Supreme Court News
In-depth reporting and commentary on the Court’s rulings and their influence on law, politics, and society.
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- News
Ginsburg Leaves Liberal Legacy After Decades on Supreme Court
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion of equal justice under the law who became only the second woman (and the first Jewish woman) to serve on the Supreme Court, died Friday evening after a long battle with cancer. She was 87. During her 27 years on the high court, Ginsburg became a liberal cultural icon…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Imperils Parents’ Right to Pass Their Values on to Children
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bostock v. Clayton, which ruled that the Title VII prohibition on sex discrimination in employment extends to discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status, is likely to have more widespread implications than many people realize. Many (including Justice Samuel Alito in his scathing dissent) warn that the ruling…Melissa Moschella -
- Opinion
Supreme Court’s Decision Allows Nevada Governor to Favor Caesars Palace Over Calvary Chapel
One bad decision can be a mistake. Two is a pattern. In late May, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the Supreme Court’s four liberal members in South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom to deny a request from a California church that it be allowed to operate under the same conditions as similar secular…Zack Smith -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Decides Half of Oklahoma Has Been an Indian Reservation for Past 113 Years
The Supreme Court issued one of the most consequential decisions of its term on its last day Thursday. No, it wasn’t either of the decisions about President Donald Trump’s tax returns. Instead, it involved a case that received little attention at the time it was argued. But how often can court watchers say that a case…Zack Smith -
- Opinion
Problematic Women: Supreme Court Ruling Protects Little Sisters’ Religious Convictions
The Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic order of nuns, secured a major victory Wednesday. The nuns had been sued by Pennsylvania and New Jersey over their refusal, on religious grounds, to offer birth control and abortion-inducing drugs as part of their employees’ health care coverage. Amy Swearer, Heritage Foundation legal fellow, joins “Problematic Women”…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Little Sisters of Poor Win Big at Supreme Court, but Fight Isn’t Over
Why are some in the government so determined to force a group of Catholic nuns to violate their beliefs? That’s a question we all should be asking as we celebrate Wednesday’s Supreme Court victory for the Little Sisters. Regrettably, Wednesday’s victory is unlikely to be the end of the government harassment of the nuns. The…Zack Smith -
- Opinion
Supreme Court’s ‘Faithless Electors’ Decision Safeguards Electoral College
In a decision issued Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that states can punish presidential electors who break their pledge to support the presidential candidate preferred by the citizens of their states. The ruling affirms the Electoral College as an important part of our constitutional structure—one that balances popular sovereignty with the benefits of a federal…Zack Smith -
- News
Electors Must Vote for Their State’s Preferred Candidate, Supreme Court Rules
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that states can require members of the Electoral College to vote for the same presidential candidate as their respective state. The ruling puts an end to the occasional so-called faithless electors, who vote for a candidate different than that of the state they are representing. Though many states already have laws…Andrew Trunsky -
- Opinion
Supreme Court’s LGBTQ Decision Is Formula for Chaos
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that homosexual and transgender individuals are covered by the anti-discrimination provision, Title VII, of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in his opinion: “An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned…Star Parker -
- Opinion
DACA Ruling Is Supreme Court’s Latest Act of Political Timidity
With the Supreme Court’s latest erroneous decision on immigration, Chief Justice John Roberts and other justices have done lasting damage to the Constitution, the rule of law, and accountable government. It is not just the legally wrong decision Thursday in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, in which Roberts and…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Problematic Women: How Women Lose in Supreme Court’s Decision to Redefine Sex
American women have lost an important battle. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of protecting new LGBT rights Monday in the case of R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The ruling redefines sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Kate Anderson, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, joins…Virginia Allen -
- News
Left Hails Supreme Court Decision That ‘Sex’ Includes Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision that federal laws against discrimination based on sex also protect LGBT individuals has liberals and conservatives alike considering the effects on employment polices across America. The high court ruled 6-3 Monday that laws banning discrimination based on sex include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The decision saw…Rachel del Guidice -
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Supreme Court Rules Federal Employment Discrimination Laws Protect LGBT Employees
The United States Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision Monday that federal law protects LGBT and transgender employees from discrimination. Justices Neil Gorsuch and John Roberts joined the court’s four liberal judges in a landmark ruling that involved a 1964 civil rights law that barred discrimination of employees based on sex, according to USA Today. The Supreme…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
What You Need to Know About 4 Pivotal Supreme Court Cases This Term
The Supreme Court is hearing some major cases this term that could have longstanding implications. The cases span a variety of issues: President Donald Trump’s financial records, the Electoral College, and religious liberty, and more. Tom Jipping, deputy director of the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and senior legal fellow at…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
The Supreme Court Was Right: ‘Bridgegate’ Was Tawdry but Not Illegal
In a case that became known as “Bridgegate,” a unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday held in Kelly v. United States that New Jersey state officials who exercised their regulatory authority to slow traffic as a means of imposing a political punishment on a mayor who had refused to support the governor’s reelection did not violate…Paul J. Larkin -
- Opinion
What Happened at the Little Sisters of the Poor Hearing Before the Supreme Court
The world’s most tenacious nuns were back at the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning, when the justices heard oral arguments in the latest round of the nearly eight-year saga surrounding the Affordable Care Act’s onerous contraception mandate. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the high court made the unusual and unprecedented move of hearing the…Melanie Israel -
- Opinion
The Little Sisters of the Poor Are Back at the Supreme Court, Needlessly So
The Little Sisters of the Poor—a religious order that serves the poor and elderly—will be back at the Supreme Court on Wednesday for the second time about the same issue; namely, former President Barack Obama’s infamous Affordable Care Act contraceptive mandate, enacted about a decade ago. The court will hear oral arguments via telephone, due…Nicole Russell -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Refuses to Rewrite Civil Rights Law in Comcast Case
In a decision applying the 1866 Civil Rights Act as written and intended by Congress, the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously overturned the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (no surprise there) and held that entrepreneur Byron Allen had not established a case against Comcast Corp. for failing to carry his television channels. Allen, a…Hans von Spakovsky -
- News
Supreme Court Cancels Oral Arguments for March, Delaying a Hearing on Trump’s Tax Returns
The Supreme Court on Monday postponed oral arguments scheduled for later in March amid the growing coronavirus pandemic, a move that could delay a decision on whether President Donald Trump must release his tax returns. “In keeping with public health precautions recommended in response to COVID-19, the Supreme Court is postponing the oral arguments currently…Chuck Ross -
- News
Supreme Court Allows Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program to Stay in Place
The Supreme Court delivered a win for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, blocking a federal court injunction that would have limited a program that requires asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico. The nation’s highest court on Wednesday ruled that the White House’s "Remain in Mexico" program, also known as Migrant Protection Protocols, can remain effective for the entire…Jason Hopkins