The end of January brought two momentous decisions from two very different courts. First, on Jan. 29, the left-leaning Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared that abortion restrictions constitute sex discrimination under the state’s Equal Rights Amendment, rendering them “presumptively unconstitutional.” Then, on Jan. 30, the hard-right U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit refused to reconsider an earlier opinion by …
A federal court declines to revisit a ruling that could weaken the Voting Rights Act Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images Alex Wong/Getty Images A federal appeals court has denied a request to revisit a ruling that could undermine a key tool for enforcing the Voting Rights Act's protections against racial discrimination in the election process. It's the …
Last June, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh saved the Voting Rights Act in a surprise 5–4 decision. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Allen v. Milligan invalidated Alabama’s egregious racial gerrymander, affirming nonwhite Americans’ equal voting power, and overall, upheld the federal ban on racial discrimination in the electoral process. The University of Michigan’s Voting Rights Initiative has …
