Thirty years ago, bright lights and bustling press concentrated on the testimony of Professor Anita Hill— the brave former colleague of then-Judge Clarence Thomas— as she shared her story of sexual harassment with the world. Prior to Hill’s testimony, Thomas, nominated by President George H.W. Bush for the Supreme Court, was noted for his commendable […]
Tag: Supreme Court
Dear Supreme Court, Affirmative Action Needs To Go
He scored 1550 on the SAT, maintained a 3.9 unweighted GPA as an IB student, played two varsity sports, won state and national rewards for debate and international recognition for his start-up. Like thousands of other qualified applicants, he didn’t make it into Harvard. Why? Because he ticked “Asian” for ethnicity on his Common App. […]
Is Impartiality in the Supreme Court Possible?
A few weeks after the Supreme Court was under fire for refusing to block a controversial Texas abortion law that jeopardizes the precedent set by the landmark case Roe v. Wade, Justice Amy Coney Barrett publicly defended the court’s inaction. At a Kentucky conference hosted by Republicans, Barrett argued that the Supreme Court is not […]
A New Lochner Era
On February 22nd, 1975, members of Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers (UFW) began a 110 mile walk from San Francisco to Modesto, protesting the poor working conditions of the Gallo Winery. Only a few hundred joined Chavez at first, and he didn’t expect many more. By the time he reached the Central Valley, however, the […]
A Fight Over Foster Care, Religious Freedom, and Equality
Catholic Social Services has been providing foster care in Philadelphia for more than 200 years. Referred to as CSS, the agency claims to support “more than 3,100 people every day.” There’s just one problem: CSS refuses to include same-sex couples in the adoption process, citing its strong religious belief that marriage is between one […]
Originalism, The Supreme Court, and Reform
The relentless news cycle fixated on election and presidential transition turmoil made it relatively easy to forget that on October 26th, 2020, the Senate voted 52 – 48 to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Her nomination solidifies not only a conservative majority, but an overwhelming 6-3 conservative majority on the […]
Reconstruct the Administrative State
President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election left many liberals with dueling emotions: the joy of avoiding four more years of President Trump, and the agony of a Republican Senate dooming any hope of an expansive progressive agenda. Although the two runoffs in Georgia could bring the number of Democratic senators to 50, […]
On California’s Law and Order Initiative: Proposition 20, Featuring Eric A. Stanley
“This bill is being pushed through at the same time that the people across the United States are demanding the abolition of the prison industrial complex. It’s indicative of a culture war, which is to say a class war, around prisons and policing.” – Eric A. Stanley Walking on the streets of California after consuming […]
Affirmative Action: Back on the Ballot
This November, one line could change California dramatically. Proposition 16 reads simply “That Section 31 of Article 1 [of the California Constitution] thereof is repealed”. And yet on a ballot packed full of controversial issues, Proposition 16 could be the most controversial of them all. In this installment of On the Ballot, we discuss Affirmative […]
Drawing the Life Out of the Fourth Amendment
The Supreme Court has once again avoided ruling on the substance of state law and rather stuck to taking an easier, less-controversial road of constitutional jurisprudence. In this case, it was the Fourth Amendment’s protections and the consent doctrine that was sacrificed. In Mitchell v. Wisconsin, the Court ruled that drawing blood from an unconscious […]