The Supreme Court will consider, for the third time, a case involving the execution of Vernan Madison, an elderly death-row inmate who can’t remember the crime he committed several decades prior. In May of 2016, the court denied an application to vacate a stay of his execution, and in November, 2017, Justices upheld a state court’s ruling allowing … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Travel Ban
On Wednesday, the US Government faced the Supreme Court in oral arguments, attempting to justify its imposition of the so-called travel ban, an executive order meant to restrict immigration from a number of countries around the world – several of which “happen to be” majority-Muslim nations. The order has already been nixed by several courts, … [Read more...]
Gorsuch Votes with Liberals to Strike Down Deportation Law
While all eyes are on Wednesday’s Supreme Court’s hearing on the legality of Donald Trump’s travel ban, which blocks entry to the U.S. by immigrants from six predominately Muslim countries, Democrats are savoring their latest victory: Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurring opinion in a pro-immigrant Supreme Court ruling, Sessions v. Dimaya. On April … [Read more...]
EPA Faces Pressure in Federal Courts
A number of recent court decisions have put pressure on the EPA to fulfill its mission as a protector of the country’s air, water and soil. Administrator Scott Pruitt, a long-time opponent of the EPA, has led the charge on environmental deregulation, purportedly seeking more cost-efficient policies that serve “stakeholders.” It has become clear who … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Weighs-In on State Taxes and Online Retailers
On April 17th, the highest court considered a case involving some hairy questions around states’ sales tax and whether certain online retailers should collect it. The case before the court, South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., involves over 40 states, who argue that the Supreme Court should overturn a 1992 ruling that prohibits the collection of sales … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Blocks Undocumented Immigrants’ Access to Periodic Bail Hearings
During his first week in office, President Donald Trump got to work, signing three executive orders pertaining to border security, interior enforcement and visa restrictions. The first order, entitled “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements,” sought to crack down on a perceived influx of undocumented immigrants. To do this, the … [Read more...]
Obama’s Carbon Pricing Policy Thrives in Blue States
Just two months after Donald Trump took his oath of office, in March, 2017, EPA chief Scott Pruitt made it a priority to rescind President Obama’s signature climate control initiative, known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP), put in place by executive order in 2015. The regulation on power plants is the first of its kind to reduce greenhouse gas … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment Is Now Much Stronger
When in 2013 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rescinded certain provisions of the state’s oil and gas laws, the landscape of environmental law fundamentally shifted, turning away from 40 years of accepted case law. In Robinson Township v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a four-Justice majority rejected Sections 3215(b)(4), 3215(d), 3303, and 3304 of … [Read more...]
Blue States Try to Replace Obamacare Individual Tax Mandate; Red States Seek to Offer Stripped-Down Versions
Just before Christmas, the Republican tax plan that slashed rates on corporations also duplicitously repealed the “individual mandate,” the Obamacare tax that allows the federal government to fine people who don’t have their health insurance, leaving a lump of coal in the Christmas stockings of middle-class Americans, who count on a pool of both … [Read more...]
Redistricting Cases Being Considered Throughout the US
Several cases being considered by the Supreme Court and a slew of other cases being heard throughout the country could point toward a radical change in US politics. For years, the issue of partisan gerrymandering has been swept under the rug, in a process of constant deferral. Ever since Davis v. Bandemer, Justices have found it difficult to … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- …
- 18
- Next Page »
