Decisions of supreme court 2018

In a majority opinion authored by Justice Clarence Thomas , the Supreme Court has cleared the way for even looser gun laws as the nation continues to reel from near-daily mass shootings that have claimed 312 lives in 2022 alone. Thomas, a President George H. W. Bush nominee, wrote in the 6-3 decision that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to carry a gun outside the home. The court struck down New York’s “proper-cause” requirement to obtain a concealed-carry license, saying it “violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense.” In concurring, Justice Samuel Alito wrote, “The police cannot disarm every person who acquires a gun for use in criminal activity; nor can they provide bodyguard protection for the State’s nearly 20 million residents or the 8.8 million people who live in New York City. Some of these … [Read more...] about Supreme Court Paves Way for Even Looser Gun Laws Weeks After Uvalde Massacre

A memorial for Kyhara Tay, an 11-year-old girl killed by gunfire in the South Bronx in May. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images “Put simply, this Supreme Court ruling will put New Yorkers at further risk of gun violence,” Mayor Eric Adams said shortly after the Court knocked down the law restricting concealed-carry permits in the state. Many gun-reform experts agree, seeing the ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen as a fast track to legally putting more guns on the street. Before the century-old law was struck down, New Yorkers had to show “proper cause” proving the need for a gun for self-protection in order to obtain a permit to carry a concealed handgun outside the home. But with a conservative 6-3 majority ruling that the law violated Second Amendment rights, it will be much easier for millions more Americans to conceal-carry in public. Six other states — California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island — have … [Read more...] about The Supreme Court Gun Ruling Could Lead to More Violence

WASHINGTON (CNN/WJZ) — The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, holding that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion. The opinion is the most consequential Supreme Court decision in decades and will transform the landscape of women’s reproductive health in America. READ MORE: Maryland Officials React To Supreme Court Overturning Roe V. Wade Going forward, abortion rights will be determined by states, unless Congress acts.  Already, nearly half of the states have or will pass laws that ban abortion while others have enacted strict measures regulating the procedure. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his majority opinion. “Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.” During the most recent legislative session, the Maryland … [Read more...] about Supreme Court Overturns Roe V. Wade, Allowing States To Ban Abortions

(CNN) — Although the Supreme Court issued the two most important opinions of the term last week, upending near 50-year-old precedent on abortion and expanding gun rights for the first time in a decade, this blockbuster term is not over. Still to be decided are seven disputes. READ MORE: Maryland Weather: Muggy & Cloudy With Showers Later A look at what remains: Religious liberty: High school football coach who prayed after games The justices are grappling with the case of Joe Kennedy, a former Washington state high school football coach at a public school who lost his job for praying at the 50-yard line after games. The school district said it suspended Kennedy to avoid the appearance that the school was endorsing a particular faith, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. Kennedy told CNN in an interview that “every American should be able to have faith in public and not be worried about being fired over it.” “I think it is important to … [Read more...] about Here Are The Remaining Supreme Court Cases This Term

(CNN) — The fight over abortion moved to the forefront of this fall’s midterm elections on Friday, as Democrats urged voters to view November as their best hope to halt the erosion of reproductive rights set off by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and Republicans previewed new national and state-level efforts to limit abortion rights. “This fall, Roe is on the ballot,” President Joe Biden said in a speech from the White House on Friday, hours after the Supreme Court had overturned the landmark ruling. “Personal freedoms are on the ballot. The right to privacy, liberty, equality — they’re all on the ballot.” READ MORE: Detroit Woman Charged After Body Of 3-Year-Old Son Found In Freezer How the tectonic shift set off by the Supreme Court’s decision will play out in November’s elections will take time to gauge. The court’s decision opened the door to new Republican efforts that range from enforcing existing state laws that outlaw abortion in most cases to enacting … [Read more...] about ‘Roe Is On The Ballot’: Supreme Court’s Ruling On Abortion Rights Raises Stakes In Midterms

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court gave Republican legislative leaders in North Carolina a win Thursday in an ongoing fight over the state's latest photo identification voting law. The 8-1 decision doesn't end the more than three-year dispute over the voter ID law, which is not currently in effect and has been challenged in both state and federal court. The decision just means that Republican legislative leaders can intervene in the federal lawsuit to defend the law. A lower court had ruled the lawmakers' interests were already being adequately represented by the state's attorney general, Democrat Josh Stein. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that: “Through the General Assembly, the people of North Carolina have authorized the leaders of their legislature to defend duly enacted state statutes against constitutional challenge. Ordinarily, a federal court must respect that kind of sovereign choice, not assemble presumptions against it.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented. North … [Read more...] about Supreme Court rules for GOP lawmakers in voter ID case