On Tuesday, President Biden announced his first slate of judicial nominees, including nominating U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the appeals court in Washington. Jackson is one of Biden’s 11 nominations and one of three Black women that he is nominating for appeals court vacancies. She is also the first Muslim American to serve […]
Voting Rights Groups File Lawsuits Against Restrictive GA Voting Law
Voting rights groups have filed two lawsuits against the restrictive voting rights legislation signed into law by Georgia governor Brian Kemp last week. The sweeping voter suppression bill SB 202 limits the use of drop boxes, limits voting days and times, ends no-excuse absentee voting and will enact stricter voter identification laws for absentee ballots. […]
Chelsea Becker, Woman Incarcerated for Pregnancy Loss, Released on Bail
On Tuesday, a California Judge granted Chelsea Becker’s request to be released on her own recognizance, and she will enter a residential treatment facility upon release. Becker had a stillbirth in 2019, and at the time Kings County District Attorney Keith L. Fagundes claimed that the stillbirth was caused by methamphetamine use, on no scientific […]
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Anti-Abortion Law in South Carolina
After one day of passage, federal Judge Mary Geiger Lewis placed a 14-day restraining order on the law and plans to renew it until amore substantial hearing on March 9th. The law, titled “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat Protection from Abortion Act” restricts abortion at the detection of fetal heartbeat, which can be as early as […]
Texas Judge Temporarily Blocks Order to Remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid
A state judge has ruled to temporarily halt the expulsion of Planned Parenthood from the Texas Medicaid program. Planned Parenthood affiliates brought an emergency lawsuit against the order on Wednesday, asserting that the state failed to give proper notice. The change was set to take effect on Thursday of this week, but the temporary restraining […]
Supreme Court Reinstates Anti-Abortion Measure
On Tuesday, The Supreme Court revived the federal mandate requiring medication abortion patients to pick up their mifepristone pill in person from a medical office or hospital, even when their consultation with their doctor is remote. The suit was originally brought against the FDA by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the Council […]
Federal Court Strikes Down Ohio Anti-Trans Birth Certificate Law
On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled against an Ohio law that prevented transgender individuals from correcting their assigned gender on their birth certificate. Judge Michael Watson found the measure unconstitutional, writing in his decision that, “This policy resembles the sort of discrimination-based legislation struck down under the equal protection clause in Romer v. Evans as […]
Court Rules Texas and Louisiana Can Cut Medicaid Funding for Planned Parenthood
A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that both Texas and Louisiana can stop providing funding to Planned Parenthood clinics, a clear move against abortion rights that will disproportionately impact low-income people and people of color. This move by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans also impacts Mississippi, which is under […]
Supreme Court Hearings on Affordable Care Act Endanger Women’s Health
The Supreme Court has been hearing oral arguments regarding the legality of the Affordable Care Act this week, which puts about 32 million people’s (a majority of whom are women) healthcare coverage at risk. The Affordable Care Act, in addition to providing millions of people with insurance coverage through Medicare and Medicaid, bans sex discrimination […]
State Abortion Policies in a World Without Roe
On Monday evening, Judge Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed and sworn into the Supreme Court of the United States. This confirmation will have potentially severe impacts on healthcare, immigration, and abortion rights. If Roe v. Wade were overturned, abortion rights would be in the hands of individual states. Some states have already enacted bans that […]
Barrett’s Appointment to Supreme Court Breaks Norms and Generates Outrage
Yesterday, Judge Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed and sworn into the Supreme Court. Barrett was confirmed by a 52-48 vote with all Democratic senators voting no for the first time in 151 years. This confirmation occurs in the context of an ongoing pandemic and an election that is now only one week away. In fact, more […]
Thousands of Women March in Washington D.C. to Protest Amy Coney Barrett’s Nomination
Last Saturday, thousands of Women’s March demonstrators marched the streets of Washington D.C. to protest Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. This march was organized by the Women’s March and required masks or face coverings and social distancing. Several events were also held virtually. Rachel Carmona, executive director of the […]
Los Angeles County Agrees to Pay $14 Million to Settle Immigration Suit
Yesterday, Los Angeles County voted to pay out $14 million to settle a class action suit that claimed that the Sheriff’s Department illegally held more than 18,500 people in jail beyond their release dates. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to settle, so the only thing left is a judge’s approval. This lawsuit […]
Senate Holds Confirmation Hearings for SCOTUS Nominee Amy Coney Barrett
Yesterday, confirmation hearings began in the Senate for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Many of the speeches and declarations made were regarding the 2020 elections, particularly Trump’s backing of a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act and the rushing of this hearing during a pandemic that has impacted many on Capitol Hill. […]
Senate in Recess Because of Coronavirus Cases
As of Monday, the Senate is in recess for two weeks due to many members of Trump’s staff, as well as three senators, testing positive for coronavirus. This is the first time since May that Mitch McConnell has adjourned the Senate because of coronavirus, and will potentially impact both the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney […]
Trump Administration Will Stop Blocking Pregnant Minors in Custody from Accessing Abortion
According to a judge-approved agreement from Wednesday, the Trump administration will cease blocking immigrant teens in federal custody from accessing abortion care. The policy follows an ACLU lawsuit from 2017 on behalf of a 17-year-old from Central America seeking an abortion, referred to as “Jane Doe”. The ACLU claimed that the government’s abortion ban has […]
Federal Judge Blocks Increase in Citizenship & Immigration Application Fees
Yesterday, a San Francisco federal judge temporarily blocked an increase in the cost of citizenship and other immigration application fees, an upsurge initiated by the Trump administration. These increases were scheduled to go into effect on Friday, October 2nd, and would raise the citizenship application cost from $640 to $1,160– an 81% increase. The proposal […]
Trump Nominates Conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett to Fill RBG’s Seat
President Trump announced that he will nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett is a staunch conservative with opposite views of Justice Ginsburg’s. Judge Barrett is a member of the religious group People of Praise, which “preaches women’s subordination to men and […]
Grand Jury Fails to Charge Officers Responsible for Breonna Taylor’s Murder
On September 23, a decision was made by a grand jury concerning the murder of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old Black woman from Louisville, KY who was killed in her home in March of this year. Out of the three officers present at her murder, only one – Brett Hankison – was charged. Hankison was charged […]
Celebrating Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Enormous Contribution to Women’s Rights
The impact Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg left on the contours of American society are unmatched, unprecedented, and too numerous to count. Below are a few examples of her impact, both in and out of the courtroom. ACLU Women’s Rights Project: in 1972, Justice Ginsburg founded the Women’s Rights Project in the ACLU. One of its […]
