Scholars of race, foreign policy and the Supreme Court give their informed predictions of what to expect under a Biden administration.
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
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.
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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
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.
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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
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.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with reporters, July 30, 2020.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
How an uncharismatic Kentucky lawyer came to rule the Senate and remake the federal judiciary from top to bottom.
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
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.
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Kelsy Burke, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Emily Kazyak, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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
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.
In Catholic understanding, Jesus gave his disciples the power to forgive sins.
Hernán Piñera
Following the sexual abuse scandals, there is a push to force the Catholic Church to compromise the confidentiality of the confessional. A Catholic scholar explains why confession is so important.
The 40-foot Peace Cross in Maryland dedicated to World War I soldiers.
Maryland GovPics/Flickr
Legal scholars offer a vision for appointing Supreme Court justices more fairly. While it wouldn’t require any constitutional amendments, it would require Congress to pass a bill.
Justice Anthony Kennedy swears in Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
The National Council of Churches, which represents 38 Christian denominations, has long been the voice of progressive religion. But over the years, its influence has waned.
President Donald Trump with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his swearing in.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh