Supreme Court decided landmark gay rights case
May 20, 2013
On May 20, 1996, the US Supreme Court held unconstitutional Amendment 2 to Colorado's state constitution because it violated the Equal Protection Clause. Amendment 2 prohibited the state and municipal governments from enacting, adopting or enforcing anti-discriminatory legislation that protected per....... [more] 
Looking into Affirmative Action through Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin
May 17, 2013
JURIST Associate Editor Fangxing Li, University of Pittsburgh School of Law Class of 2014, explores the upcoming US Supreme Court decision on affirmative action policies in institutions of higher education and argues that these policies harm rather than help diversity in schools that employ those po....... [more]
Massachusetts became first state to legalize same-sex marriage
May 17, 2013
On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the union to legalize same-sex marriage. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the state's constitution prohibited a ban on same-sex marriage passed in November 2003. Attempts to rev....... [more]
Oklahoma Senate approved bill requring pre-abortion questionnaire
May 11, 2013
On May 11, 2010, the Oklahoma Senate voted by a 32-11 margin to approve a bill (HB 3284) requiring women seeking an abortion to complete a questionnaire before the procedure. The Statistical Abortion Bill Act probes into such areas as marital status, reasons for seeking an abortion and whether the w....... [more]
Georgia representative introduced Defense of Marriage Act
May 7, 2013
On May 7, 1996, former Representative Bob Barr of Georgia introduced the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the US House of Representatives. Under Section 3 of DOMA, "in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative burea....... [more]
What about Veronica?: A look into Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
May 6, 2013
JURIST Guest Columnist Megan Lindsey, counsel for the National Council for Adoption, discusses the legal and practical impact of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl and the Indian Child Welfare Act...On April 16, 2013, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl. I had the pri....... [more]
Illinois court invalidated tobacco judgment
May 5, 2013
On May 5, 2006, the Illinois Supreme Court declined to reconsider its decision to vacate a $10.1 billion judgment against Phillip Morris USA. The judgment resulted from a case where the tobacco company was found liable of falsely claiming that light cigarettes were safer than regular ones. Expla....... [more]
US government made precise GPS available to non-governmental users
May 2, 2013
On May 2, 2000, the US discontinued the use of Selective Availability, a program that degraded the ability of non-governmental users to have access to precise Global Positioning Systems (GPS). President Bill Clinton made the announcement on May 1 that at midnight precisely, GPS would be made availa....... [more]
Freedom of Religion in Palestine: Converting Religions
May 1, 2013
JURIST Guest Columnist Ibrahim Fares, an LL.M. Candidate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Class of 2013, explains the impact of religion on legal rights in Palestine...Religion affects many aspects of life in Palestine, including legal rights. One sensitive issue in Palestine is conve....... [more]
Washington was inaugurated as the first US president
April 30, 2013
On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office and became the first US president inaugurated under the Constitution. While Article II required that President Washington take an oath before entering office, the rest of the inauguration ceremony was not conducted under any constitutional....... [more]
Affirmative Action Timeline
April 29, 2013
3/25/2013: Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear new affirmative action case
11/15/2012: Sixth Circuit ruled Michigan ban on affirmative action unconstitutional
11/6/2012: Oklahoma voters approved ban on affirmative action
10/10/2012: Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Fisher v. University....... [more]
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