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☆ Dick Durbin slams Roberts for failing to make sure SCOTUS doesn't have the 'lowest ethical standards'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin slammed Chief Justice John Roberts for failing to impose stronger ethical requirements. Durbin, who chairs the powerful Judiciary Committee, vowed his panel will move forward on proposals. The Judiciary Committee, Durbin added, will continue with its previously announced plans to consider legislation that would impose greater ethical requirements on the high court after lawmakers return to Washington following their July 4th holiday recess. "The highest court in the land should not have the lowest ethical standards." Critics of the court seized on the reporting about ethical concerns also a way to further question its legitimacy.

Persons: Democratic Sen, Dick Durbin, John Roberts, Durbin, —, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Roberts, Joe Biden's, Neil Gorsuch, ProPublica, Thomas, Harlan Crow, Crow, Alito, Paul Singer, Singer Organizations: Democratic, Committee, Service, Republicans, GOP Locations: Washington

☆ Federal Judge Defends Clarence Thomas in New Book
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Carl Hulse | More About Carl Hulse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The book recounts 12 cases in which Justice Thomas, in Judge Thapar’s view, assiduously followed the original intent of the Constitution in siding with the aggrieved. He aims to dispel what he says are gross misconceptions about his book’s subject. “By cherry-picking his opinions or misrepresenting them, Justice Thomas’s critics claim that his originalism favors the rich over the poor, the strong over the weak and corporations over consumers,” the book says. While he promotes the book, he has found himself addressing the current furor over the court as much as Justice Thomas’s record — an unusual position in the ranks of federal judges, who usually steer clear of the media. Judge Thapar did note that he believes judges should stick to the letter of the law in providing required information.

Persons: Thapar, Thomas’s, Thomas, Thapar’s, Judge Thapar, Thomas’s originalism, ” Judge Thapar, Justice Thomas, “, ”

Last week, the Supreme Court said race-conscious policies adopted by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina to ensure that more non-white students are admitted are unconstitutional. Harvard College is the undergraduate school of Harvard University. The groups in Monday's complaint said the Supreme Court ruling had made it even more imperative to eliminate policies that disadvantage non-white applicants. Representative Barbara Lee, a Democrat from California, called legacy policies "affirmative action for white people" in a tweet. The lawyer, Seth Waxman, told the court that there was no evidence that ending legacy preferences would lead to a more diverse student body.

Persons: Ivan Espinoza, Madrigal, ”, Joe Biden, las, Barbara Lee, Michael Kippins, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Seth Waxman, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Leslie Adler Organizations: Harvard, U.S, Supreme, U.S . Department of Education, Harvard University, University of North, Harvard College, Lawyers, Civil Rights, Democrat, of Education, UNC, Conservative, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, Boston, California, Albany , New York

☆ John Roberts Is Harming the Institution He Wants to Protect - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Jeff Shesol | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In June 2012, at the end of a contentious Supreme Court term that decided, among other things, the fate of the Affordable Care Act, Chief Justice John Roberts prepared to leave for Malta, to teach a course on the court. Such circumstances would pain any chief justice, this one more than most. The chief justice is portrayed by some as a tragic figure, powerless to save his court from itself. But the tragedy of John Roberts is that he does have the power to restore some measure of the court’s reputation — he just hasn’t used it. This term will likely be remembered as the year the Supreme Court, led by its chief justice, ended race-conscious admissions at the nation’s colleges and universities.

Persons: John Roberts, “, ”, Walter Bagehot, Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, —, Thomas’s, Virginia Thomas Organizations: Affordable, White, ProPublica, The New York Times Locations: Malta, “ Malta, “, Alabama, Congress

☆ A shadowy club in California recently associated with Clarence Thomas is being sued for multiple labor violations. Here's what the secret retreat is known for.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Former workers, known as valets, are suing an elite men's club for alleged labor violations. The Bohemian Club has been associated with right-wing political figures, including Clarence Thomas. The suit names Bohemian Club treasurer William Dawson as someone who directly asked employees to "falsify payroll records." The club is also known for hosting "Lakeside Talks," where members, often those of the political elite, speak about policy ideas. The Bohemian Club and a lawyer for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, —, Harlan Crow, Thomas, valets, William Dawson, Sam Singer, Singer, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, Alex Jones Organizations: Bohemian, Service, GOP, Bohemian Club, Pomella, Press Democrat, Club, Grove Locations: California, Monte Rio , California, Bohemian

☆ After student loan decision, AOC says the Supreme Court is on 'a dangerous creep towards authoritarianism'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the Supreme Court is on a "dangerous creep" to authoritarianism. The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Congress had not intended to authorize Biden's debt relief plan under a 2003 measure known as the HEROES Act. Following the court's decision, the White House announced it would draft a new rule, citing that law, to provide loan forgiveness. "The Supreme Court has not been receiving the adequate oversight necessary in order to preserve their own legitimacy," she said. "And in the process, they themselves have been destroying the legitimacy of the court, which is profoundly dangerous for our entire democracy."

Persons: Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, —, Joe Biden's, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, John Roberts Organizations: CNN, New York Democrat, Service, Union, Congress, Higher, White House Locations: Alexandria, Cortez, New York

☆ Mike Pence, who supported the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling, doesn't think there's racial inequality in education
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Pence supported the Supreme Court ruling which struck down affirmative action in college admissions. He said that while affirmative action may have been needed in the past, that is no longer the case. "I really do believe that we can move forward as a country," he told CBS News on Sunday. I believe there was," he told host Margaret Brennan regarding the need for affirmative action. "I mean, there may have been a time when affirmative action was necessary simply to open the doors of all of our schools and universities, but I think that time has passed."

Persons: Pence, —, Mike Pence, Margaret Brennan, we've, Clarence Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Thomas, Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor Organizations: CBS News, Service, CBS, Harvard University, University of North, Chapel, Latina Locations: University of North Carolina

☆ Chief Justice Roberts hasn't become less conservative. He's just more concerned with the Supreme Court's legacy than partisanship.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the liberals on the Supreme Court in key cases this term. Hardline conservatives have soured on the chief justice for his opinions siding with the Court's liberal justices in recent years. "Roberts' is the one whose name will be attached to this — it is the Roberts Court. The Times found in this term, the chief justice voted less often with the conservative majority and voted with liberal Justice Elena Kagan 14% more than the last term. "And I think Roberts perhaps has more of a concern with that kind of perspective because he's in the Court's center chair, because his name is attached to it, because it's his legacy."

Persons: John Roberts, SCOTUS, Roberts, —, Roberts —, George W, Bush, William Rehnquist —, Justin Crowe, Crowe, I'm, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, hasn't, Elena Kagan Organizations: Service, GOP, Williams University, Washington Post, The New York Times, Times

☆ Supreme Court's affirmative action decision sets 'race-neutral' standard in college admission decisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —When the Supreme Court cut affirmative action out of college admissions programs Thursday, it did not outlaw the goal of achieving diversity, but it set a new “race-neutral” standard for considering applicants. Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote his own concurring opinion, uses the term “race neutral” repeatedly, offering it as an antidote to affirmative action. For more on this view, read this piece in The Atlantic by scholars Uma Jayakumar and Ibram Kendi: “‘Race Neutral’ Is the New ‘Separate but Equal.’”What have race-neutral admissions policies accomplished? They can, presumably, still utilize affirmative action even though they are the higher learning institutions over which the federal government has the most control. Multiple corporations – from Apple to IKEA – asked the Supreme Court to allow affirmative action to continue so that their potential workforce is more diverse.

Persons: John Roberts, Roberts, they’ve, Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, ”, Uma Jayakumar, Laura Coates, CNN’s Nicquel Terry Ellis, Zack Mabel, Terry Ellis, CNN’s Leah Asmelash, Ronald Brownstein Organizations: CNN, Public, Institute of California, University of California’s, UC, UC enrollees, UC Berkeley, Harvard University, Georgetown University Center, Education, Workforce, Georgetown’s Center for Education, IKEA –, Republican Locations: California, Michigan, Thomas, California In California, enrollees, UC enrollees, American, America, Apple

☆ Takeaways from the latest controversial and contentious Supreme Court term
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Ariane De Vogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

In his opinion blocking the student debt program, Roberts insisted he is concerned about criticisms of the court. “Make no mistake: Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the Court participates in the process or not,” he warned. In June, the court sided with a cement mixing company that sought to bypass federal labor law and sue a union in state court for the destruction of property caused by striking workers. On Tuesday, when Roberts announced the court’s opinion in Moore v. Harper, liberals and even some conservatives exhaled, relieved that the court was rejecting a controversial Trump-backed election law theory. “Justice Jackson has a different view,” he said at one point.

Persons: John Roberts, Roe, Wade, ” Roberts, Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, he’d, Joe Biden’s, Roberts –, –, It’s, Donald Trump’s, ”, Gorsuch, Neil Gorsuch, Bostock, Lorie Smith, ” Alito, Alito, Dobbs, Jackson, Brett Kavanaugh’s, hadn’t, Paul Singer, Singer, ProPublica, “ we’d, “, ” ProPublica, Thomas, Dick Durbin, Elena Kagan, KBJ, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Dr, Adam Feldman, ” Feldman, Sonia Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, Thomas couldn’t, ” Jenny Hunter, ” Jackson, ‘, Harper, exhaled, Barack Obama, Rick Hasen –, Hasen, Moore, Thomas Long, Kevin Merida, Michael Fletcher, “ Justice Jackson, Thomas ’ “, ” Thomas Organizations: CNN, Civil, Creative, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Street, GOP, Illinois Democrat, pounced, University of North, National Labor Relations, Independent, Trump, Federal, “, UNC Locations: Colorado, Washington , DC, United States, “, Rome, Illinois, American, Moore, North Carolina

☆ By striking down affirmative action, the Supreme Court put forth a dangerous and false ideal of 'colorblindness'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Trisha Gopal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Sotomayor and Thomas are both the likely beneficiaries of affirmative action. A student at Harvard University at a rally in support of keeping affirmative action policies outside the Supreme Court on October 31, 2022. A young boy at the University of California, Berkeley in 1995 as students and families protested to keep affirmative action policies. In a statement following the ruling, former president Barack Obama wrote, "Like any policy, affirmative action wasn't perfect. Roberts accused the colleges' affirmative action programs of "employ[ing] race in a negative manner" without any "meaningful end points."

Persons: Sotomayor, —, Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, colorblindness, Colorblindness, Howard Schultz, Tomi Lahren, Plessy, Ferguson, John Marshall Harlan, Antonin Scalia, Justice Roberts, Harlan's, David Butow, Roberts, Barack Obama, Michelle, haven't, Evelyn Hockstein, Michelle Obama, Katherine Phillips, Phillips Organizations: Supreme, Service, Harvard University, University of North, Latina, Yale Law School, Starbucks, Washington Post, Getty, Black, Seattle School District, University of California, Harvard, UCLA, UC, REUTERS, Princeton, Scientific, Columbia Business Locations: Berkeley, University of North Carolina, California, Idaho

☆ Along With Conservative Triumphs, Signs of New Caution at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Adam Liptak | Alicia Parlapiano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court ended its term this week in familiar fashion, issuing blockbuster conservative decisions on affirmative action, gay rights and student loans that divided along partisan lines, with the court’s three Democratic appointees in dissent. While not quite as stunning as last June’s decisions eliminating the right to abortion and expanding gun rights, the new rulings were of a piece with them and were a further indication that the court remains receptive to the conservative legal movement’s agenda, including cutting back on a progressive conception of civil rights and frustrating President Biden’s initiatives. But the entire story of the most recent term is considerably more complicated than that of the previous one, which had seemed to establish an unyielding conservative juggernaut characterized by impatience and ambition — and built to last. A year later, the court remains deeply conservative but is more in tune with the fitfully incremental approach of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who is attentive to his court’s legitimacy, than with the take-no-prisoners approach of Justice Clarence Thomas. The chief justice’s strategy — and votes — produced a fair number of liberal victories.

Persons: —, John G, Roberts, Clarence Thomas Organizations: Democratic

☆ Schumer slams 'MAGA-captured Supreme Court' that now has led the right to achieve 'dangerous, regressive policies'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chuck Schumer unloaded on the Supreme Court after a pair of 6-3 rulings on Friday. The top Senate Democrat called the body a "MAGA-captured Supreme Court." The cases were 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis and Biden v. Nebraska, respectively. "The ill-founded and disappointing decisions from the Supreme Court are a stark reminder that it will take a sustained effort to rebalance our federal courts ...," Schumer said. Schumer's past criticism of the Supreme Court has drawn more than just eyebrows.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, MAGA, —, Joe Biden's, Schumer, Biden, Elenis, ProPublica, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Thomas, Alito, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Barack Obama, Antonin Scalia's, Donald Trump's, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts, Roberts, Elena Kagan's Organizations: Democrat, Service, Biden, New York Democrat Locations: Colorado, . Nebraska, Nebraska

The liberal justices, including Biden's appointee Ketanji Brown Jackson, found themselves in the role of the dissenting minority in some of the nine-month term's biggest cases. The conservative justices invoked the "major questions" doctrine, a muscular judicial approach that gives judges broad discretion to invalidate executive agency actions of "vast economic and political significance" unless Congress clearly authorized them. In those cases, the conservative justices were unified in the majority and the liberal justices dissented. In that case, the liberal justices were joined by one conservative justice, Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh, in dissenting on the new test. The justices on Friday agreed to decide whether a 1994 federal law that bars people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms violates the Constitution's Second Amendment.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M, Gorsuch, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, John G, Roberts, Jr, Samuel A, Alito, Elena Kagan, Read, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump's, Erwin Chemerinsky, Trump's, Chemerinsky, Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roe, Wade, Jackson, Justice Jackson, Adam Feldman, Biden's, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: Supreme, U.S, Republican, Harvard University, University of North, University of California Berkeley Law School, U.S . Environmental, Alabama, Senate, Consumer, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, WASHINGTON, University of North Carolina, U.S, Texas

But under a Colorado public accommodations law, she said she cannot post the statement because the state considers it illegal. The ruling – rooted in free speech grounds – will pierce state public accommodation laws for those businesses who sell so-called “expressive” goods. It is the latest victory for religious conservatives at the high court and will alarm critics who fear the current court is setting its sights on overturning the 2015 marriage case. When the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in February 2022, the justices sidestepped whether the law violated Smith’s free exercise of religion. In court, Waggoner said that the law works to compel speech in violation of the First Amendment.

Persons: Justice Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Lorie Smith, Gorsuch, ”, Smith’s, ” Gorsuch, Sotomayor, “, ’, Kristen Waggoner, Matthew Shepard, ” Sotomayor, Bostock, Trump, Kelley Robinson, Ritchie Torres, ” Torres, Waggoner, Smith, Smith –, –, ” Smith, ” Waggoner, Eric Olson Organizations: CNN, Chief, U.S, Supreme, Pride Month, Civil, American Civil Liberties Union, ”, Democratic, Twitter, Appeals Locations: Colorado, United States, Clayton County

☆ The Supreme Court justices paid an average of $42,539 to go to college. Today, they'd have to pay around $320,531.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Supreme Court struck down Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. Student loan payments will likely resume in October. For the justices behind the decision, the cost of an undergraduate degree was much cheaper when they were in school. According to EDI, there was a 2,807% increase in the average student loan debt at graduation between 1970 and 2021 before adjusting for inflation. Student loan borrowers gathered at the Supreme Court today to tell the court that student loan relief is legal on January 2, 2023.

Persons: —, Joe Biden's, Biden, Clarence Thomas, Wally McNamee, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, John Roberts, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Roberts, Jackson, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Larry French, Thomas, Gorsuch Organizations: Service, Republicans, White, Education Data Initiative, The College of, Princeton University, Harvard, Yale, Columbia University, Rhodes College, Associated Press, AP

☆ U.S. Supreme Court won't weigh gender dysphoria's status under disability law
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | 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: +4 min

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday turned away a dispute involving a transgender woman whose former jailers housed her with men and delayed her hormone treatment in a case that asked whether gender dysphoria is a disability under federal law. At issue was whether gender dysphoria, a condition involving distress resulting from a discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their assigned sex at birth, qualifies as a disability under a landmark 1990 federal law called the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The jail classified Williams as male because she "maintains the male genitalia with which she was born," according to 2021 court records. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the judge's ruling, finding that gender dysphoria is protected under the ADA. Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kesha Williams, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Williams, Sheriff Stacey Kincaid, Jesse Helms, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Disabilities, Conservative, Adult, Republican, Circuit, ADA, Lawyers, Virginia, Thomson Locations: Fairfax County , Virginia, Fairfax, U.S, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Richmond , Virginia, West Virginia, New York

☆ Conservatives are on a roll in their quest to remake America through the courts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The Supreme Court’s gutting of affirmative action in college admissions on Thursday toppled another pillar of America’s liberal social infrastructure. The wider political battleThe court’s activism is being complimented by increasingly radical conservative legislatures in many states. The Supreme Court ruled that June that same-sex couples could marry in all 50 states and upheld the Affordable Care Act. And President Joe Biden’s view of the conservative majority on the bench could hardly be more dark. This allowed Trump to name Justice Neil Gorsuch as his first Supreme Court nominee in 2017.

Persons: CNN — Conservatives –, –, Franklin Roosevelt –, Roe, Wade, Ron DeSantis, Republicans –, Clarence Thomas ’, “, Dobbs, Matt Schlapp, Thomas, perversely, Barack Obama, ” Obama, Joe Biden’s, ” Biden, Obama, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Merrick Garland, Biden, Trump, Neil Gorsuch, McConnell, Amy Coney Barrett Organizations: CNN — Conservatives, Biden, Trump, White, Senate, GOP, Republican, Florida Gov, House, Republicans, Political Action, thunderbolts, Democratic, Liberal, Supreme, Conservative, Republican Party, White House, Independent Locations: Colorado, America, –

June 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, effectively prohibiting affirmative action policies long used to raise the number of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students on campuses. "Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause," Roberts wrote, referring to the constitutional provision. Affirmative action had withstood Supreme Court scrutiny for decades, most recently in a 2016 ruling involving a white student, backed by Blum, who sued the University of Texas after being rejected for admission. Jackson did not participate in the Harvard case because of her past affiliation with the university. The ruling did not explicitly say it was overruling landmark precedent upholding affirmative action.

Persons: Constitution's, Edward Blum, Roe, Wade, John Roberts, Roberts, Blum, Donald Trump, Trump, Thursday's, Joe Biden's, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Sotomayor, Peter Hans, Hans, Clarence Thomas, Bollinger, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, Harvard, UNC, Fair, Universities, University of Texas, Republican, America, Liberal, Jackson, Asian, Civil, University of North Carolina, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, U.S, States, Black, America, New York

☆ Opinion | Harvard Undermined Itself on Affirmative Action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There’s an old saying in the legal profession: Bad facts make bad law. Sometimes, however, bad facts highlight the need for better law. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that, in the case of college admissions, the bad facts of racial discrimination created the necessity of a new standard. The defendant, Harvard University, had repeatedly undermined its own case for race-conscious affirmative action, and the court’s new precedent outlaws racial discrimination in admissions while still preserving the state’s ability to respond to the legacy of past injustice. To understand why Harvard lost — and why race-based affirmative action in public colleges and federally-funded private schools is now unlawful — it’s necessary to understand two key facts about the case.

Persons: John Roberts, Justice Roberts, —, Clarence Thomas Organizations: Harvard University, Harvard, University of North Locations: University of North Carolina

☆ Clarence Thomas says he's 'painfully aware the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race' as he rules against affirmative action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action policies at Harvard and UNC. Thomas said he's aware of the obstacles faced by 'my race,' but ruled affirmative action was discriminatory. Thomas declared "the Constitution prevails" in his opinion as the Supreme Court effectively outlawed affirmative action at US colleges and universities. In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled that policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina were unconstitutional. Thomas then wrote affirmative action is also discrimination, calling the policies "rudderless, race-based preferences designed to ensure a particular racial mix in" Harvard and UNC's "entering classes."

Persons: Justice Clarence Thomas, Thomas, he's, —, Clarence Thomas, Brown, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson — Organizations: Harvard, UNC, Justice, Service, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, of Education Locations: Independence, United States, University of North Carolina

☆ Supreme Court rejects affirmative action at colleges as unconstitutional
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

watch nowThe Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the affirmative action admission policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional. Justice Clarence Thomas, a Black conservative who wrote a concurring opinion, said that the schools' affirmative action admissions policies "fly In the face of our colorblind constitution. In her dissent to the majority, liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is Black, called the ruling "truly a tragedy for us all." In doing so, she argued the Supreme Court "cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter." U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Getty Images

Persons: John Roberts, Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Chip Somodevilla, Sonia Sotomayor, Sotomayor, Sonia Sotomayor Getty Organizations: Harvard, University of North, U.S, Supreme, of Harvard College Locations: University of North Carolina, Washington ,

admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the equal protection clause,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority. The court had repeatedly upheld similar admissions programs, most recently in 2016, saying that race could be used as one factor among many in evaluating applicants. The university responded that its admissions policies fostered educational diversity and were lawful under longstanding Supreme Court precedents. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said that courts must give universities substantial but not total leeway in devising their admissions programs. The Texas decision essentially reaffirmed Grutter v. Bollinger, a 2003 decision in which the Supreme Court endorsed holistic admissions programs, saying it was permissible to consider race to achieve educational diversity.

Persons: “, John G, Roberts, ”, Sonia Sotomayor, Edward Blum, Antonin Scalia, Elena Kagan, Justice Anthony M, Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G, Breyer, Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kennedy, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ginsburg, Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Breyer, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Justice Jackson, Grutter, Bollinger, Sandra Day O’Connor, Clarence Thomas Organizations: Harvard, University of North, Civil, Asian, Fair, University of Texas Locations: University of North Carolina, North Carolina, Austin, Texas

“The Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today,” Roberts wrote. During oral arguments, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar stressed the unique interests of the military and argued that race-based admissions programs further the nation’s compelling interest of diversity. Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law, said the decision will still not end the legal fight over college admissions. The Supreme Court stepped in to consider the case before it was heard by a federal appeals court.

Persons: John Roberts, “, ” Roberts, Clarence Thomas, ”, ” Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, ” Sotomayor, Sotomayor, Martin Luther King, Jackson, “ ‘, Roberts, Elizabeth Prelogar, ” Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Republican Sen, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, ” Trump, Mike Pence, ” Pence, Chuck Schumer, Laura Coates, Steve Vladeck, ” Vladeck, ” Long, SSFA, Loretta C, Biggs, ” Biggs, SFFA, Cameron T, Norris, Harvard “, Prelogar, Lewis F, Powell Jr Organizations: CNN, Harvard, University of North, UNC, Supreme, GOP, Republican, America, Truth, New York Democrat, University of Texas School of Law, Asian, Fair, Court, Middle, Middle District of, University, US, University of California, Bakke Locations: University of North Carolina, Independence, United States, Lower, Middle District, Middle District of North Carolina

☆ Ketanji Brown Jackson accuses Clarence Thomas of having 'an obsession with race consciousness' and relying on 'many more straw men' than can be listed in his affirmative action opinion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ketanji Brown Jackson said Clarence Thomas's opinion showed "an obsession with race consciousness." In his own 57 page long concurring opinion, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas — a staunch conservative appointed by Republican President George H.W. "Worse still, Justice Jackson uses her broad observations about statistical relationships between race and select measures of health, wealth, and well-being to label all blacks as victims. "Given our history, the origin of persistent race-linked gaps should be no mystery," Jackson wrote. "Justice Thomas ignites too many more straw men to list, or fully extinguish, here," Jackson wrote.

Persons: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Clarence Thomas's, —, Clarence Thomas —, George H.W, Bush —, Joe Biden, Thomas, Jackson Organizations: Service, United States Supreme, Republican, University of North Locations: University of North Carolina

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