scotus

The Guardian, or Authority of Law, created by sculptor James Earle Fraser, rests on the side of the U.S. Supreme Court on September 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Getty Images).

SCOTUS ruling marks urgency in push for LGBTQ+ rights in Pa. as more challenges loom

BY: and - July 13, 2023

‘This is going to unleash a lot more litigation to see just how far this exception to anti-discrimination laws goes’ Vic Walczak, of the Pa. ACLU, said.

Vulnerable U.S. House Republicans who opposed student debt plan targeted in 2024

BY: - July 8, 2023

The White House lambasted the decision and announced what it called new actions to provide debt relief for student loan borrowers, including its Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, which the administration says will cut payments for low earners.

U.S. House Democrats file brief in college affirmative action case

BY: - August 3, 2022

The Supreme Court originally combined the two cases that challenged affirmative action, but then separated them — likely because the newest justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, said she would recuse herself from the Harvard case because she previously held a six-year term on Harvard’s board of overseers. Legal experts have said the court's decision could reshape the use of affirmative action in higher education.

Four members of U.S. Senate unveil bipartisan bill ensuring nationwide abortion rights

BY: - August 1, 2022

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said the measure, called the Reproductive Freedom For All Act, would protect access to abortion and contraception. 

U.S. Senate Democrats urge ‘bold action’ by Biden on abortion rights

BY: - June 27, 2022

The one-page letter, led by Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray of Washington and signed by 32 other Democrats, called the decision “an unprecedented assault on women” and pushed Biden “to use the full force of the federal government to protect abortion access in the United States.”

Abortion rights advocates. (Photo by Astrid Riecken/Getty Images).

Experts warn of the mental health toll if Roe v. Wade is overturned

BY: - June 14, 2022

On May 3, the day after Politico first reported a leaked draft opinion that showed the nation’s highest court was set to strike down the ruling, the American Psychological Association said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about the prospect, citing potential “harm to women’s mental health.”

U.S. Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson, ‘America at its best,’ to Supreme Court

BY: - April 7, 2022

The 53-47 vote comes just six weeks after President Joe Biden announced his  nomination of Jackson from the White House, fulfilling a promise he first made on the campaign trail. 

SCOTUS denies emergency injunction, kicks Pa. congressional map challenge back to lower court

BY: - March 7, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an emergency request from a group of Pennsylvania Republicans seeking to block the commonwealth’s new congressional map. The one-page order issued Monday evening, instead keeps the case, whose plaintiffs include two GOP congressional hopefuls, in front of a panel of three U.S. district judges. The order did not note […]

GOP appeals to SCOTUS to overturn new Pa. congressional map

BY: - February 28, 2022

A group of Pennsylvania voters, including two Republican congressional candidates, are asking for the U.S. Supreme Court to override the state Supreme Court’s choice for the commonwealth’s new congressional map.  Ending months of uncertainty, justices picked a map last week submitted by a national group aligned with the Democratic Party, and represented by Democratic attorney […]

Pa. reproductive rights advocates rally as U.S. Supreme Court reviews Mississippi abortion law

BY: - December 1, 2021

With a 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, a ruling could overturn Roe v. Wade and set a new precedent for abortion access in the United States.

Alito orders Wolf to respond to business shutdown lawsuit

BY: - May 1, 2020

According to media reports, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has ordered Wolf respond to the petition, brought by a trio  of businesses across the commonwealth that included a  real estate agent, a golf course and a laundromat — as well as a suburban Pittsburgh GOP state House hopeful.