In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, former assistant football coach Joseph Kennedy and the school district disagree over precisely why he was put on administrative leave. According to Kennedy, he wanted to say a “brief, quiet prayer by himself while at school and visible to students.” According to the school district, “Kennedy made a spectacle of delivering midfield prayers at the immediate conclusion of games and insisted that students must be allowed to join.” The State and Local Legal Center (SLLC) amicus brief argues the First Amendment doesn’t protect Kennedy’s speech.
Continue readingSupreme Court Rules in Favor of Capital Inmate’s Religious Request
In Ramirez v. Collier the U.S. Supreme Court held 8-1 that John Ramirez’s claim is likely to succeed that Texas violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by not allowing his pastor to audibly pray and lay hands on him while he is being executed.
Continue readingSupreme Court Holds Censures Don’t Violate the First Amendment
unity College v. Wilson, the U.S. Supreme Court held that when a government board censures a member it doesn’t violate the First Amendment.
Continue readingJudge Brown Jackson and States and Local Governments
It is challenging to predict how Judge Brown Jackson might rule on issues of importance to states and local governments as a Supreme Court Justice.
Continue readingU.S. Supreme Court Allows Pennsylvania and North Carolina Court-Created Congressional Maps to Remain in Effect
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed court-drawn congressional redistricting maps favored by Democrats to remain in effect in North Carolina and Pennsylvania while litigation continues in the lower courts.
Continue readingSLLC Files Supreme Court Brief in Money Damages Miranda Case
Legal Center (SLLC) amicus brief in Vega v. Tekoh argues police officers should not be able to be sued for money damages if they fail to provide a Miranda warning.
Continue readingSupreme Court to Decide Constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act
Haaland v. Brackeen consolidates four cases challenging multiple provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) as unconstitutional.
Continue readingSupreme Court to Decide Case Involving Free Speech and a Non-Discrimination Statute
In 303 Creative v. Elenis the U.S. Supreme will decide whether applying a public-accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.
Continue readingSCOTUS to Decide whether Biden Administration Must Continue Migrant Protection Protocols
as the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a federal statute requires the Biden administration to implement the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). The Supreme Court will also decide whether the lower court erred in concluding that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new decision to terminate MPP had no legal effect.
Continue readingSupreme Court Allows Alabama Districting Plan to Remain in Effect
a 5-4 vote in Merrill v. Milligan the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama’s districting plan, which a three-judge panel concluded violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), to go into effect during the upcoming primary, while litigation continues in this case.
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