The Week: Most Recent supreme-court

The real story behind the Supreme Court's campaign finance showdown: 6 takeaways

The Week — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:00:00 -0400

When Citizens United was first argued before the Supreme Court, in March 2009, "it seemed like a case of modest importance," says Jeffrey Toobin at The New Yorker. Less than a year later, in January 2010, the court handed down one of the most consequential decisions in its history, allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts to support their candidates of choice. The ruling wiped out more than a century of legal precedent, and made the court a central force in the controversial dynamic between big business and government. Here, six takeaways from Toobin's report on the "behind-the-scenes struggle...

The Supreme Court's historically low approval ratings: 4 theories

The Week — Thu, 03 May 2012 08:00:00 -0400

The Supreme Court's favorability rating is at a 25-year low, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center. The survey shows that only 52 percent of Americans view the court favorably, and while Congress can only dream of such a stratospheric number, the court enjoyed an 80 percent approval rating as recently as 1994. Remarkably, a roughly equal percentage of Democrats and Republicans approve of the court, a rare show of agreement in this age of hyper-partisanship. Here, four theories about why the Supreme Court's popularity is waning:

1. The court has become increasingly politicized
The...

Would striking down ObamaCare hurt the Supreme Court's credibility?

The Week — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:50:00 -0400

After three days of intense debate, President Obama's sweeping overhaul of the health-care system is now in the hands of nine black-robed justices. The Supreme Court's conservative judges clearly expressed their doubts about the law's constitutionality, leaving Obama's supporters fretting about ObamaCare's fate and the president's re-election chances. Meanwhile, liberals are warning that a decision by a conservative court to strike down a Democratic president's top domestic priority would hurt the court's credibility, cementing the perception that the law's scales are being tipped by politics,...

Do 14-year-old murderers deserve life in prison without parole?

The Week — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:35:00 -0400

This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case featuring two convicted murderers who committed their crimes when they were just 14 years old. Sentenced to life in prison without parole, the killers argue that the sentences amount to a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment. The case is just the latest to showcase the court's evolution on juvenile punishment — the Supreme Court abolished the juvenile death penalty in 2005, and barred life without parole for crimes other than murder in 2010. Here, a guide to the latest debate:

How many teen convicts...

Will affirmative action survive the Supreme Court?

The Week — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:19:00 -0500

In 2003, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote a landmark decision upholding the use of race in picking whom to admit to universities and graduate programs, and predicted that the ruling would stand for at least 25 years. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court cast doubt on O'Connor's forecast by accepting an affirmative action case from a white student at the University of Texas at Austin. The Roberts Court will probably hear college student Abigail Fisher's discrimination claim in October, just a few weeks before a heated presidential election — and the outlook is somewhat grim for affirmative...

The Supreme Court ruling on warrantless GPS tracking: 'Simply wrong'?

The Week — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:02:00 -0500

On Monday, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that police must obtain a warrant before using a GPS device to track a vehicle — a major victory for privacy rights supporters. "The government's installation of a GPS device on a target's vehicle, and its use of that device to monitor the vehicle's movements, constitutes a 'search,'" said Justice Antonin Scalia, representing the five-justice majority. (The other four arrived at the same decision but wrote other, concurring opinions). The ruling has some Americans outraged, since the extra steps police must take to get a warrant might allow lawbreakers...

Time for the Supreme Court to allow swearing on TV?

The Week — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:21:00 -0500

In a case that could spell big changes for TV viewers, the Supreme Court is considering whether the government should stop preventing television networks from airing curse words and nudity now that most Americans have unlimited access to adult material on cable TV and the internet. The broadcasters want the justices to throw out a 1978 decision upholding the Federal Communications Commission's authority to police the airwaves, saying the policy to set decency standards is outdated and confusing. Is it time to loosen up the rules?

The end of the censorship is long overdue: In 2012, Americans are...

The Supreme Court's 'potentially epic' term: 6 predictions

The Week — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:58:00 -0400

The U.S. Supreme Court begins a "potentially epic term" on Monday; already scheduled for the next nine months are a series of important cases that are sure to have broad legal and political ramifications. If the court agrees to hear it, the "big enchilada" will be the challenge to President Obama's health care overhaul, the Affordable Care Act, says former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh. Here, six big things to expect from the Supreme Court:

1. The "ObamaCare" ruling will roil the 2012 election
"It is almost a given" that the Supreme Court will agree to hear a legal challenge to the individual...

The Supreme Court denies an innocent man $14 million: The fallout

The Week — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:15:00 -0400

John Thompson spent 18 years in a Louisiana prison for two murders he did not commit. Now, the Supreme Court has ruled that he does not deserve $14 million in compensation from the prosecutors who illegally convicted him. The New Orleans district attorney's office withheld blood tests that would have exonerated Thompson, and the evidence was unearthed just one month before he was due to be executed. He was later awarded $14 million in a civil trial. But the Supreme Court reversed that decision, ruling 5-4 that a "single incident" did not add up to "deliberate indifference" on the part of prosecutors...

Arizona's election law: Will the Supreme Court side with the rich?

The Week — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:44:00 -0400

In the biggest campaign finance case since 2010's landmark Citizens United ruling, which removed campaign spending limits for corporations, the Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to Arizona's public financing system on Monday. At issue is whether Arizona's law — which automatically boosts the amount given to publicly financed candidates when their privately financed rivals spend more — quashes the First Amendment rights of the self-funded candidates. Will the Roberts Court once again side with the deep pocketed?

Wealth will win... again: In last year's Citizens United ruling, the...

Why does Justice Scalia insult his colleagues?

The Week — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:35:00 -0500

Antonin Scalia has just turned 75, says Linda Greenhouse in The New York Times, and the conservative Supreme Court justice remains as "dyspeptic" as ever. In a recent dissenting argument, Scalia blasted a majority opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor as a "gross distortion of the facts," "utter nonsense," and "unprincipled," among other choice phrases. This latest outburst is in keeping with a long history of such withering opinions aimed at his colleagues. Why is he such a bully? Here, an excerpt:

I can't think of an example of one of Justice Scalia's bomb-throwing opinions ever enticing...

Westboro Baptist Church wins Supreme Court ruling: The right decision?

The Week — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:50:00 -0500

The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects the Westboro Baptist Church's controversial protests of military funerals. In an 8-1 decision, the court said that the church, led by pastor Fred Phelps, was exercising its freedom of speech in displaying signs reading "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "Fags Doom Nations" at the funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder. (The Kansas-based church preaches that the U.S. war dead are God's punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality.) The case was filed by Snyder's father Albert, who won over $10 million damages against the...

Justice Clarence Thomas's 5-year silence: By the numbers

The Week — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:20:00 -0500

The Supreme Court's return from its midwinter break next week will mark a legal milestone: It will have been five years since Justice Clarence Thomas last spoke during a court argument, a record unequalled by any other justice in recent decades. His "epic silence on the bench is just one part of his enigmatic and contradictory persona," says Adam Liptak in The New York Times. Here, a brief guide, by the numbers, to Justice Thomas's silent years:

5
Number of years, as of next Tuesday, since Justice Thomas last spoke during a court argument. "While Thomas's silence on the bench may be regrettable...

Should Justice Thomas recuse himself from a health care reform ruling?

The Week — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 10:36:00 -0500

A group of 74 Democrats signed a letter to conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asking him to recuse himself from any decision on health care reform. The Democrats' rationale: His wife's lobbying against the law creates "the appearance of a conflict of interest." With mixed lower court decisions on health care reform, the Supreme Court is widely expected to decide if the law is constitutional or not. Is there any chance Thomas will sit this one out? Should he? (Watch a CNN discussion about Thomas' position)

Of course Thomas should recuse himself: I'm "delighted" by the Democrats...

Justice Scalia's 'shocking' stance on sex discrimination

The Week — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:48:00 -0500

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia touched off a fierce debate over the Constitution this week by saying, in an interview with California Lawyer magazine, that the 14th Amendment does not protect against discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, called Scalia's stance "shocking," saying it suggests the government could allow discrimination against women and the courts would have no constitutional grounds to stop it. Did Scalia misspeak? (Watch an MSNBC discussion about Scalia's comments)

Scalia is just plain wrong...

Justice Scalia: Teaching lawmakers 'Constitution 101'

The Week — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:23:00 -0500

Michele Bachmann (R-MN) wants her fellow representatives to brush up on their constitutional smarts — and she's enlisted one of the highest authorities in the land to help them do it. The Minnesota Republican has convinced Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to lead the first seminar in a weekly congressional class on the Constitution. The event is officially for members of Bachmann's Constitutional Conservative Caucus, but the Tea Party favorite hopes "all the members of Congress" will attend. She also wants to line up Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts for future sessions...