Free Republic

The Supreme Court is slated to release decisions for the 10 cases remaining on its 2022-2023 term docket this week, which will include major rulings on affirmative action and election law. Justices have already issued rulings on major Indian law cases, struck down Alabama’s congressional district map under the Voting Rights Act and limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate under the Clean Water Act. But the most highly anticipated cases of the term—including ones about religious rights, affirmative action and President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan—are still to come. Religious Accommodations A former postal worker’s right to...

Today the U.S. Supreme Court hears a case that could determine whether parents and taxpayers have any choices about the kind of religion American children are taught with taxpayer funds. Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue concerns whether private donations may support schools that make their religious beliefs explicit. It could also undo a century of U.S. court and legislative decisions that used animus between Protestants and Catholics to attack the faith of both kinds of Christians’ children over the last century.Five years ago, Montana’s legislature enacted a tiny school choice program that allows residents to deduct up to...

The U.S. Supreme Court in January is slated to hear a case that could have significant implications for the separation of church and state. The crux of the case facing the justices in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue is whether or not a state can be compelled to use taxpayer funds to subsidize religious education. The case centers on the state’s 2015 Montana Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which aimed to give residents “choice in education” by providing a tax-credit of up to $150 for contributions that fund privately-run scholarship programs. The initial lawsuit was filed by three mothers who...

The Supreme Court has set a date, March 4, to hear oral arguments in a case over a Louisiana abortion law. The hot-button case is about a Louisiana law that would require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Critics say this is aimed at forcing abortion clinics to close. In February, the court ruled to prevent the law from taking effect while it faces a legal challenge. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the liberal justices in this decision, but it is unclear whether he would vote to block the law permanently. A similar law...

The U.S. Supreme Court kicked off its new nine-month term with a flurry of activity on Monday, hearing arguments in three cases and rejecting numerous appeals that piled up over the summer. With conservative Justice Clarence Thomas absent due to an unspecified illness, the court began hearing its first argument in a case focusing on whether states can discard the so-called insanity defense in criminal prosecutions. The case involved a man sentenced to death in Kansas for fatally shooting four family members while suffering from severe depression. In remarks from the bench before the first argument, Chief Justice John Roberts...

LEXINGTON, Kentucky, August 23, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – The Christian owner of a Kentucky print shop who has spent years fighting for his right not to create “gay pride” T-shirts has taken his case to the state Supreme Court. Blaine Adamson is the owner of Hands On Originals Christian Outfitters, a Lexington company that advertises "high quality, customized Christian apparel.” For the past several years, he has been fighting the Lexington Human Rights Commission over his polite refusal of the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization’s (now called the Pride Community Services Organization) request to print shirts for the Lexington Pride Festival....

The Supreme Court on Monday denied a request to take up a challenge to a federal law requiring the registration of some firearms including silencers. Challengers in the case believe the Second Amendment protects such firearm accessories. An appeals court had held that a silencer is not a "bearable" arm protected by the Constitution. The case comes as a silencer was used during the recent Virginia Beach massacre and President Donald Trump suggested he'd look into restrictions on gun silencers. The Trump administration had also urged the court not to take up the issue. The order was issued without comment...

If you think the Supreme Court's conservative majority won't touch well-established legal precedent: think again. In a 5-4 ruling on Monday, the court overturned a 40-year-old precedent in a low-profile sovereign immunity case, a move liberals see as a potential indication that the precedent set by Roe v. Wade could be under threat. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority, "stare decisis does not compel continued adherence to this erroneous precedent," referring to the principle of legal precedent. He did not suggest that there was an urgent issue or functional problem with existing doctrine -- simply that it was wrong....

If 'sex' in federal law is replaced with 'gender identity,' the government will be unable to ensure equal opportunities for women. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes has been serving grieving families in the Detroit area since 1910. But in recent years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has targeted this small family-owned funeral home for punishment due to their refusal to participate in an employee’s so-called gender identity preferences. Why? To achieve its political objective: replacing “sex” in Title VII, a federal law, with “gender identity.” This means bypassing Congress to completely change the meaning of federal laws intended...

The Supreme Court heard a direct challenge to a major component of federal agency law Wednesday called "Auer Deference." Auer deference says judges ought to defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own regulations....Business groups and conservative critics of the administrative state have waged a steady campaign against Auer in recent years....An agency will intentionally issue a vague regulation, construe that regulation to its own benefit, then use Auer to command judicial fealty to its decision.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday let an unidentified foreign government-owned company appeal under seal a grand jury subpoena possibly related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s role in the 2016 election, and the firm said a ruling against it would “wreak havoc” on American foreign policy. The case has remained a high-profile mystery, with the Supreme Court and lower courts declining to identify the company, the country that owns it or the purpose of the subpoena. The company is facing a daily fine of $50,000 imposed by a U.S. federal judge in Washington for refusing...

Immigration is still at the top of the political discussion, especially after President Trump’s recent comments about citizen birthright. A common talking point for those who are in favor of illegals jumping the border to have a child and stay in the United States is “well, that is just what the Fourteenth Amendment allows.” Does it, however? Judge Andrew Napolitano is a Fox News commentator on legal issues. He weighed in on the matter during "Outnumbered," but gave no real argument as to why Trump was wrong. His main stance was “so says the Constitution,” but he did not mention...

WASHINGTON- With Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination in limbo, a shorthanded Supreme Court appeared evenly split Monday over a potential habitat for an endangered frog in the first arguments of the new term. The arguments and the appearance of the eight justices on the bench – an empty place on the far right where a ninth would sit – underscored the unusual environment in which the high court began its new term. Republicans had hoped to have Kavanaugh confirmed in time for Monday’s session, an addition that would cement conservative control of the court. But the vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination has been...

The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will speed up a case involving the Trump administration’s request to cancel the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty, moving to grab a piece of the unfolding immigration debate.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday granted review in the legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s permanent policy restricting entry into the United States from the residents of eight terror-prone nations, in what will be a historic case on presidential authority, national security, the role of the courts in immigration, and the Constitution’s guarantee of religious liberty.This travel policy has gone through three versions since President Trump was sworn into office, and the Supreme Court’s decision in the case they accepted Friday should permanently settle all legal challenges to his authority on this subject. Congress delegated broad authority to the...

The Supreme Court said Friday it will take up the latest version of President Trump’s travel ban, and in particular asked to hear arguments on whether the president showed illegal animosity toward Muslims.

The Supreme Court could be responsible for the most far-reaching change to labor policy in 2018, as the justices will take up a case that could end the practice of forcing government workers to pay union dues. In September, the justices announced they would hear Janus v. American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees. Unions such as AFSCME depend on those funds and are likely to face steep membership and dues losses if the practice ends. Public-sector unions now account for roughly half of the labor movement, so a loss could be a blow to union power. The case...

The Supreme Court is facing two First Amendment issues, and we are at risk of having two different answers – ones that can only further confuse an already confusing selection of legal precedents. One is Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which hinges on a privately owned business's ability to pick and choose its customers based on religious beliefs. The other case is National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Xavier Becerra, which focuses on the rights of private, non-profit crisis pregnancy centers established by pro-life organizations and individuals to operate without being forced to advocate for abortion....

The Supreme Court has cancelled an oral argument hearing, scheduled for October 10, about President Trump's travel ban issued by executive order earlier this year. The hearing was taken off the schedule after the President issued a new ban and restrictions Sunday night, adding additional countries and laying out specific national security requirements for entry into the United States. Sudan has been dropped from the original travel ban list, while Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia remain. Iraq has also been dropped, although increased vetting has been implemented. North Korea, Chad and Venezuela have been added with varying levels of vetting and...

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- In Peruta v. California, the Ninth Circuit held that the right to carry concealed arms outside the home was not protected by the Second Amendment.The Ninth refused to consider that the ability to carry openly was prohibited by California law, thus nullifying the right to carry outside of the home. On Monday, 26 June, the Supreme Court officially denied the petition for a write of certiorari. The Ninth Circuit denial of Second Amendment rights outside the home will stand. From politico.com: The Supreme Court declined to review a case about the right to carry firearms outside the home,...