Flowers bloom outside the front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday. Mark Sherman / AP FILE – In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a formal group portrait to include a new Associate Justice, top row, far right, at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Seated from left: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Standing behind from left: Associate Justice Neil… J. Scott Applewhite WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court justices sounded split Monday on whether to broadly deny civil rights protections to hundreds of thousands of teachers in religious schools, as they heard cases involving two who were fired from Catholic schools in Los Angeles. At issue is whether the Constitution’s protections for religious freedom shields church schools from being sued if they discriminate against a teacher in violation of federal or state laws that protect workers. Advocates for the teachers warned the justices that a broad ruling based on the church’s view of its religion mission could severely restrict the rights […]
