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☆ Trump’s election sparks speculation and infighting over future Supreme Court vacancies
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-09 | by ( John Fritze | Paula Reid | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The attention on potential Supreme Court vacancies has so far been driven entirely by forces outside the court – and rampant speculation based on a series of murky clues and past practices. “No questions could even be raised about their physical or mental health.”Ed Whelan, a former Supreme Court clerk and legal commentor, said he agreed with Leo’s take. The process of moving a Supreme Court nominee takes considerable time – often several months. The Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment. It is also fairly common when a new administration comes to town to talk about these things.”’CNN Chief Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic contributed to this report.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito –, Sonia Sotomayor, Joe Biden, Trump, “ Alito, Mike Davis, Stephen Breyer, Biden’s, “, Bill Clinton, Thomas, Alito, Leonard Leo, Charles Cooper, scoffed, ” Cooper, ” Ed Whelan, Leo’s, ” Whelan, Davis, Leo, ” Davis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Amy Coney Barrett, Roe, Wade, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Barack Obama’s, Biden, John Roberts, George W, Bush, Breyer, Anthony Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, –, Andrew Oldham, Neomi Rao –, Judge James Ho, Martha, Ann Alito, Washington –, Ann Alito’s, Martha Alito, Roberts, Josh Blackman, ” ’, Joan Biskupic Organizations: CNN, III, Supreme, GOP, Trump, DC Circuit, Circuit, Washington, South Texas College of Law Houston, ” ’ CNN Locations: Washington, Trump, New Orleans, Virginia, New Jersey

☆ Amy Coney Barrett: Meet the last best hope for Supreme Court liberals
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

CNN —Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett stands apart. And that is why Barrett has become the best hope for what remains of the liberal wing, particularly after Trump’s election victory. As Trump returns to the White House, the Supreme Court may be even more positioned to check the balance of powers. Nonetheless, progressives have few options, and an uncertain horizon, and cannot help but imbue Barrett with hope. “As Justice Barrett said…,” is a common Kagan refrain, too.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump’s, Barrett, Trump, imbue Barrett, Sandra Day O’Connor, Reagan, Anthony Kennedy, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Barrett homed, Sotomayor, …, Kagan, Kagan interjected, “, Richard Glossip, Brett Kavanaugh, Thomas, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Adam Feldman, Jake Truscott, Republican centrists O’Connor, Kennedy, Lewis Powell, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Dobbs, Antonin Scalia, Scalia’s, Scalia, Jesse, Warren Burger, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, they’ve, Gorsuch, ” Barrett, Jackson, Alito, ” Alito, Biden, Justice Roberts, CNN Kagan, Barrett’s, Roe, Wade, ‘, ’ Barrett, Adrian Zackheim, Justice Barrett, ” Zackheim, Sentinel publicists, Sen, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Barack Obama’s, Merrick Garland, Ginsburg Organizations: CNN, Republican, White, Republicans, Representatives, Notre Dame, Trump, Democratic, Glossip, Jackson, Health Organization, New York, Association, Harvard, ., Biden, Capitol, of Education, Ronald Reagan, Sentinel, Penguin Random, Wall Street, University of Louisville McConnell Center Locations: America, Oklahoma, ”, . United States, New Orleans, Washington, Haiti, Idaho, California, Louisville

☆ Eric Adams has the SCOTUS supermajority to thank as he challenges his bribery charge
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In a court filing on Monday, Adams attorney Alex Spiro cites a groundbreaking June SCOTUS decision as reason enough to toss the bribery count. AdvertisementFederal prosecutors say Adams enjoyed nearly a decade of globe-circling Turkish Airlines trips. "I know," the feds say Adams responded when told by the staffer that Turkey saw this as "his turn" to reciprocate. (In addition to Spiro, Adams is represented by Avi Perry and William Burck. Adams has pleaded not guilty to the indictment, which also charges him with illegally accepting campaign contributions from Turkish officials and others via straw donors.

Persons: SCOTUS, Adams, —, Eric Adams, It's, Alex Spiro, Snyder, Spiro, Michel Paradis, Paradis, Brett Kavanaugh, Avi Perry, William Burck, Anthony Kennedy, Kavanaugh, Spiro didn't Organizations: New York City, Service, US, Indiana, Columbia Law School, Prosecutors, Turkish Airlines, Fox Corp, New York Times, Turkish, Justice Department Locations: New York, United States, Turkey, Turkish, Spiro, Burck

☆ The inside story of how Sandra Day O’Connor rebuffed pressure from Scalia and others to overturn Roe v. Wade
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

Handwritten notes from Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's papers on a major abortion case in 1989. The correspondence and notes foreshadow where O’Connor landed in the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey case, when Justice Anthony Kennedy, hostile to Roe v. Wade in 1989, was ready to join O’Connor in upholding Roe. Accelerating the tensions all around was the time pressure of the Missouri case. O’Connor wrote that Kennedy said, “Roe is just flawed analytically” and that he wanted to “return this debate to democratic process” in the states. Library of CongressDraft opinion language from Justice John Paul Stevens he sent to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Persons: Sandra O’Connor, eviscerate Roe, Wade, O’Connor, Roe, Antonin Scalia, William Rehnquist, Rehnquist, — Webster, Reproductive Health Services —, ” Rehnquist, Sandra Day, George H.W, Reagan, bristled, ”, Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Gerald Ford, Casey, Anthony Kennedy, Dobbs, Samuel Alito, Webster, Kennedy, “ Nino, ” Scalia, ” O’Connor, “ Roe, O’Connor’s, Roe “, Byron White, “, Byron, Sandra, Nino, Tony …, White, Sandra Day O'Connor, Congress O’Connor, bemoaning, overruling Roe, ” Stevens, reexamine Roe, reconsidering Roe, Stevens, Stevens ’, inched, John . ”, ’, William Brennan, David Souter, Bush Organizations: CNN, Reproductive Health Services, Congress, Library, O’Connor, Stanford Law School, Roe, Chicago, Stevens, Kennedy Locations: Missouri, Roe, Bush, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Phoenix, Minnesota

☆ Biden pledges to name progressives to the Supreme Court, suggesting he expects vacancies
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —President Joe Biden promised Black voters Wednesday that he would appoint progressives to the US Supreme Court if elected to a second term, suggesting he expects vacancies on the high court over the next four years. The ideological makeup of the court has emerged as one of the defining facets of American political power. Breyer announced his retirement in January 2022, allowing Biden to fulfill a campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the court, Ketanji Brown Jackson. Instead, he consulted the justice on lower court nominations as a way to cultivate a degree of comfort with the process. “Many presidents never get the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court justice.

Persons: Joe Biden, “, they’re, we’ve, ”, Biden, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, —, Wade, Stephen Breyer, Breyer, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Don McGahn, Anthony Kennedy, Obama, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Trump, Amy Coney Barrett, we’ll Organizations: CNN, Black, Wednesday, Republican, Committee, Liberal, White, Trump, “, Liberty Locations: Philadelphia, Roe

☆ The US did a complete 180 on same-sex marriage
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The vast majority of Americans opposed same-sex marriage on May 17, 2004, when the first same-sex couples took their vows after a court decision in Massachusetts. Barack Obama notably opposed same-sex marriage when he ran for president as a Democrat in the 2008 election and, as public opinion was rapidly shifting, changed his tune in 2012 to support same-sex unions. Warnings were unfoundedThere is also evidence that warnings about same-sex marriage somehow endangering “traditional marriage” simply never materialized. A new study by researchers for the RAND Corporation to assess two decades of same-sex marriage in the US argues marriage rates actually increased among opposite-sex couples as same-sex couples were granted the ability to marry in certain states. A key difference between support for same-sex marriage and support for abortion rights, according to Lundry, is that support for abortion rights has remained positive for decades, in contrast to same-sex marriage, which saw a complete turnaround.

Persons: CNN —, Mitt Romney, George W, Bush, Hillary, Julie Goodridge, Charles Krupa, Sen, John Kerry, Hodges, Barack Obama, Obama, Romney, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, weren’t, ” Romney, Obergefell, —, PRRI, Alex Lundry, Republican pollster, “, ” Lundry, Gen, Dick Cheney, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Republican, House, Boston City Hall, Massachusetts Democrat, Democrat, Supreme, Gallup, RAND Corporation Locations: Massachusetts, Utah, Oregon, Ohio, Without Ohio, America

☆ Display at Alito’s Home Renews Questions of Supreme Court’s Impartiality
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Jodi Kantor | Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In coming weeks, the Supreme Court is expected to issue two key decisions involving the storming of the Capitol on that day. The cases will shape the degree to which former President Donald J. Trump can be held accountable for his efforts to subvert the election. “These cases were always going to be seen through an ideological and partisan lens,” Michael C. Dorf, a Cornell law professor and former clerk to Justice Anthony Kennedy, said in an interview. An upside-down flag, a popular symbol with Trump supporters contesting President Biden’s victory, appeared on Justice Alito’s front lawn in January 2021, The New York Times reported based on photographs and interviews with neighbors. It hung on the Alitos’ flagpole days before the inauguration, a little over a week after the Capitol riot and while the Supreme Court was considering taking up an election case.

Persons: Samuel A, Alito Jr, Donald J, Trump, Michael C, Anthony Kennedy, “, you’ve, Clarence Thomas’s, Virginia Thomas, Biden’s Organizations: Capitol, Cornell, Republican Party, Trump, The New York Times

☆ Supreme Court might not give Trump sweeping immunity — but it's likely to give him the one victory he wants
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But a majority of Supreme Court justices appear ready to hand the former president an immediate victory. Still, the Supreme Court justices do not appear likely to dismiss the former president's claims quickly, raising the likelihood that Trump may not face trial for trying to overturn the 2020 election before November. He drew his arguments from an earlier Supreme Court case that mapped the line for presidential immunity in civil matters. The Supreme Court weighs Trump's immunity claim. It is possible that the Supreme Court could rule that a more detailed review of Trump's conduct is best left to a lower court.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Trump, Jack Smith, Trump's, you've, Brett Kavanaugh, Sauer, Kavanaugh, Tanya Chutkan, Smith, Joe Biden, it's, John Sauer, Jabin, Samuel Alito, Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Michael Dreeben, Dreeben, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, John Roberts, Jackon, Justice Alito, Roe, Wade, Anthony Kennedy's, Hodges, Neil Gorsuch Organizations: Service, Trump, Washington, Getty Locations: DC, Dobbs v, Obergefell

☆ Trump’s immunity case is another reminder that all roads now lead to the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

CNN —The Supreme Court’s hearing Thursday on former President Donald Trump’s immunity claim will underline a historic power shift. Trump’s relationship has been complex with the court’s conservative majority – despite his instrumental role in establishing it. In sharp contrast, the court’s conservative majority has exerted its influence year after year, without interruption. “There is just much more intense vetting of Supreme Court justices,” said Pierson. “You can tell by the results of the court decisions over the past several years that it is fundamentally different.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, “, ”, Jeff Shesol, Franklin D, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Paul Pierson, –, Barack Obama’s, Roberts, Joe Biden, Trump, they’ve, Michael McConnell, Jack Smith, Gore, outvoted, George W, Bush, MAGA, Michael Waldman, ” Waldman, Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Nixon, Waldman, ” McConnell, McConnell, Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, David Souter, George H.W, Pierson, Obama, Brett Kavanaugh, Barrett, Cecilia Munoz, Biden, “ It’s, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Clinton, ” Shesol, FDR, Shesol Organizations: CNN, White House, GOP, Republican Party, Trump, Republicans, University of California, Democratic, House, White, Constitutional, Center, Stanford University Law School, Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law, Senate, Republican, Federalist Society, Alabama, Electoral, Citizens, Constitutional Law Center, New, Great Society Locations: Berkeley, Manhattan, Florida, “, George H.W . Bush, Shelby County

☆ Texas immigration controversy rekindles fight over Arizona’s ‘show me your papers’ law
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The legal battle over a controversial Texas immigration law could eventually give the Supreme Court a chance to revisit a historic ruling that largely struck down Arizona’s “show me your papers” law and reaffirmed the federal government’s “broad, undoubted power” over immigration. “It would have been incredibly difficult for the 5th Circuit to let this law stand under existing Supreme Court precedent,” she said. ‘Show me your papers’ lawThe Arizona law is a high-profile example of what happens when states attempt to take immigration policy into their own hands. Jan Brewer signed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, known as SB 1070, into law in 2010. The Supreme Court upheld the “show me your papers” part of the law and struck down the three other parts.

Persons: ”, Andrew Schoenholtz, “, ” Denise Gilman, Biden, Jan Brewer, Justice Anthony Kennedy, ’, ” Kennedy, ” Gilman, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Elena Kagan, Jessica Bulman, Scalia, ” “, Pozen, Obama, that’s, Priscilla Richman, Irma Carrillo Ramirez, Andrew Oldham –, Alito, –, Oldham, Greg Abbott Organizations: CNN, Texas ’, ., Georgetown Law, University of Texas School of Law, Circuit, Arizona Republican Gov, Enforcement, Act, National, National Government, Columbia Law School, “, Arizona Court, Oldham, Texas Republican Gov Locations: Texas, New Orleans, Arizona, . United States, El Paso County . Texas, United States, “ Arizona

☆ Retired Justice Stephen Breyer's advice to a divided nation: Let everyone speak, disagree respectfully, and then go play cards
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer is worried about a divided America. It concerns many, including retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Attentive listening to the opposing view often "increased the chances of agreement or compromise," Breyer wrote. Though he was one of the broadly liberal justices, Breyer described playing games of bridge with right-leaning Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and their spouses. "What works for nine people with lifetime appointments won't work for the entire nation, but listening to one another in search of a consensus might help," Breyer wrote.

Persons: Stephen Breyer, Breyer, —, William Rehnquist, Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, Gen Organizations: New York Times, Service, The New York Times Locations: America, Gaza, Ukraine

☆ When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it opened the floodgates for abortion-related lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

CNN —The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear its first abortion case since the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade and upheaval of reproductive rights in America. All the while, public regard for the Supreme Court has degenerated. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is photographed at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in September 2015. Dirck Halstead/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Breyer and his daughter Chloe jog with Clinton in May 1994. Mai/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Breyer works in his office with his staff of clerks in June 2002.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Dobbs, Biden, Elizabeth Prelogar, mifepristone, Prelogar, what’s, ”, Susan B, Anthony Pro, ’, Evelyn Hockstein, Breyer, Stephen Breyer, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Samuel Alito, Hodges, Trump, “, ” Breyer, Damon Winter, Stephen, Irving, Anne, Charles ., Chloe, Nell, Michael —, Joanna Breyer, Ira Wyman, Sygma, Byron White, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Harrington, Joanna, John Tlumacki, Bill Clinton, Clinton, Harry Blackmun, Dirck Halstead, Doug Mills, US Sen, Ted Kennedy, Laura Patterson, John Blanding, Colin Powell, George W, Bush, Mai, David Hume Kennerly, Seuss, Evan Vucci, Charles, Marcio Jose Sanchez, William Rehnquist, Clarence Thomas, David Souter, William Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O'Connor, John Paul Stevens, Chip Somodevilla, John Roberts, Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Samuel Alito's, Gerald Herbert, Cole Mitguard, Mourning, Penni Gladstone, Clara Scholl, Elise Amendola, Nicholas Kamm, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, Alex Wong, ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Heidi Gutman, Andrew Harrer, Hu Jintao, Eli, Shutterstock Breyer, Britain's Prince Charles, Mandel Ngan, Tom Williams, Carolyn Kaster, Ben Bradlee, Bill O'Leary, Pete Marovich, Stephen Colbert, Jeffrey R, Win McNamee, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Anthony Kennedy, Sonia Sotomayor, Maureen Scalia, Andrew Harnik, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Erin Schaff, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Saul Loeb, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Patrick, Fred Schilling, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Erin Hawley, GYN, … Organizations: CNN, Alabama Supreme, Republican, Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Jackson, Health Organization, District of Columbia, America, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Alamo Women's, Reuters, Supreme Court, Democratic, Supreme, New York Times, Harvard Law School, Appeals, First Circuit, Circuit, Getty, White House, Airport, Boston Globe, US, Suffolk University Law School, Francisco's Lowell High School, San Francisco Chronicle, Belgium's Catholic University of Louvain, Georgetown University Law Center, Administrative, Administrative Conference of, Jewish American Heritage Month, Walt Disney Television, Bloomberg, White, Office, Committee, Washington Nationals, Washington Post, Financial Services, General Government, CBS, State, The New York Times, Library of Congress, Alliance, Hippocratic, Alliance for Hippocratic, OB, Department, Justice Locations: America, New York, Carbondale , Illinois, Cambridge , Massachusetts, Maine , Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, AFP, San Francisco, Lowell, Washington , DC, United States

☆ Opinion | Sandra Day O’Connor Never Stopped Being a Politician
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Jeffrey Toobin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Because she was a skilled politician, her radar was set for the political center, and that’s where she always wanted the court to be. Justice O’Connor avoided such a dramatic choice. And where Justice O’Connor was on the issue is almost exactly where public opinion was, too. Justice O’Connor didn’t call herself a feminist, though she was one, and the patronizing nature of that provision appalled her. As it happens, throughout the court’s history, backgrounds like Justice O’Connor’s were more the rule than the exception.

Persons: O’Connor’s, Norman Schwarzkopf, “, O’Connor, —, Casey, Roe, Wade, Justice O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Justice O’Connor didn’t, Samuel Alito, Brown, Earl Warren Organizations: General Motors, of Education Locations: Pennsylvania, California

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — For two years, Texas has pushed boundaries on the U.S.-Mexico border: Busing migrants across America, jailing thousands for trespass and stringing razor wire along the Rio Grande. In a new challenge to the federal government's authority over immigration, Texas lawmakers on Tuesday night gave final approval to a bill that would allow police to arrest migrants who enter the country illegally and let local judges order them to leave the country. But the new law would empower all police in Texas — including officers hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the border — to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the country. TESTING IMMIGRATION AUTHORITYLegal experts and immigrant rights groups have railed against the Texas bill as a clear conflict with the U.S. government's authority to regulate immigration. TEXAS' MASSIVE BORDER OPERATIONIn his third term as Texas governor, Abbott has made increasingly aggressive measures on the Texas-Mexico border a centerpiece of his administration.

Persons: Greg Abbott, Joe Biden, David Spiller, Spiller, Steven McCraw, “, McCraw, Victoria Neave Criado, “ That’s, Anthony Kennedy, State Sen, Brian Birdwell, ” Birdwell, Abbott Organizations: Republican Gov, Republican, Texas House, Texas Senate, Republicans, Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S, Democratic, Rep, State, Army, Pentagon, Texas Republicans, Border Locations: AUSTIN, Texas, Mexico, America, Rio Grande, U.S ., Arizona, lockstep, TEXAS, . Texas, Rio

☆ The Supreme Court makes almost all of its decisions on the 'shadow docket.' An author argues it should worry Americans more than luxury trips.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The Supreme Court makes nearly all its decisions on the emergency relief docket or "shadow docket." What is the Supreme Court 'shadow docket?' Capitol Police watch an abortion-rights rally from behind the security fence surrounding the Supreme Court on June 23, 2022. Public trust in the Supreme Court is at a historic lowNadine Seiler attends a rally for voting rights while the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the Moore v. Harper case December 7, 2022. The dangers posed by the shadow docket are more perilous than the wrongs of individual justices, Vladeck argues, because the shadow docket's ills are inherently institutional.

Persons: Steve Vladeck, —, Vladeck, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Scott Applewhite, mifepristone, William Baude, Nathan Howard, it's, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Joe Biden's, Chip Somodevilla, Roe, Wade, Obama, Bush, Trump, Nadine Seiler, Harper, Drew Angerer, stokes Organizations: Service, Supreme, Supreme Court, AP, University of Chicago, Capitol Police, Getty, Former, — Locations: United, Joe Biden's State, Texas, U.S, Moore

☆ LGBT rights yield to religious interests at US Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( John Kruzel | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"We've seen a dramatic expansion of rights for conservative religious communities that has had a detrimental impact on equality rights, certainly for LGBTQ people," said Elizabeth Platt, director of the Law, Rights and Religion Project at Columbia Law School. Smith, who said she opposes gay marriage based on her Christian beliefs, was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative religious rights group. Still, the ruling illustrated a disparity in how the court views protections for LGBT people in contrast to the competing conservative Christian interests, Platt said. He stood out among conservatives in his espousal of sympathy both for conservative Christian causes and for what is sometimes called the "dignity interests" of marginalized groups including LGBT people. Barrett's addition gave it a 6-3 conservative margin and recalibrated how it weighed conservative Christian causes against the dignity interests of people protected by civil rights laws.

Persons: Read, Lorie Smith, Smith, Elizabeth Platt, Kristen Waggoner, Waggoner, Jack Phillips, Phillips, Platt, Anthony Kennedy, Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's, Neil Gorsuch, Friday's, Amy Coney Barrett, Kennedy, Kennedy's, Hodges, Obergefell, Barrett, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Barrett's, Rachel Laser, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Law, Columbia Law School . Colorado, Alliance Defending, Defending, Colorado Civil Rights Commission, FOSTER CARE, Catholic Church, Philadelphia, Republican, Trump, Americans United, and State, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, Denver, Colorado, U.S, Fulton, City of Philadelphia, Obergefell

☆ John Roberts, Republican Statesman - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The unusual powers of the American Supreme Court have unusual effects on all its members, but especially on whichever justices hold the balance of power: Their role fits especially uneasily with the letter of the Constitution and modern democratic norms, evoking more ancient forms or concepts — the Roman censor, the Greek archon, Plato’s philosopher-king. Three figures have occupied and sometimes shared this role over the last two generations, and each has brought a different mind-set to the work. Sandra Day O’Connor, drawing on her background as an elected official, often seemed to regard herself a canny intuiter of the American middle ground, constantly seeking political balances and settlements. Then Anthony Kennedy, who shared the role with O’Connor and stood alone after her retirement, seemed to favor the philosopher-king model, issuing sweeping judgments based on his distinctive libertarianism, often written in the style of a papal bull.

Persons: Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy, O’Connor Organizations: American Supreme Locations: American

☆ Supreme Court rules for web designer who refused to work on same-sex weddings
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Web designer Lorie Smith, plaintiff in a Supreme Court case who objects to same-sex marriage, poses for a portrait at her office in Littleton, Colorado, U.S., November 28, 2022. The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of an evangelical Christian web designer from Colorado who refuses to work on same-sex weddings. The remaining 21 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ rights in public accommodations, although some local municipalities do. Lower courts ruled against Smith, prompting her to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled on the baker case before the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted in favor of LGBTQ rights in key cases.

Persons: Lorie Smith, Colorado's, Neil Gorsuch, Smith, Samuel Alito, —, Jack Phillips, Eric Olson, Phillips, Anthony Kennedy, Donald Trump, Kennedy, — Organizations: Klux Klan, NBC News, Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Supreme, Civil Rights Commission, Alliance Defending, Catholic Church Locations: Littleton , Colorado, U.S, Colorado, United States, Philadelphia

☆ Supreme Court rules for Idaho landowners in wetlands dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday weakened a landmark water pollution law by ruling that an Idaho couple's property does not include wetlands subject to federal oversight under the law. The case saw the Sacketts return to the Supreme Court for the second time after the justices ruled in their favor in an earlier case in 2012. The Sacketts turned to the Supreme Court for a second time after the 9th U.S. In 2006, four justices said the Clean Water Act covered wetland with a "continuous surface connection" to a waterway but there was not a clear majority. On March 19, a federal judge blocked the rule in Idaho and Texas, saying it unlawfully expanded federal jurisdiction beyond what Kennedy had envisioned.

☆ Supreme Court: New documents show how Sandra Day O'Connor helped George W. Bush win the 2000 election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

CNN —Justice Sandra Day O’Connor provided the early framework that steered the outcome in the dispute over the 2000 presidential election and ensured George W. Bush would win the White House over Al Gore, Supreme Court documents released on Tuesday show. They also demonstrate the tension among the nine justices being asked to decide a presidential election on short deadlines. The five conservative justices (O’Connor, Kennedy, Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas) sided with Bush. The Florida results had been too close to call at the end of Election Day, November 7. The next day, Kennedy wrote to the chief justice, “Sandra’s memorandum sets forth a very sound approach” and said he wanted to build on it.

☆ Dr. LeRoy Carhart, Fierce Defender of Abortion Rights, Dies at 81
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Alex Traub | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Around 30 states, including Nebraska, outlawed the procedure. It was one that Dr. Carhart said he never used and that he described as “distasteful.” Nevertheless, he believed that the wording of the law was so broad that it could render illegal other types of abortions, and he sued Nebraska’s attorney general, Don Stenberg. Dr. Carhart became the lead plaintiff in two Supreme Court cases. When the George W. Bush administration enacted the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, Dr. Carhart sued again. The Supreme Court reversed course, however, with the author of the decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy, arguing that the federal law “expresses respect for the dignity of human life.”

☆ The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision was a pain in the neck for Democrats. Now, it could be used to their advantage in the Disney v. DeSantis feud.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Democrats have criticized the ruling since 2010 but may now benefit from its power against the GOP governor. When the Supreme Court in 2010 handed down its ruling on Citizens United v. FEC, Democrats were scandalized. Liberals remain scandalized (albeit for different reasons) but now seek the protections the Citizens United ruling offers. A political reversalAs recently as 2020, a decade after the Citizens United decision, President Joe Biden lambasted the ruling: "It's not enough to just end Citizens United — we have to eliminate all private dollars from our federal elections." "Nor do I think, if DeSantis is about to launch a presidential campaign, will he likely want to settle," Dorf told Insider.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday hears the latest clash between religious conservatives and LGBTQ rights as it weighs a conservative evangelical Christian web designer's bid to avoid working on same-sex weddings. Lower courts ruled against Smith, prompting her to appeal to the Supreme Court. The remaining 21 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ rights in public accommodations, although some local municipalities do. The court ruled on the baker case before the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted in favor of LGBTQ rights in key cases. In another major victory for LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court in 2020 — to the surprise of many court-watchers — ruled that a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in employment protects LGBTQ employees.

Lower courts ruled against Smith, prompting her to appeal to the Supreme Court. The remaining 21 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ rights in public accommodations, although some local municipalities do. Alliance Defending Freedom, which also represented Phillips, has had success arguing religious rights cases at the Supreme Court in recent years. The court ruled on the baker case before the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted in favor of LGBTQ rights in key cases. In another major victory for LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court in 2020, to the surprise of many court-watchers, ruled that a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in employment protects LGBTQ employees.

☆ Peter Thiel thinks Elon Musk is a ‘fraud,’ and 6 other unexpected details about the billionaires' love-hate relationship
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Dorothy Cucci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Thiel and his allies conspired against Musk and replaced him as PayPal CEO while Musk was on his honeymoon. In a new biography, Max Chafkin shares surprising details about Thiel and Musk's relationship, through all of its ups and downs. Here are seven surprising details about Musk and Thiel that provide a glimpse into their long and often-fraught relationship. A source who spoke to both men said that Musk thinks Thiel is "a sociopath," and Thiel considers Musk "a fraud." Musk and Thiel, while longtime collaborators, are fundamentally opposites: Musk is considered an outgoing, eccentric risk-taker, and Thiel is known as a cautious introvert.

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