The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against the Navajo Nation in a dispute over water access from the Colorado River, saying that the 1868 treaty with the tribe did not require the U.S. government to take active steps to secure water access. The tribe had requested an assessment of their water rights, but the ruling means they will not receive the water access they had requested. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority, saying that it was not the judiciary's role to rewrite and update the 155-year-old treaty.
Posts tagged as “Brett Kavanaugh”
Key takeaways: The Supreme Court’s ruling is a major victory for voting rights, and a major setback for those who seek to dilute the voting…
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of an Idaho couple in a landmark case that weakens the Clean Water Act. The Sacketts had challenged the EPA's compliance order claiming their land was subject to the law, arguing that their land did not contain wetlands subject to federal oversight. The decision is a major victory for property rights advocates and a setback for environmental groups, and will likely have far-reaching implications for the scope of the law and the ability of the EPA to regulate water pollution.
Rodney Reed, a Texas death row inmate, has been granted a chance to seek new DNA testing in the case of his 1996 conviction for murder by the Supreme Court. The 6-3 ruling overturned a lower court decision that said Reed had waited too long to make the request. The case will now be sent back to a lower court to decide whether to grant Reed's request for DNA testing, which could prove his innocence.
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested that the slow start to the term could be due to the justices taking time to get to know each other, the court's 6-3 conservative-liberal divide, and the addition of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. On Monday, the court announced a unanimous decision in one case and dismissed another, but it remains to be seen if the court will be able to catch up and finish their work on time.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh has made his first public comments since the release of an investigative report, expressing optimism about the court, his colleagues, and the country. He praised his liberal colleagues and highlighted rulings in which the justices were not divided on ideological lines. His remarks come as the court is facing increased scrutiny over its rulings and its legitimacy.