Justice Samuel Alito has refused to recuse himself from an upcoming tax case involving lawyer David Rivkin, who had interviewed Alito in two articles published in The Wall Street Journal. Sen. Richard Durbin had questioned Alito's participation in the case, but Alito released a statement saying there was no valid reason for his recusal. This decision has strengthened the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, which is set to hear the case in the coming months.
Posts tagged as “The U.S. Supreme Court”
Key takeaways: Danco Laboratories has asked the Supreme Court to review a lower court’s decision limiting access to the abortion pill. The Supreme Court’s decision…
A federal panel of judges has announced that they will be drafting new congressional lines for Alabama after the state's Republican-controlled Legislature refused to create a second district where Black voters would make up a majority of the population. The panel has blocked the use of the state's newly drawn congressional map in next year's elections and appointed a special master to draw new districts for the state. The decision has been met with mixed reactions from Alabama residents, and the judges have not yet announced a timeline for when the new districts will be completed.
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the state's ban on assault weapons, overturning a lower court decision. The ban prohibits the sale or possession of certain semiautomatic weapons, including AR-15s and AK-47s, as well as large-capacity magazines. The ruling is a victory for gun control advocates and remains in effect in Illinois, though it is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has expressed her support for an ethics code for the court, while noting that the justices are divided on the issue. This follows a series of controversial rulings and ethical controversies, and Kagan has suggested that Congress could take action to address the issue. It remains to be seen what action Congress will take.
Alabama lawmakers have passed a new map with one majority-Black congressional district and a second district that is approximately 40% Black, in response to a Supreme Court order to give minority voters a greater voice in elections. Civil rights groups have argued that the new map does not go far enough to ensure that minority voters have an equal voice, and the map could still face legal challenges. The new map could also have an impact on the 2022 congressional elections, as the boundaries could shift the balance of power in the state.
The House of Representatives is set to vote Friday on the annual defense policy bill, which has been a bipartisan effort for more than six decades. However, the bill is now facing an uncertain future due to Republican amendments that would cut funding for abortion- and gender transition-related services, causing sharp opposition from congressional Democrats. The Pentagon had previously announced that it would provide travel allowances for troops to access “non-covered reproductive health care”, but the NDAA amendments would reverse this decision. It remains to be seen if the bill will pass with the amendments intact, or if the two parties can come to an agreement on a compromise.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has signed an executive order that prevents county attorney generals from prosecuting abortion cases, giving centralized authority to the state's Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes. The order sends a message that Arizona will not stand for attacks on reproductive freedom and will ensure that no county attorney can be used to restrict access to abortion care. The executive order has been praised by reproductive rights advocates, who say it will help protect access to abortion in the state.