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Articles on SCOTUS

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Former House Speaker John Boehner holds a press conference June 25, 2012, after the Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision upholding the Affordable Care Act. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Why Democrats and health policy experts believe the Barrett confirmation rush is about getting rid of the Affordable Care Act: 3 essential reads

Democrats are outraged at what they say is the hypocrisy of allowing a president to appoint a new Supreme Court justice near the end of his term. One of their biggest practical concerns is the ACA.
Sen. Kamala Harris speaks via video link during the second day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 13, 2020 in Washington, D.C. Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images

How the Supreme Court can maintain its legitimacy amid intensifying partisanship

Though critics claim Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination jeopardizes the high court’s legitimacy, research shows there are ways the judiciary can bolster its standing and weather controversial decisions.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in Oct. 12 for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leah Millis/Pool via AP

The history of oath ceremonies and why they matter when taking office

Taking oath is an important tradition before assuming charge of a public office. It entails a commitment to the future. What is the history of oath-taking?
Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, is one of relatively few women appointed to the federal judiciary by the current administration. Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images

Trump and McConnell’s mostly white male judges buck 30-year trend of increasing diversity on the courts

Amy Coney Barrett may be a woman, but Trump’s other judicial appointments are 85% white and 76% male – the least diverse group of federal judges since Ronald Reagan.
The Supreme Court will face another challenge to the Affordable Care Act that is more likely to succeed with the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. AP Photo/Susan Walsh

If the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act, Trump’s health care order is not enough to replace it

The Supreme Court will again consider the fate of the Affordable Care Act next month. But Trump’s record and a reading of his health executive order make it unlikely that he can offer a meaningful alternative to the ACA.
Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 21 called on the Republican-controlled Senate not to confirm a new justice until the next president is in office. Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

Unlike US, Europe picks top judges with bipartisan approval to create ideologically balanced high courts

The Supreme Court doesn’t have to be so polarized. Many European countries make judicial appointments in a term-limited, intentionally depoliticized way to promote consensus and compromise.
An LGBTQ rights supporter sets up outside the Supreme Court. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Devil in the detail of SCOTUS ruling on workplace bias puts LGBTQ rights and religious freedom on collision course

Both sides of the debate over religious freedoms and LGBTQ rights use the language of equality and opposition to discrimination. It will be up to the courts to decide whose claim is stronger.
A Bible class at a public high school in Georgia, AP Photo/David Goldman

An old debate over religion in school is opening up again

At least six states have permitted the study of the Bible in classrooms, which could reignite a 19th-century debate that split US Protestants into liberal and conservative camps.

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