GPB Passport icon GPB Passport icon Passport
GPB donate icon GPB donate icon Donate
Sign Up For Our Newsletter

News Articles: Supreme Court

Israelis opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan set up bonfires and block a highway during a protest moments after the Israeli leader fired his defense minister, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 26, 2023.

Opposition to Netanyahu plan mounts as unions launch a broad strike across Israel

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of cities to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firing his defense minister for challenging the Israeli leader's judicial overhaul plan.

|
By:
  • The Associated Press
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen as justices returned to the high court for the first time since the leak of a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito preparing for a majority of the court to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision later this year, in Washington, U.S., May 12, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Political Rewind: Supreme Court weighs Biden student loan forgiveness; Buckhead City makes new steps

Tuesday on Political Rewind: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the Biden student debt relief plan, which could affect more than 1 million Georgians. Legislation to create "Buckhead City" passed a Senate committee, a new milestone in the move to annex the neighborhood from Atlanta.

|
By:
Protester outside the Kentucky Supreme Court chambers rally in favor of abortion rights as the Kentucky Supreme Court hears arguments whether to temporarily pause the state's abortion ban in Frankfort, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022.

Kentucky high court upholds state abortion bans while case continues

The state Supreme Court kept two state bans in place after Kentucky voters signaled support for abortion rights at the ballot box last November.

|
By:
  • Sarah McCammon
Lawyers gather in a demonstration against the Israeli government's controversial plans to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Tel Aviv District Court of Justice on Jan. 12. The new justice minister Yariv Levin outlined proposals such as allowing politicians to override Supreme Court decisions.

Israel's far-right government wants the power to override its Supreme Court

Despite huge protests, Israel's new far-right government is doubling down on its first major initiative: to weaken the judiciary. Hungary and Poland's far-right did the same when they entered office.

|
By:
  • Daniel Estrin
Indian couple Utkarsh Saxena, left, and Ananya Kotia, chat inside a public park in New Delhi, India, Jan. 18, 2023. The couple, now 15 years into their relationship, is joined by three other couples who have filed a petition to India's Supreme Court that seeks the legalization of same-sex marriage.

In India, couples begin their legal battle for same-sex marriage

Couples have filed petitions to India's Supreme Court seeking the legalization of same-sex marriage. The decision could make India the second economy in Asia after Taiwan to recognize the unions.

|
By:
  • The Associated Press
A revamped Clean Water Act released in December 2022 restored federal protections for millions of acres of wetlands and other waterways. A proposed mining project that would take place on wetlands located 3 miles from the Okefenokee Wildlifre Refugee was no longer subject to federal water rules jurisdiction when the law was rolled back under President Donald Trump’s administration. Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

U.S. Supreme Court decision in waterways case could come too late for Okefenokee mine foes

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court case could have significant ripple effects on the government’s ability to protect the nation’s waterways.

|
By:
U.S. military stop migrants from crossing into El Paso, Texas, seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary order to keep pandemic-era limits on asylum-seekers in place, though it could be brief, as conservative-leaning states push to maintain a measure that allows officials to expel many but not all asylum-seekers.

The U.S. asks court to end asylum limits, with a short delay

Asylum-seekers at the border waited for a Supreme Court ruling that could allow them to enter the United States as the U.S. government asked the Supreme Court not to lift the limits before Christmas.

|
By:
  • The Associated Press
U.S. Supreme Court

Political Rewind: Cases on serving same-sex couples, independent legislatures before Supreme Court

Friday on Political Rewind: The Supreme Court heard arguments in two important cases this past week. The court will decide if a Colorado woman has a right to refuse web design services to a same-sex couple planning a wedding. It will also decide how much power state legislatures hold in federal elections.

|
By:
Jim Obergefell, the named plaintiff in the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case that legalized same sex marriage nationwide, center, stands on the steps of the Texas Capitol, Monday, June 29, 2015, in Austin, Texas.

Take a look back at the history of interracial and same-sex marriages

With the House and Senate passing the Respect for Marriage Act, here is a look at some of the legal precedents surrounding interracial and same-sex marriages.

|
By:
  • Ayana Archie
Rev. Rob Schenck speaks during press conference in front of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on April 17, 2019. Schenck testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee Dec. 8, 2022 saying that he knew of a leak out of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014.

Former evangelical activist says he 'pushed the boundaries' in Supreme Court dealings

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, the Rev. Rob Schenck said he knew the outcome of a pivotal religious freedom decision weeks before the Supreme Court released it in 2014.

|
By:
  • Sarah McCammon
President Joe Biden speaking about student loan debt relief at Delaware State University, Oct. 21, 2022, in Dover, Del. The Biden administration said it is extending the student loan repayment pause again.

With student loan relief tied up in court, Biden extends repayment pause into 2023

The president has extended the student loan repayment pause into 2023. Biden said he wants to give lawsuits against debt cancellation time to play out, and the Supreme Court time to weigh in.

|
By:
  • Dustin Jones
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney instructs potential jurors during proceedings to seat a special purpose grand jury on, May 2, 2022, in Atlanta. McBurney overturned Georgia's ban on abortion starting around six weeks into a pregnancy, ruling Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, that it violated the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it was enacted and was therefore void.

Judge overturns Georgia's ban on abortion around 6 weeks

Judge Robert McBurney overturned Georgia's ban on abortion starting around six weeks into a pregnancy, ruling that it violated precedent when it was enacted three years ago and was therefore void.

|
By:
  • The Associated Press
Kentucky voters have rejected an amendment that would have said the state constitution contains no right to an abortion. Earlier, people rallied on the steps of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort to encourage voters to vote yes on Amendment 2, which failed.

Where abortion was on the ballot, midterm voters largely signaled support

Voters in several states were asked to weigh in on ballot measures specifically related to abortion rights.

|
By:
  • Sarah McCammon
Attendees march during a rally encouraging voters to vote yes on Amendment 2, which would add a permanent abortion ban to Kentucky's state constitution at the state Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky, on October 1, 2022.

Here are the places where abortion is on the ballot (in one way or another) this week

Abortion is on the ballot in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont, but it's also playing a major role in races for governor, attorney general and state supreme courts nationwide.

|
By:
  • Sarah McCammon
Susie Talevski has gone through years of legal back-and-forth with the state agency in Indiana that operates the nursing home where her father, Gorgi, resided before his death.

A SCOTUS nursing home case could limit the rights of millions of patients

An Indiana man's family sued a state-owned nursing home for alleged mistreatment. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case could determine the right of many Americans to sue government agencies.

|
By:
  • Farah Yousry