The most colorful battle between a state and the federal government over carrying out the health care law is taking place in California over prison overcrowding.
Read More »Commentary: Voting Rights Act brought major economic benefits, too
The Supreme Court’s rejection last week of a central element of the 1965 Voting Rights Act took aim at a measure that not only broke down barriers to political participation in the South but also made significant contributions to the economic well being of black southerners and to the region as a whole.
Tagged with: U.S. Supreme Court Voting Rights Act
Read More »Commentary: Supreme Court chickens out on same-sex marriage
We won’t see federal troops in the streets this time, but there is reason again to doubt whether we will see a gradual acceptance of same-sex marriage or a redoubled effort by its opponents to keep it from becoming the norm nationally.
Tagged with: same-sex marriage U.S. Supreme Court
Read More »Commentary: How John Roberts ended the civil-rights era
The civil-rights era ended Tuesday.
Read More »Commentary: Minimalist wisdom prevails on affirmative action
Affirmative action has long divided the justices as well as the nation, and the remarkable near-unanimity of the court speaks volumes.
Tagged with: affirmative action U.S. Supreme Court
Read More »Commentary: Privacy looks different through Google glass
How much has the digital world changed the conception of privacy?
Read More »Commentary: Supreme Court must remember what deference means
What the court should do is show deference in all these cases, which means siding with the conservatives on marriage and with the liberals on voting rights.
Read More »Commentary: Clarence Thomas’ legal time machine zooms to 1789
Don’t let the U.S. Supreme Court’s very contemporary cases on gene patenting and same-sex marriage fool you: At least one justice is still living in the 18th century and doesn’t care who knows it.
Tagged with: U.S. Supreme Court
Read More »Commentary: Two-year degree impoverishes legal education
What’s in the air is the idea that the U.S. can’t afford the old three-year curriculum with its elective courses and interdisciplinary focus.
Tagged with: law school
Read More »Commentary: Biggest ruling you haven’t heard enough about
The underlying question was this: If a law is ambiguous, who gets to interpret it? Federal judges or the agency that carries it out?
Read More »Commentary: Is NSA’s snooping worse than TSA’s groping?
Would I rather have my phone records collected and readied for possible inspection by the National Security Agency or have my genitalia scrutinized by the Transportation Security Administration? In today’s America you can have both.
Tagged with: Edward Snowden National Security Agency Transportation Security Administration
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