supreme court Archives

Supreme Court Upholds Right of Free Association

By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court has ruled that a California law requiring charities to disclose the identities of their donors is unconstitutional.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts called such disclosure requirements a “dragnet for sensitive donor information” and found that such a law violates an individual’s First Amendment right to free association.

Big Brother may always be watching – but after Thursday’s ruling, he won’t be seeing as much as some government bureaucrats and bullies wished he would.

Topics: Current Events Tags: supreme court July 1, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Abortion Debate Returns to the Supreme Court

Unanswered – or poorly answered questions, never go away.

Nevertheless, it’s very good news that the United States Supreme Court announced earlier today that they’ve agreed to review Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

At issue is a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks.

The nine justices should use this case to re-evaluate Roe and Casey and best case, overturn them both. At the very least, the court should allow the states more leeway in prohibiting abortion pre-viability, including for things like gender, race or disability.

History tells us not to pin our hopes on the court in cases like this.

Topics: Current Events Tags: abortion, supreme court May 18, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Today’s Amy Coney Barrett Confirmation is a Victory for Tomorrow’s America

The United States Senate’s narrow but decisive vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett as only the fifth woman jurist on the high court brings to a close a remarkable chapter in the 2020 presidential campaign.

But Monday night’s historic vote is a triumph for not just Judge Barrett and President Trump, who has now successfully navigated three selections to the Supreme Court.

Judge Barrett’s ascent to the bench is a victory for decency, goodness and belief in conservative judicial ideals.

Topics: Current Events Tags: supreme court October 26, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Judge Amy Coney Barrett Represents a New, Conservative Feminism

As I write, the third day of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings are underway.

Tuesday’s marathon questioning ran the gamut from Democrats pressing Judge Barrett on the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), abortion and issues related to LGBT matters.

Through it all, the judge was poised, articulate and clearly in command. It’s obvious to even many of her detractors why she’s held in such high esteem.

Modern-day Supreme Court confirmation hearings have evolved into national platforms for senators to make extended statements as well as ask questions.

Topics: Current Events Tags: amy coney barrett, current events, supreme court October 14, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Jim Daly Statement – Amy Coney Barrett

I was very encouraged to hear President Trump today announce his choice for the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. From all reports, Judge Barrett is a constitutionalist judge in the mold of her former boss, Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she clerked after graduating summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School.

Prior to joining the 7th Circuit in 2017, Judge Barrett taught constitutional law at Notre Dame and other schools for many years, and her reputation as an originalist and textualist grew through her writings and speeches.

Topics: Current Events Tags: government, supreme court September 26, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Supreme Court Blocks Good Law, Endangering Women

Today’s 5-4 decision in June Medical Services v. Russo is a discouraging development in a now 47-year campaign to preserve and protect preborn life.

By a narrow majority, the Supreme Court ruled that commonsense safety precautions for abortion clinics are somehow unconstitutional. Louisiana lawmakers had passed legislation to protect women seeking abortions after it was discovered some facilities had been ignoring basic safety regulations, including one clinic hiring an ophthalmologist and a radiologist to perform abortions.

In a particularly curious and frustrating twist, Chief Justice Roberts, who sided with the Court’s liberals, said the Court is merely following the legal precedent it set in its 2016 Whole Woman’s Health v.

Topics: Current Events Tags: abortion, pro-life, supreme court June 29, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

6 Supreme Court Justices Brazenly Proclaim Themselves Legislators in Landmark Decision

I’m extremely disappointed to learn that the U.S. Supreme Court today took it upon itself to brazenly rewrite a federal employment statute to add sexual orientation and gender identity to a list of protected classes contained in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

When that landmark civil rights statute was enacted by duly elected representatives of the people, Congress never imagined or intended that “sex” meant anything other than biological males and females.

Yet in this opinion six justices have done what Congress never intended to do and has explicitly rejected many times over the years since 1964.

Topics: Current Events Tags: current events, supreme court June 15, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Louisiana Abortion Law

The subject of abortion was front and center at the United States Supreme Court this morning as the nine justices heard arguments concerning a highly anticipated case titled June Medical Services v. Russo.

For about an hour the legal advocates argued for and against the constitutionality of a Louisiana law passed in 2014 that requires abortionists to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

The stakes are high. In fact, just outside the Supreme Court building, Senator Chuck Schumer crassly threatened the High Court’s newest members.

Topics: Current Events Tags: government, supreme court March 4, 2020 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Lift High the [Bladensburg] Cross: Supreme Court Decision is a Win!

There is welcome news today from the Supreme Court.

A 94-year-old war memorial in Bladensburg County, Maryland, can remain in place, despite the demands of the American Humanist Association to tear it down.

Also known as the “Peace Cross,” the memorial was commissioned and built by the American Legion and mothers of the 49 local men killed serving this country in World War I.

Originally built on private land, the 40-foot-tall structure and the land upon which it rests were taken over by the local government 50 years ago for roadway expansion needs.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, government, supreme court June 20, 2019 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Investiture Service of Justice Brett Kavanaugh

By: Tim Goeglein

The late/great novelist Tom Wolfe once posited that there would arrive a moment where fiction would lose its relevance because the reality of American life was so much more compelling and, at turns, unbelievable.

Such was the week or so after the midterm elections in Washington DC. It was a little like living inside a dynamic, almost surreal novel.

On Capitol Hill, the balance of power shifted from red to blue in the House of Representatives.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, government, supreme court November 9, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura