Supreme Court
Fifty years later, our lives still at risk
Fifty years ago, a very different U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade. Radical right-wing extremists control the Supreme Court and serve in elective office. We have fewer freedoms than we did a generation ago. We suffer, and women die because of it. When the Supreme Court ruled last June to strip away our rights […]
Georgians can start voting Saturday with state Supreme Court ruling in Warnock lawsuit
Early voting is set to take place in more than a dozen Georgia counties both days on Thanksgiving weekend after the Georgia Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch attempt by Republican groups to block the polls from opening on Saturday for the runoff for the U.S. Senate. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court justices unanimously denied the […]
Mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional, Tenn. high court declares
In a landmark decision, a majority panel of the Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday struck down as unconstitutional mandatory life sentences for juveniles. “In fulfilling our duty to decide constitutional issues, we hold that an automatic life sentence when imposed on a juvenile homicide offender with no consideration of the juvenile’s age or other circumstances […]
Bill protecting same-sex marriage gains bipartisan support in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate cleared a key hurdle to passing a marriage equality bill Wednesday, garnering even more than the 60 senators from both political parties needed to move past a legislative filibuster. The bill, which could win final passage in the Senate as soon as this week, would ensure same-sex and interracial couples […]
Robin Wynne secures second term on Arkansas Supreme Court
Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Robin Wynne overcame a strong challenge from Circuit Judge Chris Carnahan to win reelection to the high court’s Position 2 in Tuesday’s election. Wynne finished with 58.4% of the vote to Carnahan’s 41.6%, according to the Secretary of State’s election results website. With 73 of 75 counties reporting as of Wednesday, […]
U.S. Supreme Court justices cast doubt on affirmative action in college admissions
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Monday questioned the legality of race-conscious policies in college admissions, as the justices weighed two cases that could upend the admissions process many colleges use to try to boost diversity on campus. At issue are two cases that challenge the lawfulness of affirmative action at Harvard […]
How claims about a federal abortion ban are roiling one state as the midterms near
WILMOT, New Hampshire — Voters in this swing state are among the relatively few Americans who will decide control of Congress during November’s midterm elections, shaping domestic and foreign policy for the next two years and delivering a verdict on Joe Biden’s presidency. Granite Staters interviewed by States Newsroom, during a mid-October week trailing U.S. […]
U.S. Supreme Court to consider case that could radically reshape the country’s elections
The U.S. Supreme Court could soon grant state legislatures unconditional control over federal elections, clearing the way for lawmakers to gerrymander their states with impunity and pass voter restriction measures without interference from state courts. The high-stakes election case, Moore v. Harper, comes out of North Carolina after its Republican-controlled legislature passed in November 2021 […]
Tribal law enforcement boosted under bill proposed by members of Congress from the West
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers re-introduced legislation Thursday to provide more resources for tribal law enforcement, an issue they say has become more urgent as Congress begins to consider how to respond to a July Supreme Court case that complicated state-tribal criminal jurisdiction. The bill, introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego […]
Overturning Roe sends approval of U.S. Supreme Court plummeting, Marquette poll finds
On the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that overturned a national right to abortion, public approval of the Court has fallen dramatically and stayed there, a new national poll from Marquette Law School finds. In the new survey, 40% of respondents said they approved of how the Court was doing its […]
Negotiators: At least 10 GOP senators support codifying same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is on track to vote on a bill codifying marriage equality as soon as next week with negotiators increasingly confident it could become law. Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday they’re close to getting at least 10 Republicans to back the same-sex marriage […]