Supreme Court considers whether religious groups can discriminate based on sexual orientation
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in the case of Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The court heard the argument by telephone with live-streamed audio. Fulton concerns whether Petitioner, a Roman Catholic adoption agency in Philadelphia, is entitled to discriminate against potential foster parents on the basis of sexual orientation. The city of [...]
Supreme Court denies motion to hear Pennsylvania mail-in ballot case before election
The US Supreme Court Wednesday denied a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to review a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision allowing the counting of ballots received up to three days after the election, even with no legible postmark. The Pennsylvania branch of the Republican Party filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, hoping the Supreme Court, [...]
Supreme Court considers Fourth Amendment seizure, deportation due to fraud
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in the cases of Torres v. Madrid and Pereida v. Barr. The court heard the arguments by telephone with live-streamed audio. The petitioner in Torres was operating a vehicle under the influence, and in the process of trying to get away, endangered the two officers pursuing her. In the process, [...]
Supreme Court considers military rape statute of limitations, impounded cars in bankruptcy
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the cases of United States v. Briggs and Chicago v. Fulton. The court heard the argument by telephone with live-streamed audio. The Briggs case was consolidated with United States v. Collins in November 2019 and another case. In all three cases, the respondent is a man in [...]
How the DEA is Interfering with Religious Use of Psychedelics
In the 1970s, the federal government passed the Controlled Substance Act (“CSA”), outlawing a plethora of psychedelic substances. Many of these now illegal psychedelic plants have been used for sacramental purposes for eons. Over the following decades, a number of regulatory, statutory, and judicial exemptions were carved out of the CSA for religious use of [...]
Around two years back, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in its historical judgement of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India decriminalised homosexuality in the country. However, despite this progressive judgement, certain questions incidental to the homosexual relationships remained unaddressed by both the Apex Court and the Government. One such question pertains to ‘same-sex [...]
Arizona appeals court orders option for same-sex parents on birth certificates
The Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled that Arizona must add an option for listing same-sex parents on birth certificates. This case began with the divorce of the petitioner Kimberly McLaughlin and her ex-wife Suzan Swanson. While they were married McLaughlin gave birth to a child. During divorce proceedings, they argued over whether Swanson was [...]
Supreme Court hears arguments on pharmaceutical regulation, no-fly list
US Supreme Court heard rescheduled oral arguments by phone on Tuesday for the second day of the 2020 term. The first case before the court, Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, looked at a 2015 Arkansas law, Act 900. The Act regulates Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs), the intermediaries between health insurance plans and pharmacies, to [...]
The US Supreme Court heard arguments Monday morning in the first two cases of the 2020 term. Initially scheduled for March and April, respectively, the arguments were postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The justices heard the oral arguments by phone to maintain social distancing protocols. John Carney, the Governor of Delaware and the [...]
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in seven cases on Friday, consolidating several of them for a total of four oral arguments to be heard early next year. The first grant, a consolidation of Barr v. Dai and Barr v. Alcaraz-Enriquez, concerns credibility determinations in asylum hearings. In both cases, applicants for asylum were given [...]
