The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed open April 30 to permitting the use of taxpayer dollars to fund the nation’s first religious public charter school. Their reasoning during oral arguments about the case of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic…
Letter to the Editor: Oklahoma case is a big deal
Dear Editor: In response to the Supreme Court’s argument on religious public schools, April 30: To students of Colonial American history and the Bill of Rights, this is a potential big deal and worthy of attention. Colonial Baptists, Quakers, Presbyterians…
In oral argument, U.S. Supreme Court wrestles with the limits of public school parents’ opt-out rights
In oral argument in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court probed the issue of whether and to what extent parents of young schoolchildren enjoy a right under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to opt…
Supreme Court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Aliens Act
For the time being, the Trump administration has been blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court from using a centuries-old law to deport a group of Venezuelans accused of being gang members. “The government is directed not to remove any member…
The latest far-right argument: Women are too empathetic to serve on Supreme Court
While still attacking empathy as a sin, the far-right among American conservatives — including some Christian leaders — has a new gripe to air: Women should not be allowed to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. William Wolfe, former aide…
High court appears sympathetic to Catholic Charities case against Wisconsin
As anticipated, the U.S. Supreme Court appeared sympathetic with Catholic Charities of Wisconsin March 31 in its case against the state of Wisconsin that could have national repercussions for other faith-based nonprofits. In oral hearings for Catholic Charities Bureau v….
Seven religion-influenced cases pending before US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court soon will hear arguments about tax breaks for charities, school policies on LGBTQ material, Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, and Oklahoma’s proposed Catholic charter school. The high court also agreed to hear a case on gay conversion…
The Urgent Supreme Court Case That’s Not Getting Enough Attention
While the country holds its breath for the Supreme Court’s responses to the Trump administration’s serial depredations, it’s hard to focus on anything else. Nonetheless, a case set for argument next month before the court merits more attention than the little it has received,…
Stakes are high as Supreme Court takes up conversion therapy case
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a Colorado case that addresses one of the most controversial of all debates about homosexuality and the church: Is so-called “conversion therapy” legitimate or abusive? The largely discredited strategy of helping…
US Supreme Court says Oklahoma Death Row inmate deserves new trial
Capital punishment opponents are rejoicing after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Oklahoma Death Row inmate Richard Glossip must receive a new trial in the 1997 killing of a motel owner in Oklahoma City. But death penalty abolitionists also acknowledge…
Supreme Court will hear Oklahoma charter school case
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide the constitutionality of using taxpayer dollars to fund a religious K-12 charter school in Oklahoma. The justices announced Jan. 24 they will review a June 2024 Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling determining the…
This election is about whether American women are more than breeders
My paternal grandfather was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force and the personal pilot for the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 1967 to 1970. My father actually graduated from the American School in Kabul in 1970 before he, his…