Posts Tagged ‘Supreme Court’
Image from Politico
Do you remember S.B. 1070, Arizona’s highly disputed immigration law?
Well, the disputed law is about to be disputed by the top disputers in the country…
The U.S. Supreme Court!
On Monday, the high court agreed to review the constitutionality of the law, which made headlines in 2010.
The Arizona law requires local police to try to determine the immigration status of people they detain during a traffic stop or for questioning if there’s a ‘reasonable suspicion’ that those individuals are in the U.S. illegally.
Under the measure, police are required to determine whether someone arrested is a citizen or legal resident before releasing him or her. The law also demands that foreigners have immigration papers in their possession at all times.”
The Obama administration argues that immigration control is the responsibility of the Federal government not local police.
Border states respond by saying the federal government is not doing its job controlling illegal immigration. They suggest laws like S.B. 1070 are meant to compliment Federal enforcement.
Others argue the law is an unfair attack on the Latino community. And, legal challenges and appeals from the Obama administration have already blocked several of the law’s key parts.
The Supreme Court is currently looking at two other notable cases which could also impact the 2012 election.
Do you think S.B 1070 goes too far?
Image from NPR! (don't try at home)
Britain declares, no means no.
And then there were eight: Rick Perry gets a little confused…again.
Lessons from Virginia Tech.
Is it too early to start reflecting on 2011 yet?
The celebrated case of Troy Davis finally ended last night at 11:08 p.m. The Georgia death row inmate exhausted years of legal appeals and was put to death by lethal injection.
Davis was convicted of killing a policeman back in 1989… However, recently 7 witnesses have recanted their testimony casting doubt upon the case.
You can read here how the world is reacting.
Just before his execution, Davis was granted a temporary delay in his execution date by the Supreme Court of the United States. This gave hope to his supporters that a retrial would be forthcoming.
The tweet above conveys just one perspective on the actions that have taken place in the past few hours, days, and weeks. Where do you stand? Do you believe that there’s #toomuchdoubt?
Does Walmart treat women unfairly?
Recently The Supreme Court tried to address that question.
Scores of female Walmart employees were suing the chain store giant for discriminatory work practices.
Unfortunately for them, the case was thrown out.
But not because Walmart was guiltless of these charges. Instead the Court objected to the “class action” part of the case.
This close 5-4 vote centered on the merit of the large number of women banning together to seek justice for their believed grievances.
Views are divided across the board disappointed or praising the notable decision.
Some believe that is fair confirmation of employer protection from excessive monetary settlements.
Others see it as a loss for the working class, those who can’t afford to make these grievances individually.
“Class Action” suits are one way to challenge big corporations.This is particularly useful at this time when union rights are under seige (which Walmart continually opposes).
Women in the workforce are particularly affected.
Workers of both sexes pay the price, but women, who constitute more than 70 percent of hourly employees, pay more…Wal-Mart insists that almost all workers promoted to the managerial ranks move to a new store, often hundreds of miles away. For young men in a hurry, that’s an inconvenience; for middle-aged women caring for families, this corporate reassignment policy amounts to sex discrimination.
Maybe this is just a call for corporate change.
As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed:
Managers, like all humankind, may be prey to biases of which they are unaware… The risk of discrimination is heightened when those managers are predominately of one sex, and are steeped in a corporate culture that perpetuates gender stereotypes.
The argument has also been made that insufficient evidence was brought to this case.
However a recent court ruling in Pennsylvania on work conditions at Walmart resulted in a $187.6 million fine for denying workers meal and rest breaks.
Was the Supreme Court ruling justified?
How else can individuals take on big corporations when they exploit their workers?
Image courtesy of Ms. Magazine Blog
As you can imagine, the Supreme Court receives thousands of case requests each year.
In the end only about fifty cases make the cut and get the full attention of the Supremes.
That’s a lot of people who receive a big fat NO.
This year, one of those people was a high school student whose NO was especially tragic.
In October 2008, a 16-year-old cheerleader from Texas, known only by her first name Hillaire, was raped by Rakheem Bolton, a basketball player at her school. Bolton pled guilty to a lesser crime of assault. His prison sentence was suspended, and he came back to the school, continuing to play basketball.
During a game, Hillaire and the cheer squad were instructed to cheer for him, saying
Two, four, six, eight, ten, come on Rakheem, put it in.
Hillaire stepped away from the squad and refused to cheer for her rapist. She was kicked off the squad.
Hillaire and her parents sued the school, saying that the administration violated Hillaire’s right to freely speak – or in this case, not to speak. The 5th District Court of Appeals heard the case but ruled against Hillaire, explaining that
As a cheerleader, [Hillaire] served as a mouthpiece through which [the school district] could disseminate speech – namely, support for its athletic teams…This act constituted a substantial interference with the work of the school because, as a cheerleader, [Hillaire] was at the basketball game for the purpose of cheering.
To add insult to injury, the court ruled Hillaire’s lawsuit to be frivolous and ordered her family to pay the school district’s legal fees – an amount totaling 45,000 dollars.
Hillaire appealed to the Supreme Court, but earlier this month the Court refused to hear the case, leaving the initial decision in place.
How does the Court’s decision illustrate the treatment of rape victims in the US? And what do you think this decision means for a student’s right to speak – or not to speak – in school?
Image from The New York Times
Another natural disaster leaves more than 100 dead and thousands of more without homes.
Someones gotta go! Supreme Court tells California to cut its prison population.
Last laugh: Comedienne turns anti-gay protest into fundraiser for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis organization.
Was it his first choice? Former-RNC Chairman gets a new job…at “liberal” news network.
The Supreme and silent type: Clarence Thomas goes five years without asking a question.
As Libya goes down, the price of gas is going to go up!
You thought your grocery bill was bad? A man in India has 39 wives and almost 100 children.
Chicago elects first new mayor since 1989…you’ll never guess who it is.
And, the most popular baby name of 2011 is “Facebook…?“
“Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates fags”.
Welcome folks to the loving gospel of the Westboro Baptist Church!
You will see members of the church carrying signs and screaming the epitaphs above at the funerals of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Church believes these wars and their casualties are a curse from God, punishment for America’s immorality, tolerance of gays/lesbians and abortion.
Margie J. Phelps, daughter of the church’s founder said in a statement “Nation, hear this little church. If you want [the soldiers] to stop dying, stop sinning.”
Everyone seems to agree that the church’s actions are insensitive and hurtful, but what is not so clear is their right to protest. Albert Snyder, the father of a fallen soldier, is suing the church for invasion of privacy and emotional distress. Their case has now made it to the US Supreme Court.
In America the standard is that an idea cannot be censored regardless of how objectionable it is. But because you have the right to say something does it mean you should say it? Should there be limits to free speech?
Newly minted Justice Elana Kagen pondered “So does that mean that now we have to start reading each sign, and saying ‘war is wrong’ falls on one side of the line but ‘you are a war criminal’ falls on another side of the line?”
Such discussions about our rights seem to be a sign of the times. What do you think?
It is customary for the media to scrutinize new nominees to the Supreme Court. But little did Elena Kagan realize when she accepted President Obama’s invitation to join the august body of intellect that her softball batting stance would be the center of a national media frenzy. This came after a 17-year-old picture of Kagan playing softball was posted on the cover of The Wall Street Journal last week.
In the above clip, which aggregates the media response to the photo, includes quotes like:
- “She plays a mean game of softball.”
- “She likes to play softball. She likes to play poker.”
- “A softball bat symbolizes a certain lifestyle.”
- “It is clearly an allusion to her being gay.”
- “Please tell us if your nominee is or not. It’s a legitimate question.” …read more.
We here at USDemocrazy feel this is an accurate representation of the internet telling you about Elena Kagan. Are you listening? Image Courtesy of Serge Ouachée.
If you haven’t heard of Elana Kagan, chances are you will not be able to miss her in the weeks ahead.
Elana Kagan is the new Supreme Court nominee to replace retiring Justice Stevens.
We here at USDemocrazy are being turned around in circles by the mountain of info being churned out about Kagan! If you want to check some of it out, we suggest SCOTUS Blog to help you on your way! They’ve got a comprehensive rundown of who is saying what and where.
And that is all well and good…but…we wanted to talk about something else.
How about TERM LIMITS for Supreme Court Justices? That’s right … how about we drop this lifetime appointment nonsense?…
Courtesy Associated Press
Elena Kagan! News just broke that Obama’s next Supreme Court nominee would be Kagan, the former dean of Harvard Law School and currently the first female Solicitor General. As the NBC newsbreak described:
“If confirmed, Kagan would will the vacancy left by retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Stevens, 90, announced his decision to retire on April 9 after nearly 35 years of service on the high court. Kagan would also be the third sitting woman on the court, joining Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, and the fourth woman in history to be a Supreme Court Justice.”
While she is not expected to be very controversial, she could still face questioning on some of her views. Liberals find her assertions on executive power too conservative, while some conservatives do not agree with her stance on gay rights, for example.
What are your thoughts… is Kagan a good choice? Could she drastically change the Court? Will she be an adequate substitute for Stevens? Shoot us a comment and start the discussion.
I see you! Courtesy of WikiCommons.
Just about every cellphone these days contains a camera. Add these millions of fickle lenses to the growing number of security, surveillance, computer and video cameras, and you’ve got no where to hide.
Unless you are in court.
Today, America’s top courts do not allow cameras in to their proceedings…But maybe not for much longer…
The legal team here at USDemocrazy has been watching this subject. But some internet buzz is focusing on the Cameras in the Big Kahuna – the Supreme Court. We’ve got your rundown:
I can see the fallout from here! Image Courtesy of WikiCommons
Oh boy, now this one is sure to raise some eyebrows.
This week, the Supreme Court heard a case about actions of the Christian Legal Society at the University of California Hastings College of Law. Their crime? Disallowing gays and lesbians to hold office or vote in their club. UC Hastings was none too pleased about this policy, and pulled the school’s recognition of group. Now law students are doing what they do best…suing.
So we’ve got your Rundown and you’ve got an opinion. We know you do. Come on, let us hear it…
Thanks to Wikicommons!
With all that’s happening due to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Steven’s retirement we at US Democrazy thought we’d give you some suggested sites about the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States).
First off, what is the history of the court and its cases? Well, our friends at PBS has got you covered there. They have a wonderful website on the subject (including videos, games, and an AWESOME timeline). …read more.
Hmm, so who's on your list? Image Courtesy of Wikicommons
It’s Court Craziness, and we here at USDemocrazy are loving every second of it! Everybody has their own list of names for who will replace the good Justice Stevens on the Supreme Court (We have our own… suggest a name here). Few times does everybody get to be excited about the Supreme Court, so we’re living it up while we can.
Here’s your rundown:
