Tag: U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court reshapes Congress’ power to allow lawsuits

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In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas writes that the court ‘has relieved the legislature of its power to create and define rights’

A Supreme Court decision Friday about a class-action lawsuit against credit reporting agency TransUnion limits Congress’s power to determine who can file a federal lawsuit — by shifting more of that decision to the judicial branch.

The case centers on the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, which created a way for consumers to file a lawsuit to recover damages for certain violations of law, in part to protect consumer privacy. The majority ruled, in a sharply divided 5-4 opinion, that some of the plaintiffs did not have the right to file the lawsuit.

In doing so, the majority delves into separation-of-powers issues between the three branches of government. And the court concludes that Congress can give people the right to file a lawsuit over violations of law, but ultimately the federal courts have the power to say whether those people can file those lawsuits. Continue reading.

Whitehouse bolsters push to shine light on ‘dark money’ at Supreme Court

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Rhode Island Democrat says campaigns have the ‘tradecraft of a covert op’

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has told and retold the story of what he calls “the scheme” for years. The Rhode Island Democrat has written reports and essays, introduced bills, filed briefs, gone on cable TV and made presentations at high-profile Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

But Whitehouse hasn’t been as convincing as he’d hoped in his campaign to curb conservative anonymous donors and their influence on the Supreme Court — even as that “dark money” now floods in to support the judicial nomination process his party controls.

“In terms of Democrats, we’ve fallen short on taking this seriously and communicating to the public what a hazard the dark money operation is,” Whitehouse told CQ Roll Call this month. Continue reading.

Supreme Court unanimously sides with Catholic adoption agency that turned away same-sex couples

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The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that the city of Philadelphia ran afoul of religious protections when it cut ties with a Catholic adoption agency over its refusal to place foster children with same-sex couples.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for six members of the court, said that Philadelphia violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise clause by rebuffing the Catholic Social Services (CSS) agency.

“CSS seeks only an accommodation that will allow it to continue serving the children of Philadelphia in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs; it does not seek to impose those beliefs on anyone else,” Roberts wrote. “The refusal of Philadelphia to contract with CSS for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents cannot survive strict scrutiny, and violates the First Amendment.” Continue reading.

Supreme Court upholds ObamaCare in 7-2 ruling

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The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld ObamaCare against the latest Republican challenge, preserving the landmark law and its key protections for millions of people with preexisting health conditions.

The justices ruled 7-2 that the GOP challengers lacked standing to sue, in a decision that marks the third major challenge to ObamaCare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to be rebuffed by the Supreme Court in roughly a decade.

The case arose after 18 Republican states brought a legal challenge in 2018 aimed at striking down the ACA. Continue reading.

McConnell signals GOP would block Biden Supreme Court pick in ’24

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled Monday that Republicans, if they win back control of the upper chamber, wouldn’t advance a Supreme Court nominee if a vacancy occurred in 2024, the year of the next presidential election. 

“I think it’s highly unlikely — in fact, no, I don’t think either party, if it were different from the president, would confirm a Supreme Court nominee in the middle of an election,” McConnell told radio host Hugh Hewitt.

McConnell was asked if a GOP-controlled Senate would take the same tack in 2024 that it did in 2016, when they refused to give Merrick Garland, former President Obama’s final Supreme Court pick, a hearing or a vote on his nomination to fill the vacancy created by the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Continue reading.

Supreme Court weighs voting rights in a pivotal Arizona case

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Would you vote by mail if you had to drive hours to a post office to mail your ballot? That question confronts the United States Supreme Court this session in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, which analysts see as one of the most important voting rights cases in a decade. 

The case considers two Arizona laws that place limits on how and when Arizonans can vote. 

A state law passed in 2016, H.B. 2023, makes it a felony for anyone other than a family member, caregiver or postal worker to collect and deliver ballots. The second Arizona law in question requires ballots to be cast in the assigned precinct where a voter lives. If a voter casts a provisional ballot at the wrong polling place, election officials will reject it. Continue reading.

Supreme Court Rules Against Immigrants Seeking Green Cards

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The justices said immigrants with “temporary protected status” who entered the country without authorization may not apply for lawful permanent residency.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that immigrants allowed to stay in the United States temporarily for humanitarian reasons may not apply for green cards if they had entered the country unlawfully.

The case, Sanchez v. Mayorkas, No. 20-315, could affect tens of thousands of immigrants. It was brought by Jose Sanchez and Sonia Gonzalez, natives of El Salvador who entered the United States unlawfully in the late 1990s.

In 2001, after earthquakes devastated El Salvador, the United States made that country’s nationals eligible for the “temporary protected status” program. The program shields immigrants from parts of the world undergoing armed conflicts and natural disasters from deportation and allows them to work in the United States. Continue reading.

Supreme Court takes case that could diminish Roe v. Wade

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The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a dispute over a Mississippi law that bans virtually all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, potentially setting the 6-3 conservative majority court on a collision course with the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.

The move was announced in an unsigned order, with the justices indicating the dispute would be limited to the major issue of the constitutionality of pre-viability restrictions on elective abortions. 

The case was brought on appeal by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) after a federal appeals court sided with challengers to the state’s restriction.  Continue reading.

Supreme Court to hear major NRA-backed gun rights case

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The Supreme Court will hear a major NRA-backed gun rights case on whether New Yorkers can carry concealed handguns while in public. 

Why it matters: The challenge to a New York state law restricting the ability of residents to carry concealed handguns in public could result in the most consequential ruling related to the Second Amendment in over a decade. It comes at a politically fraught moment in the national debate over gun control.

Background: The handgun licensing law in New York state has been on the books since 1913, per Vox. People carrying handguns in public must demonstrate “proper cause” in order to have a license, such as hunting or store protection. Continue reading.

Supreme Court rebuffs GOP bid to revive Trump’s ‘public charge’ rule

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The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a bid by Republican state attorneys general to revive former President Trump‘s “public charge” rule.

The rule, which the Biden administration formally rescinded last month, tightened restrictions on poorer immigrants seeking U.S. residency.

A group of red-state attorneys general, led by Texas’s Ken Paxton, had moved earlier this year to intervene in a case out of Illinois, where a district court judge had vacated the rule nationwide. That move came after the Biden administration had dropped its appeal of the ruling, effectively allowing the public charge rule to die. Continue reading.