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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opinion
Supreme Court: What the Trend of Unanimous Decisions Really Means
Unanimity, collegiality, and nonpartisanship: These appear to be the goals for the U.S. Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts. This seeming unity on the Court, however, turns out to be only surface deep. The most recent term showed a spike in unanimous decisions—nearly two-thirds of the 73 decisions—a level of agreement… -
opinion
The Supreme Court Vs. Eric Holder
If Eric Holder were a baseball player, he’d have been benched long ago — if not kicked off the team. His batting average before the Supreme Court is abysmal, losing again and again in his efforts to undermine the Constitution. This term featured four big strike downs. First was Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, in which… -
opinion
The Ten Supreme Court Decisions This Year That Will Change America
With the Supreme Court on summer recess, it’s time to review the biggest cases of the October 2013 docket. SCOTUSblog’s “Stat Pack” notes that the Court this term had a high degree of unanimity and a relative lack of 5-4 decisions. But by margins both large and small, the court issued a number of important cases…. -
opinion
First Amendment Victory: Supreme Court Rules Against Union Taking Dues From Non-Members
Today the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an important victory for participants in home-health care programs. In a 5-4 decision authored by Justice Samuel Alito, the Court held in Harris v. Quinn that Illinois’ forced unionization scheme violated the First Amendment. The Supreme Court also criticized the practice of forced unionization for all government employees… -
news
Democracy’s Digital Forum: Twitter Reaction to #SCOTUS Ruling on Hobby Lobby
This morning, #SCOTUS (aka U.S. Supreme Court) went viral. As the high court handed down its decision on the Obamacare mandate, politicians, pundits and private citizens took to Twitter to spread the news. Since the announcement, democracy’s digital forum continues to explode with tweets about the decision. We curated a few below: HOBBY LOBBY WINS AT… -
opinion
Supreme Court Holds That Pro-Lifers Have First Amendment Rights, Too
In 2007, Massachusetts passed a law that prohibited anyone from knowingly entering or remaining on a “public way or sidewalk adjacent to a reproductive health care facility within a radius of 35 feet of any portion of an entrance, exit, or driveway…” In case it’s not obvious, this law was targeted at “sidewalk counselors” and… -
opinion
Supreme Court Fails to Rein in EPA
Contrary to headlines such as Fox News’ “Supreme Court limits EPA global warming rules,” the Supreme Court today ruled in favor of broad authority for the Environmental Protection Agency. In an important opinion, the court ensured the EPA will continue to use its authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate “global warming,” and industry will… -
opinion
Jilted Lovers and Unlimited Congressional Power: Another Day at the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court issued its decision in Bond v. United States, a much-awaited case that asked the question, as Justice Scalia cleverly put it in a different case: Can the Senate, the President, and, say, Zimbabwe conspire to pass laws that the Senate, the House, and the President cannot? In other words, does the Article…