News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
A Supreme Court friend-of-the-court brief filed recently by freshly sworn-in Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar may prove that President Joe Biden ‘s administration is determined to reverse every last policy decision of the predecessor Trump administration, even on issues of religious liberty. The Court will hear on December 8 a case…
Fencing outside the Michigan Department of Corrections’ Muskegon Correctional Facility and the Ernest C. Brooks Correctional Facility (or E.C. Brooks) in Muskegon on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. (Cory Morse | MLive.com) Cory Morse | MLive.com Almost two years later, a federal investigation into the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) reached…
Pro-choice and anti-abortion advocates both demonstrate outside the the Supreme Court on Monday. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein A California gun rights group filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to Texas’ new anti-abortion law because of worries that other states could copy it to limit gun ownership. The Sacramento-based…
It was a narrow escape, but the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday gave LGBT legal activists a significant sigh of relief in a case involving transgender access to equality in health care. The court also appeared to take some heed of the fact that a Texas abortion ban under scrutiny…
Briefline A view of the U.S. Supreme Court on May 17, 2012. (Architect of the Capitol/Government works) Rep. Doug Lamborn and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas asked the Supreme Court to review a circuit court decision that “prohibits a Colorado business owner from exercising her free speech and religious liberty…
Media eyes are trained on the U.S. Supreme Court’s December 1 argument on Mississippi’s abortion restrictions, preceded by a fast-tracked November 1 hearing about the stricter law in Texas. But don’t neglect the Court’s December 8 hearing and subsequent decision on tax funding of religious schools in the potentially weighty…
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case this term that pits the two religious liberty clauses of the First Amendment against each other — on a flagpole. At issue is a request by a Christian civic group, Camp Constitution, for the City of Boston to allow a…
Attorney David Betras As I have noted in this space a number of times, private companies and government entities have the power to impose vaccine mandates. The seminal case on the issue, Jacobson v Massachusetts, was decided by the Supreme Court in 1905. In the 116 years since, courts have…
Attorney David Betras Like kids counting the days until Christmas, attorneys, legal scholars and jurisprudence junkies, including me, eagerly anticipate the first Monday in October, the day the Supreme Court of the United States begins its new term each year. We can barely control ourselves as we wait for the…
As the COVID-19 public health emergency continues, vaccine mandates have been imposed in both public and private workplaces. These mandates include federal, state, and local requirements for certain employees to become fully vaccinated or risk termination from employment. This blog discusses the process for handling and accommodating employee requests for…
David Hudson. Photo courtesy Freedom Forum The Supreme Court’s October 2021 term, which officially began on the first Monday of the month, promises to be an eventful one for those concerned about the First Amendment and its freedoms. The court will hear cases involving: ●A man on death row asserting…
Free Exercise of Religion on a Slippery Slope – By Howard Sierer – Where do we draw a line limiting the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment ? For those tempted to answer that no limiting line should be drawn, read on. When religious beliefs lead to…
HOUSTON (AP) — Executions in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state face delays amid legal questions over Texas’ refusal to allow spiritual advisers to touch inmates and pray aloud as condemned individuals are being put to death. It’s unclear when Texas may carry out another execution after the U.S. Supreme…
This undated photo provided by The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows John Henry Ramirez, a Texas death row inmate. Executions in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state are likely to face new delays because of legal questions tied to spiritual advisers and what role they play in the death…
FILE – This undated photo provided by The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows John Henry Ramirez, a Texas death row inmate. Executions in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state are likely to face new delays because of legal questions tied to spiritual advisers and what role they play in…
A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S. June 25, 2021. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC The U.S. Supreme Court’s new nine-month term, which begins on…
A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S. June 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo Oct 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s new nine-month term, which begins on Monday, promises to be among the most momentous in generations. The justices are poised to decide major…
The media are prepping for the U.S. Supreme Court’s December 1 hearing on the strict Mississippi abortion law and the subsequent ruling. In a prior Guy Memo on religious "friend of the court" briefs filed on the pro-life side, I promised a second rundown when pro-abortion-rights activists weighed in with…
With only a few days remaining before the justices return to the courtroom for the start of the 2021-22 term, the Supreme Court on Thursday issued orders from the justices’ “long conference” on Monday, Sept. 27. The justices normally consider over a thousand cases at the long conference, which is…
A 1982 Supreme Court decision involving Harvard Square restaurant Grendel’s Den could serve as legal precedent to overturn Texas’s recent law banning most abortions. A 1982 Supreme Court decision involving Harvard Square restaurant Grendel’s Den could serve as legal precedent to overturn Texas’s recent law banning most abortions, Harvard emeritus…
U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Catholic Social Services, a foster care agency that refuses to compromise its religious beliefs by placing children with same-sex couples. The High Court’s decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia has a significant impact on every area of the free exercise of…
The fight for school choice has always faced push‐back when it comes to funding religious education. Even though Pell Grants and federal student loans can be used to attend religious universities, people become wary when school‐choice dollars—whether in the form of vouchers, tax credits, or whatever—are given to religious K-12…
EXCLUSIVE: Former Attorney General Bill Barr is supporting a new amicus brief at the Supreme Court, led by Democratic attorney David Boies, opposing Maine’s decision to block public tuition from flowing to students who choose to attend religious schools. The Supreme Court agreed this summer to take up the case,…
Texas’ recent bill banning most abortions after six weeks may be upended by perhaps the most unexpected group of all, religious zealots who worship Satan. The Satanic Temple has established a “religious abortion ritual” that they claim will be trampled on given the Texas law enacted in May that bans…
by John McClaughry A large insurance company has been flooding the television channels with an advertising slogan “Only Pay for What You Need”. It’s an interesting exercise to apply that idea to various public spending issues. Typically, at the state level, our elected legislature decides how the tax dollars they…