Tag / Supreme Court
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The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of The Supreme Court Decision On Gerrymandering
After years of punting the issue to lower courts, the Supreme Court finally ruled on the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering. In Rucho v. Common Cause the majority justices concluded in their decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that partisan gerrymandering was a question beyond the scope of the Supreme Court. Essentially, what Roberts argued…
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Sorting, Polarization, And Gridlock: Policy Finds A Way
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Legislative gridlock hasn’t stopped policy from being made, it’s now just being made outside of the normal channels in ways strain our constitutional and political system.[/su_pullquote]American government is broken. Supermajoritarian institutions in the United States, most notably the Senate, have created legislative gridlock and frustrated majorities. The Senate effectively requires 60 votes to pass…
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Age Never Matters
Commentators have a habit of describing a certain generation of people as sharing common characteristics by placing them in the same generational set. For example, people in their 20s and younger are known as millennials. The commentators called people born between 1946 and 1964 “baby boomers,” and people of a later generation “Generation X.” Critics…
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Gorsuch’s Nomination Faces Retaliation from the Democrats
This Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that he planned filibuster the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Said Senator Schumer, “After careful deliberation I have concluded that I cannot support Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court.” After careful deliberation indeed. It is hard to imagine a scenario in…
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Why Liberals Should Applaud the Supreme Court’s Immigration Ruling
Following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, it seemed likely that there would be a number of 4-4 split rulings in the Supreme Court. One such ruling has liberals in an uproar: the split in United States v. Texas. The court’s split allows the lower court’s ruling to stand. This means that the injunction District…
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Of Supreme Importance
The death of Justice Antonin Scalia has launched the Supreme Court into the spotlight of national politics. What will happen next, both in terms of filling his vacancy and how he will be remembered, is an unsettled question. The Republican-controlled Senate will most certainly not confirm an Obama nominee to the Supreme Court. Senate judiciary…
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The Supreme Court Hears Disparate Impact: Endorsement With Limits
On April 11th, 1968, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act (FHA) into law, calling it one of “the proudest moments” of his time in the White House. The FHA, which followed up the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawed housing discrimination based on race or certain other protected characteristics. Precisely what type of…
