U.S. Supreme Court
Alliance Defending Freedom asks U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in Idaho abortion case
Attorneys for two national law firms have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a federal case in Idaho regarding whether emergency room physicians can continue to be shielded from prosecution under the state’s abortion ban. If the court were to grant the motion, ER doctors in Idaho would again be subject to criminal […]
U.S. Supreme Court considers case dealing with gun rights and domestic violence
WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices during Tuesday’s oral arguments seemed to lean toward upholding a federal law that prevents the possession of firearms by a person who is subject to a domestic violence protective order. Liberal and conservative justices appeared to side with the Biden administration’s position that the 1994 federal law is in […]
U.S. government, tribes settle 15-year-old case on sacred site near Mount Hood
A 15-year-old case pitting Northwest Native Americans against the federal government that’s been awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court hearing has settled, with the government agreeing to partially restore a sacred site in Oregon. The agreement was announced Thursday, with a filing in the Supreme Court calling for the case to be dismissed. Luke Goodrich, lead […]
Abortion rights advocates say consequences dire if SCOTUS declines to hear pill case
More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court decided states could set their own abortion laws, including bans, the nation’s highest court now could cut off abortion access in states where abortion is still legal. The Supreme Court began its new term last week and has yet to announce whether it will hear Alliance […]
New federal water pollution rule draws mixed reaction
A federal rule limiting agencies’ power to regulate water pollution will severely restrict protections for waters and wetlands throughout the country, but could also be subject to challenges from conservative groups that maintain the new rule exerts more federal jurisdiction than the U.S. Supreme Court intended in a May decision. With the rule published Tuesday […]
Supreme Court reinstates federal ‘ghost gun’ rule backed by Washington state
A Biden administration effort to clamp down on untraceable firearms made from kits can continue for now, after the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in Tuesday. It’s a small victory for states, including Washington, who say federal inaction has led to more of the “ghost guns” crossing their borders and getting used in crimes. The Supreme […]
Colorado designer does not have to make websites for same-sex couples, Supreme Court rules
Colorado cannot compel a website designer to create custom sites for same-sex couples, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in an opinion released Friday. The 6-3 ruling, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, came in 303 Creative v. Elenis. Plaintiff Lorie Smith argued the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, violates her constitutional right […]
Celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court’s Indian Child Welfare Act ruling
The ruling was completely unexpected. By a 7-2 vote on June 15, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act. It is a major victory for Indigenous tribes and their right to remain sovereign nations, their people controlling their own destiny and their children to stay in their own culture. Many people simply […]
Half the nation’s wetlands just lost federal protection. Their fate is up to states.
States’ to-do lists just got a little longer: Decide how — or whether — to oversee building, planting and water quality in some wetland areas. Last month, a U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down federal protections for wetlands covering tens of millions of acres across the country, leaving no regulation of those areas in nearly half the […]
U.S. Supreme Court upholds Indian Child Welfare Act in 7-2 decision
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a federal law aimed at keeping Native American children within the foster care system in Native American homes. The Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision upheld the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which established federal minimum standards for the removal of Native American children from […]
U.S. Supreme Court rules Alabama’s congressional maps violate Voting Rights Act
The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that Alabama’s 2022 congressional maps violated the Voting Rights Act, a ruling that preserves a major part of the law and could lead to new congressional maps in Alabama. A three-judge panel in January 2022 ruled that maps approved by the Alabama Legislature in 2021 […]
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Biden wetlands regulation, ruling for Idaho couple
The U.S. Supreme Court in a major environmental decision on Thursday overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of wetlands that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, siding with an Idaho couple who’d said they should not be required to obtain federal permits to build on their property that lacked any navigable water. All nine justices agreed […]