Democrats in the House and Senate on Thursday introduced legislation to expand the number of seats on the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to 13, a proposal hailed by progressive advocacy groups as a critical step in combating the conservative takeover of the high court and protecting key constitutional rights. Led by Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), […]
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday publicly introduced Merrick Garland, a federal appellate court judge whom Republicans snubbed for a seat on the Supreme Court in 2016, as the attorney general to lead the country’s Justice Department in his new administration. Garland, 68, has served 23 years as an appeals court judge in Washington but […]
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a Texas lawsuit to invalidate the Nov. 3 presidential election results in four battleground states that President Donald Trump lost to his Democratic rival Joe Biden, all but ending Trump’s effort to overturn the election outcome through the courts. In a brief unsigned order, the Supreme […]
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a Republican effort to strike down the Affordable Care Act health care law. The hearing comes weeks after Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, giving conservatives a 6-3 majority. At the center of the case is a requirement in the 2010 law for most people to have a […]
Amy Coney Barrett was formally sworn in Tuesday as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath to the former federal appellate judge, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 52-48 vote late Monday. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine joined the entire […]
(Anchorage) – Friday the Alaska Supreme Court, in Forrer v. State of Alaska, struck down legislation enacted under the previous Walker administration in 2018 that authorized the issuance of “subject-to-appropriation” bonds to pay outstanding cashable oil and gas tax credits. According to the Department of Revenue, there is $743 million in outstanding tax credits […]
Wednesday the Alaska Supreme Court upheld Superior Court Judge William F. Morse’s ruling ordering Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer (R-Anchorage) to correct the ballot summary for Ballot Measure 1, Alaska’s Fair Share Act, as requested by initiative sponsors. In a two page order, the court rejected Meyer’s appeal. The court will issue a longer decision […]
For the second time this week, the U.S. Supreme Court has tossed out a lower court injunction and cleared the way for the federal government to execute an inmate. In a series of orders early Thursday, the court vacated the injunction that stopped Wednesday’s planned execution of Wesley Ira Purkey. The lower court judge […]