreme Court case, Indian tribe asks Texas to leave its bingo games alone

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich urged a seemingly sympathetic Supreme Court on Feb. 23 to allow a group of 13 states to defend the so-called public charge rule that screens out potentially government-dependent immigrants, after the Biden administration declined to do so. The public charge rule, which had fallen into disuse, was revived by the Trump administration in 2019, over vehement left-wing opposition. The rule allowed the U.S. government to reject would-be immigrants who were deemed likely to consume public benefits such as food stamps, housing aid, and Medicaid. Although critics say the extensively litigated pro-taxpayer rule is xenophobic and discriminates against poor aliens, … Continue reading 13 states ask Supreme Court to let them defend Trump-era immigrant self-sufficiency rule

The Supreme Court decided to not intervene–for the time being—in the case of a San Diego high school student with natural immunity who claims that the local school district’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate imposed on students aged 16 and older unconstitutionally discriminates against her by not offering a religious exemption. The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) is one of the few in the United States that requires students to receive the vaccine for in-person instruction while not offering a religious exemption for schoolchildren. Separately, the school district fired in January more than 70 employees who failed to get vaccinated. The case took … Continue reading Supreme Court denies injunction against San Diego school vaccination mandate; leaves door open