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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: justices

justices stories: 13 news summaries

Justices Cite Free Speech in Animal Abuse Videos

They seem ready
to strike down law

Oct 6, 09 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court seems likely to back an appellate court ruling that said depictions of animal cruelty are protected as free speech by the First Amendment. In arguments today, the justices considered the case of a man convicted of selling dogfighting videos under a 1999 law that equates videos of... More »

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Antonin Scalia • John Roberts • free speech • censorship • dogfighting • John Paul Stevens • US Supreme Court • justices • dog fighting

(Newser) - Three years after retiring from the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor is still on the bench—in federal appellate courts across the country, where the high court's first woman justice has quietly been filling in as a substitute judge. O'Connor has heard nearly 80 cases and written more than a... More »

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Sandra Day O'Connor • US Circuit Court of Appeals • US Supreme Court • justices • appellate court • women's issues

(AP) - After 17 years as a federal judge, Sotomayor knows her way around a courthouse. But her new workplace is filled with quirky customs and rituals and questions about how to fit in. When do you speak up? How do you find your way around a building torn apart by renovation?... More »

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Hispanic • US Supreme Court • justices • rookie • Sonia Sotomayor • women's issues

Dems Stoked Over GOP's Judiciary Pick

Accusations of racial insensitivity continue
to dog Sessions

May 6, 09 8:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Democrats are hoping Arlen Specter’s replacement on the Senate Judiciary Committee, a white Southerner with a history of racial provocation, will help paint the Republican image into a corner, Politico reports. As the GOP’s chief questioner of President Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee, Jeff Sessions will “... More »

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race • Senate Judiciary Committee • Jeff Sessions • US Supreme Court • justices

Ginsburg Wants Another Woman at High Court

Justice bemoans her
male colleagues' 'lack of understanding'

May 6, 09 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Among the many people calling on Barack Obama to name a woman to fill his first Supreme Court vacancy, one voice stands out: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the sole female on the nation's highest bench. In a frank interview with USA Today, the justice says that some of her male colleagues... More »

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women • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • gender discrimination • strip search • US Supreme Court • justices • David Souter

analysis

Clarence Thomas
Strays From Righty Line

Slams Bush team, backs consumer protection in recent case

Mar 9, 09 9:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Clarence Thomas might be the Supreme Court’s rightmost justice, but he’s “never been shy about breaking with conventional wisdom,” writes David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times. In the latest such instance, he upheld injured patients’ right to sue drug companies, arguing that “agency... More »

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Antonin Scalia • Samuel Alito • John Roberts • medical marijuana • conservative • Clarence Thomas • US Supreme Court • liberal • justices • decision • Bill Maher Grid

Supreme Court Rules Against Utah Sect

Monument won't fly; public statues are 'government speech'

Feb 25, 09 2:12 PM CST
(Newser) - The Supreme Court today denied a Utah sect the right to erect a monument in a public park, settling a case that had serious implications for free speech and freedom of religion, the New York Times reports. Members of the Summum religion are free to espouse their beliefs in the... More »

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Samuel Alito • free speech • First Amendment • Utah • monument • religious freedom • US Supreme Court • justices

Supreme Court Needs Term Limits: Legal Eagles

Urge end to lifelong terms, judges' case selection

Feb 23, 09 8:26 AM CST
(Newser) - The US judicial system is in need of a serious overhaul, law experts write in a letter to congressional leaders. They argue that Supreme Court justices shouldn’t keep their posts for life, instead taking 18-year terms before a shift in status, the Washington Post reports. Further, they say, the... More »

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Congress • professor • overhaul • US Supreme Court • justices • letter

Justice Ginsburg Has Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer

Doctors remove cancerous tumor from Supreme Court's lone woman

Feb 5, 09 12:46 PM CST
(Newser) - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent cancer surgery today, NPR reports. The court’s only current female jurist, 75, was to have a tumor removed from her pancreas at a hospital in New York. Ginsburg underwent successful treatment for colon cancer 10 years ago. Her pancreatic cancer was discovered... More »

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cancer • surgery • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • New York • pancreatic cancer • US Supreme Court • justices

analysis

Spry Justices May Forestall Obama Court Makeover


Aging Stevens, Ginsburg show no sign of retiring, defying conventional wisdom

Nov 11, 08 4:56 PM CST
(Newser) - One of the boons for the next president was thought to be the chance to appoint a justice or two to the Supreme Court. But though John Paul Stevens is 88 and Ruth Bader Ginsburg 75, neither has indicated an intention to retire. Ginsberg has twice demurred, saying Stevens, who... More »

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Barack Obama • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • president • John Paul Stevens • federal judges • US Supreme Court • justices • David Souter • President Obama

 McCain Would Tilt
 Split Court Right 

Court now divided along political spectrum

Jun 29, 08 1:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - America’s choice for president will likely ripple all the way to the halls of the sharply divided Supreme Court, the Washington Post reports. Since the next justice to retire is likely to be left-leaning, a Barack Obama victory would maintain the status quo of four conservatives, four liberals, and... More »

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Barack Obama • John McCain • conservative • US Supreme Court • liberal • Election 2008 • justices

analysis

 O'Connor's Imprint Fades 

First female Supreme Court justice's legacy uncertain

Jun 10, 08 4:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Even as Sandra Day O’Connor public profile as an advocate for Alzheimer’s disease research grows, the legal imprint of the first woman Supreme Court justice is fading, USA Today reports. Since her departure, the Roberts court has shifted course on abortion and retreated from positions supported by her... More »

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Samuel Alito • abortion • John Roberts • law • Sandra Day O'Connor • integration • Samuel A. Alito • US Supreme Court • justices

Calif. Court Considers
Gay Marriage

Judges, who appear split, have 90 days to rule on ban 

Mar 5, 08 7:37 AM CST
(Newser) - An overflow crowd and hundreds more outside a San Francisco courthouse listened yesterday as the California Supreme Court heard arguments on the state's gay marriage ban, the Los Angeles Times reports. The judges appeared split as lawyers argued for more than 3 1/2 hours. One judge asked if domestic partnership... More »

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gay rights • gay marriage • San Francisco • judge • California Supreme Court • justices • Joyce Kennard • Carol Corrigan • Carlos Moreno • Therese Stewart • Ronald George • domestic partnership

13 Stories


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