The Supreme Court overturns the murder conviction of Terry Pitchford, citing racial discrimination in jury selection during his 2004 Mississippi trial. The 5-4 ruling highlights ongoing concerns about racial bias in the criminal justice system.
Posts tagged as “Brett Kavanaugh”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor apologized for critical remarks about Justice Brett Kavanaugh's upbringing following a dispute over immigration enforcement rulings. The rare public clash highlights growing tensions within the Supreme Court.
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Florida's bid to enforce a law that would have prohibited children from attending drag shows, keeping in place a lower court ruling as a legal challenge continues. The law was challenged by a restaurant in Orlando known as Hamburger Mary's, arguing that it was unconstitutional and imposed unlawful restrictions on free speech. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted Florida's bid, while Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett said the court's decision does not speak to their views on the merits of the case.
The death of Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has left a vacancy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, creating a split between Democrats and Republicans. Top Republican senators have indicated they are prepared to fight over her seat, potentially using the vacancy to play hardball with Biden's judicial nominees. Democrats will need to appoint a successor to Feinstein's Senate seat in order to fill her spot on the committee and regain a majority.
The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of allowing Alabama to redraw its congressional maps with greater representation for Black voters. This could potentially send another Democrat to Congress, and is a victory for Black voters in Alabama who have long been underrepresented. The ruling orders Alabama to redraw its maps with an additional Black majority district or “something quite close to it”, and Secretary of State John Merrill has submitted three proposals to do so.
The Supreme Court has granted a temporary pause to the Biden administration's efforts to regulate so-called ghost guns, which are firearm-making kits available online. The regulations require background checks and registration with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and are intended to protect public safety. Opponents of the regulations argue that they infringe on the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and the legal battle over the regulations is likely to continue in the lower courts.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the use of affirmative action in college admissions is unconstitutional, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing the majority opinion and Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing a dissenting opinion. This decision is likely to have a significant impact on college admissions, as many institutions have long relied on affirmative action as a way to promote diversity on campus.
The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of the Biden administration's policy to prioritize the deportation of immigrants deemed to pose the greatest risk to public safety or were picked up at the border. The policy, which was blocked by the Trump administration, will now be able to take effect, allowing immigration officers to focus their resources on those who pose the greatest risk to public safety. Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority that the challengers did not have legal standing to sue over the plan.