Last December, GJR published “A citizen’s guide to a U.S. Supreme Court losing its legitimacy.” This follow-up recounts recent ethics controversies and the leading decisions of this past term.) After 18 years, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s Supreme Court has the lowest credibility of any court in almost a century. The court’s standing has not been this low since … [Read more...] about Chief Justice Roberts falling short on recapturing Supreme Court legitimacy
St. Louis judge bars Post-Dispatch publication in murder case
The Post-Dispatch has called upon a St. Louis judge to dissolve an order barring the paper from publishing mental health information about accused murderer Thomas Kinworthy. Kinworthy, 46, is accused of killing officer Tamarris Bohannon on August 29, 2020 at a house on Hartford Avenue. Joseph E. Martineau, representing the Post-Dispatch, called St. Louis Circuit Judge … [Read more...] about St. Louis judge bars Post-Dispatch publication in murder case
Can the First Amendment keep up with the brave new world of machine manufactured misinformation?
The point of the First Amendment is to protect expression people hate – Nazi protesters in Skokie, anti-war protesters burning the American flag, KKK hooligans in an Ohio farmfield, Christian fundamentalists protesting the burial of American soldiers. Tolerance for the speech we despise is the lesson of 232 years of the First Amendment. Yet the nation is awash today in … [Read more...] about Can the First Amendment keep up with the brave new world of machine manufactured misinformation?
‘Remember the Ladies’
When the great-grandmothers of today’s young women were born, women couldn’t vote. They were expected to be mothers and homemakers. When the grandmothers of today’s young women were born, women had no legal protections against discrimination in education, jobs or credit. The Supreme Court said “Equal Protection” in the 14th Amendment didn’t include women. When the mothers … [Read more...] about ‘Remember the Ladies’
Bill of Rights – Well-heeled win today’s First Amendment disputes
Today’s conservative Roberts Court is a bastion of First Amendment freedom as was the liberal Warren Court half a century ago. But the winners are different. Establishment insiders win today whereas outsiders won most often during the Warren years. On its 200th birthday in 1991, the First Amendment had developed into a powerful shield against government abuse of outsiders, … [Read more...] about Bill of Rights – Well-heeled win today’s First Amendment disputes