Kate W. Isaacs, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
When ideological enemies talk across their great divides, something good can happen – it reduces stereotypes and inflammatory language directed at people who don’t agree on the abortion rights issue.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted for a bill that would federally protect same-sex marriage – and 47 Republicans signed on, too. Same-sex marriage isn’t the partisan issue it once was.
Lower federal court judges follow a formal code of ethics, but this does not apply to Supreme Court justices, leaving potential conflicts of interest unchecked.
A doctrine embraced by some conservatives could be adopted by the US Supreme Court. And if the court does, Americans’ political power will be dramatically limited.
Unlike in most countries, US Supreme Court justices enjoy life tenure. Some legal scholars believe that centuries-old custom, meant to protect judicial independence, no longer serves the public.
For the past 50 years, the Supreme Court has issued rulings that narrow tribal rights while Congress has worked to expand them. A recent ruling struck yet another blow against Native sovereignty.
President Joe Biden has pledged sweeping action on climate change but struggled to deliver it. A legal scholar explains why a national emergency declaration should be a last resort.
Historians of American religious history explain why the Supreme Court’s recent religious liberty rulings are an example of America’s long struggle to define religious freedom.
Abortion funds, which help people who cannot afford the procedure, are facing new kinds of pressures, including potential legal risks and a rising client demand that exceeds their capabilities.
As many as 80% of young people want abortion to be legal, and most disagree with the Supreme Court’s recent Dobbs v. Jackson ruling. This could lead to high youth voting rates in the 2022 midterms.
Only 24 countries today totally ban abortion. The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in the US is unlikely to lead other countries to join that list.
By overturning Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court has thrown the issue of abortion back to the states – and made it harder for Black and brown women to have access to reproductive health services.
A scholar of 18th-century America and the founders analyzes the Supreme Court opinion overturning the constitutional right to abortion, which he says relies on an incomplete version of US history.
Decision-making in the Canadian Supreme Court appears to be more fundamentally rooted in the law, not politics, than it is in the United States. Here’s why.
Unlike Australia, judicial appointments in the US are politicised. Democratic presidents will try to appoint left-wing judges and Republican presidents will try to appoint right-wing judges.