Free Republic

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. made it clear as he began taking questions at yesterday's National Italian American Foundation luncheon that he couldn't reveal any of the Supreme Court's forthcoming opinions. But did he at least give a hint? Two of the court's biggest remaining cases focus on the First Amendment, and while Alito didn't mention either, he did make it clear that any restrictions on speech face a high hurdle with him. "I'm a very strong believer in the First Amendment and the right of people to speak and to write," Alito said in response to a question of...

It was buried in the avalanche of coverage of the horrible shootings at Virginia Tech. But the Supreme Court's partial-birth ruling will likely have a much bigger impact on Campaign. The human toll is unfathomable. And the heartfelt debate triggered by the slaughter at Virginia Tech—over why America allows such easy access to guns, and how best to determine when a troubled student might turn into a psychopath—will rage on for years. But as a political matter, the killings in Blacksburg, Va., will likely have little impact—on the presidential campaign of 2008, at least. That race will, however, be affected...

After the Supreme Court upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at a news conference: "I would only say that this isn't the only decision that a lot of us wish that [Justice Samuel] Alito weren't there and [former justice Sandra Day] O'Connor were there." Does that mean Reid was repudiating his 2003 Senate vote in favor of the bill? No, he told me Thursday, he was talking about other decisions by Alito. Reid, an effective legislator and canny politician, reflects a dilemma on abortion among Democrats, currently flying high against dispirited...

WILLIAMSBURG -- College of William and Mary officials removed a 2-foot-high gold cross from the altar of the Sir Christopher Wren Building chapel this week, in an effort to modify the historic chapel into a nondenominational space. The cross is now kept in a nearby storage closet, near communion wine bottles and other religious articles.

These days, if you announce that the Supreme Court is doing politics rather than law you will provoke more yawns than protests. But what sort of politics is the Court doing? Justice Antonin Scalia frequently charges the Court with stepping out of its judicial role and taking sides in the culture wars. That is eminently plausible. Still, we are admonished to have charity, and a more charitable interpretation is at least possible. Some of the Justices, including some who are most centrally placed on the Court, seem to have a very different self-understanding. They seem to see themselves as performing...