Supreme Court News

Last week, the Supreme Court concluded its 2015-16 term, and it’s safe to say there were several disappointments for conservatives. The sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February led to deadlocks and compromises in some of the biggest cases of the term, much to the chagrin of conservatives. Consider five of the biggest cases: 1. Fisher…

The Supreme Court issued its disappointing decision in Abigail Fisher’s case on Thursday against the University of Texas at Austin. In an opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy, four members of the court ruled that the university’s race-conscious admissions program does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito…

In a 5-2 ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that Puerto Rico cannot create its own bankruptcy law because the Federal Bankruptcy Code preempts it. Facing a financial and economic crisis, Puerto Rico passed a law that would have allowed it to subject its public utilities to a Chapter 9 bankruptcy-like process. While states…

For more than 15 years, John Sturgeon used a hovercraft to reach moose-hunting grounds in Alaska without any incident or objection. Then, one day in 2007, two National Park Service rangers told Sturgeon that he was on federal property and hovercraft were illegal. What followed was nine years of litigation. Sturgeon lost his case in the…

In a loss for voters, the Supreme Court has ruled unanimously against two residents of Texas who had argued that the Texas legislature diluted their votes when it used total population to redraw state Senate districts. In Evenwel v. Abbott, the Supreme Court allowed states to use total population in redrawing district lines, even though…

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court delivered a win for the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in Luis v. United States. Five justices—Justice Stephen Breyer, who wrote a plurality opinion joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote a separate concurring opinion—sided with challenger…

In an order Tuesday afternoon, the Supreme Court asked the petitioners and Obama administration to file supplemental briefs in the consolidated challenge to Obamacare’s requirement that nonprofit employers provide employee health insurance coverage that includes potentially life-ending drugs and devices. Many employers, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, Priests for Life, and religious…

It now seems highly likely that the next president of the United States will have the opportunity to nominate someone to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the sudden passing of Justice Antonin Scalia. That may not be the only vacancy the president will have the opportunity to fill. By the…

The plaza of the U.S. Supreme Court and the courtroom itself were full of people you don’t normally see at the court—priests, ministers, and nuns of various religious orders. They were there Wednesday to hear the U.S. government argue that the Little Sisters of the Poor—an order of Catholic nuns who have served the elderly…

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week in a group of cases challenging the Obamacare requirement that nonprofit employers offer their employees health care coverage that includes Plan B, ella, and other potentially life-ending drugs and devices, contraception, and sterilization. The challengers in the consolidated cases, captioned Zubik v. Burwell, include the Little…

The opening words of the preamble to the United States Constitution are familiar to us all: “We the People.” But what exactly do they mean? It was by “the People” that the Constitution was written and ratified. It is for “the People” that my colleagues and I, along with every other public official across these…

President Barack Obama will soon nominate a justice to fill Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court. Senate Republicans have vowed to ignore him until after the voters decide in November who will serve as our next president. That’s exactly what should happen.  

It’s another day, and another tantrum from Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. But it doesn’t matter how much he jumps up and down and stomps his feet—we aren’t going to let the far left get away with denying the American people the opportunity to be heard. Letting the American people decide this question is the reasonable approach….

The stakes are high—very high. Finding a replacement for deceased Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia will be a battle royale. But why should one government official’s position be so existentially important? Yes, control of the Supreme Court hangs in the balance, but that raises the question as to why the Court itself is so…