During the recent in-the-gutter name calling of the Presidential campaign, the Republican presidential candidates repeatedly and loudly have proclaimed that the moment they step into the Oval office, they will immediately undue the flagrantly illegal Executive Orders that President Obama has issued. They assert that the Executive Orders are illegal because Obama is using them to make […]
Tag: Supreme Court
Internal Politics Color Gerrymandering Fight in Berkeley
After a yearlong, virulent, and expensive fight, Measure S passed in Berkeley, California–establishing a student-age supermajority city council district. Measure S was a taboo political word; it was, quite frankly, a gerrymander. It designed the City Council maps to give an electoral advantage to a specific group–students. But the story was not that simple. The […]
The Road to Indiana
Governor Mike Pence of Indiana recently signed into law a Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which shares a near identical title to twenty other states’ acts and one federal law signed in 1993 under the Clinton administration. Taken on face value, it seems to be a rather unremarkable event with plenty of precedence; however, critics exploded […]
The Contradictory Legacy of Eric Holder
Eric Holder announced in late September that he would be stepping down from his position as Attorney General. Holder made history as not only the first African American attorney general to serve, but also the third longest serving attorney general in history and the longest standing member of the Obama administration. While Holder made strides […]
SCOTUS Sneak Peak: A Look at the Supreme Court’s 2014-2015 Term
Though the current Supreme Court term only started on October 6, the court has already issued orders on two controversial issues and started hearing oral arguments for many other important cases. Though the court struck down Wisconsin’s voter ID law for the upcoming midterm elections, they handed down emergency orders that upheld North Carolina’s and […]
The Hyde Amendment: Disproportionately Affecting Minority Women Since 1976
In 1976, just three years after the Supreme Court’s groundbreaking decision in Roe v. Wade, Republican congressman Henry Hyde attached a little-known amendment to a Health and Human Services appropriations bill that would shift the course of reproductive justice in the United States for decades to come. The Hyde Amendment banned the use of federal […]
Muted By Money
The Citizens United Supreme Court case has not only revolutionized campaign finance but has also solidified the immutable power of corporate companies. The Court ultimately decided that corporations are composed of “associations of citizens” and that protecting corporate speech was a way to “protect the rights of those citizens.” The ruling ended the ban on corporate and union […]
24 States Now Recognize Same-Sex Marriage
Will the Supreme Court one day rule on same-sex marriage nationwide? Suddenly the answer is looking to be no. In a surprise move, the Supreme Court today announced they “let stand appeals court rulings allowing such unions in five states.” Via The New York Times: The decision to let the appeals court rulings stand, which […]
Has the Supreme Court Decision to Vote Down Section 4 Made America More Racist?
The summer of 2013 was a time of unprecedented judicial decisions. Throughout the months of June and July, the Supreme Court made headlines for its landmark decision to legalize gay marriage. However, the very next day, amidst the celebrations of human rights activists across the country, the Court released another controversial decision; this one wasn’t […]
The Real Effects of Filibuster Reform
Last month, for the first time in its history, the Senate changed its procedure on filibusters. Though the majority party has threatened to use the nuclear option for years, Senate Democrats finally invoked it this time. This change to parliamentary procedure means that federal judicial nominees and executive appointments need only a simple majority to […]