Courts

Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action

AP Photo/Gerry Broome In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious admissions programs. In both cases — Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina — college admissions programs considered race as one of many factors in determining an application’s value. The Court ruled that […]

Courts

Supreme Court explicitly rejects independent state legislature theory

Photo by Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash Voting rights activists around the country are celebrating as the Supreme Court released their decision for the Moore v. Harper case, ruling that state legislatures do not have the authority to set election rules outside the constraints of state constitutions. This is the second time this month we have seen a pro-democracy victory, where the Supreme […]

Courts

Will SCOTUS Uphold Domestic Abusers’ Right to Own Guns?

Photo by Claire Anderson on Unsplash It has now been a year since the Supreme Court issued its first major gun decision in over a decade. In New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Court ruled that the constitutionality of gun control laws can no longer be determined solely by state interests. […]

Courts Politics

Biden’s student debt relief plan hangs in the balance

Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash The Supreme Court is expected to announce a decision on the constitutionality of President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan in the next few weeks. Biden’s original debt relief plan would have canceled up to $20,000 for the millions of borrowers struggling with student loans across the country. The program […]

Courts Politics

Supreme Court rules to protect the Voting Rights Act

Photo from Aurora Samperio/NurPhoto via ZUMA Press In a surprising win for voting rights and racial justice, the Supreme Court voted last week to reaffirm a decades old precedent prohibiting racial gerrymandering. The decision centered around Alabama’s legislative districts, where a Republican led redistricting plan would result in White voters becoming the majority in six […]

Abortion Abortion Providers Courts Health Reproductive Rights

Texas Catastrophic Abortion Ban Goes into Effect: Supreme Court Refuses to Act

Texas’s six-week abortion ban went into effect today after the Supreme Court failed to act on abortion providers’ emergency filing to block the law. The ban essentially ends abortion access in Texas, the second-largest state in the country. The ban, which is the strictest in the country, prohibits abortions from being performed after six weeks […]

Courts Health On the Hill

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 […]

Courts Health Politics Reproductive Rights

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 […]