u.s. supreme court
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Brilliant Legal Pioneer and Influential Black Republican William T. Coleman Dies at 96
Though many may not know his name, William T. Coleman Jr. was a champion of civil rights, an influential African American and a pioneering Cabinet secretary during the 1970s. He died in his home in Virginia on Friday. He was 96. The New York Times reports that Coleman’s death was confirmed by a spokeswoman for…
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Supreme Court Rules Unanimously for Better Education for Students With Disabilities
On Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that school districts must provide students with disabilities the opportunity to make “appropriately ambitious” progress in their education, and that decision will likely have an impact on the 6.5 million students with disabilities in the United States. According to NPR, Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District…
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All the Weird Shit Going On at Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing
Admittedly, I watch congressional hearings even when I’m not covering them. I also watch Supreme Court confirmation hearings, but not because I believe anything will change because of them. It’s like watching professional wrestling: We all know the fights are scripted, but it doesn’t stop us from cheering for a winner. Neil Gorsuch’s Senate confirmation…
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Trump’s Presidency: ‘We Are Not Experiencing the Best of Times’
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spoken out about Donald Trump before, and her distaste for him is no secret. In a recent interview with the BBC, the feisty justice intimated that she doesn’t think the country is in good hands, but she is hopeful for the future. While Ginsburg did not comment directly…
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What We Need to Know About US Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s Pick for Supreme Court
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening that he had selected U.S. Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. So just who is Neil Gorsuch? According to NPR, Gorsuch, 49, is a solidly conservative judge with a record of strictly interpreting the Constitution, who reportedly sailed through…
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Trump's Victory Equals Conservative Majority on Supreme Court
Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election Tuesday means that a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court is not too far behind. In his action plan for the first 100 days of his presidency, Trump promised to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. With a Republican majority in…
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94-Year-Old Black Judge Writes Scathing Dissent in Ohio’s Longest-Running Civil Rights Case
Federal appeals judge Damon Keith is one of several black judges involved in Ohio’s longest-running voting lawsuit, one that strikes at the heart of voter suppression in one of the most significant of the “battleground states.” And he’s not the only one. In the decade-old case, Judge Keith said he was “deeply saddened and distraught”…
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These 4 Court Rulings Give Police Powerful Weapons to Abuse Your Rights. They Need to Go
The emergence of Donald Trump as the self-proclaimed “law and order” candidate on November’s presidential ballot should be cause for serious concern for all of us. If not for the reasons related to the Republican presidential nominee’s positions on Black Lives Matter and other groups of peaceful protesters exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of…