24
Jun
13

Today at the Supreme Court

Steve Benen: High court largely sidesteps affirmative action case in 7-1 ruling

One of the four biggest cases of the current Supreme Court term deals with the constitutionality of affirmative action in a case called Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The ruling came down this morning, and in a 7-1 decision, the high court majority sent the case back to the lower court to be heard again.

More here

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NBC: Supreme Court raises bar for affirmative action in college admissions

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed affirmative action to survive in college admissions but imposed a tough legal standard, ruling that schools must prove there are “no workable race-neutral alternatives” to achieve diversity on campus.

While the ruling was not a sweeping pronouncement on the future of affirmative action, it amounts to a warning to colleges nationwide that the courts will treat race-conscious admissions policies with a high degree of skepticism.

More here

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Jamelle Bouie: In affirmative action ruling, Supreme Court sidesteps difficult questions

The Supreme Court just issued its widely anticipated decision in a major affirmative action case. And it sidestepped the core question at play: whether affirmative action policies are constitutional.

Last year, the Supreme Court took the case of Abigail Fisher, a young white woman who argued that her rejection from the University of Texas at Austin was because of her race, not her qualifications. “There were people in my class with lower grades who weren’t in all the activities I was in, who were being accepted into UT, and the only other difference between us was the color of our skin,” she said in a video explaining her argument. “I was taught from the time I was a little girl that any kind of discrimination was wrong. And for an institution of higher learning to act this way makes no sense to me.”

More here

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Charles Pierce: …. The littler, and more important, news out of the Supreme Court today is that this most corporate-friendly of courts issued two more decisions that will make it suck a little more to be an employee. The latter two were read from the bench by Justice Samuel Alito, who is rapidly replacing Antonin (Short Time) Scalia as the blog’s favorite reactionary gombeen with absolutely no clue as to how things happen in the real world…..

More here

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ThinkProgress: The Scariest Pending Supreme Court Case That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

When the Supreme Court starts handing down decisions most Court watchers will be awaiting four high profile cases — the two race cases that will decide the fate of affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act, and the two marriage equality cases. A fifth case, however, could prove just as significant as these much better known cases — and could potentially leave thousands of workers virtually helpless in the face of racial and sexual harassment.

More here


124 Responses to “Today at the Supreme Court”


  1. 2 Vicki
    June 24, 2013 at 11:59 am

    My takeaway is that Affirmative Action lives to fight another day.

  2. 6 utaustinliberal
    June 24, 2013 at 12:08 pm

    Still very nervous about the affirmative action case because whenever conservative justices say they want strict scrutiny applied to certain laws, that raises eyebrows. The ruling is very narrow and with what they did today to workers fighting racial and sexual harassment leaves me very troubled indeed.

    Everyone needs to read this article. This is a dangerous precedent the SCOTUS has set and unless congress is heavily urged to modify the limitation placed upon Title VII, workers rights will remain stripped away. The threat to civil liberties and rights in this country is not the NSA, but the conservative wing of the SCOTUS. They are poised to continue rolling back rights of women, minorities, workers, etc.

    • June 24, 2013 at 12:31 pm

      Yes indeed. The gravity of this situation cannot be over-emphasized.

      “The threat to civil liberties and rights in this country is not the NSA, but the conservative wing of the SCOTUS”

      Thank you UT. This needs to be tweeted far and wide.

  3. 8 57andfemale
    June 24, 2013 at 12:12 pm

    Ed Schultz is great today about Snowden, about PBO. He’s making more sense than any progressive host I’ve heard on this issue. And you guys know what I think of Ed Schultz’ basic dimness but he’s good on this issue.

    Balance. We can’t function as a country without a balance of liberty and security and to think otherwise is as loony as the tea party.

  4. June 24, 2013 at 12:15 pm

    Another take….

  5. June 24, 2013 at 12:16 pm

    Good Morning, Everyone 🙂

  6. 11 Linda
    June 24, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    Chris Hayes just said he never heard anyone compare Snowden to MLK ?

    Wait….didn’t he tweet that ?

  7. 14 Ladyhawke
    June 24, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    Press Secretary Jay Carney is at the podium ………

  8. June 24, 2013 at 12:18 pm

    The Fishers case a crap case to begin with- never should have been taken.

    the plaintiff was pathetic. there were what, 60 people that got in over her. 4 were Black, 56 White…but, it’s only a problem with the 4 Blacks that got in over her?

    G-T-F-O-H

  9. June 24, 2013 at 12:18 pm

  10. 17 amk for obama
    June 24, 2013 at 12:23 pm

    Italy’s former PM Silvio Berlusconi has been found guilty of having sex with an underage prostitute, and abusing the power of his office.

    He has been sentenced to seven years in jail and banned from public office, pending the outcome of an appeal.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-23034167

    Excellent news.

  11. 20 Nena20409
    June 24, 2013 at 12:23 pm

    Congrats on Your Gold, Layla 😉

    Jay “Clark Kent” Carney is on the Podium……. 🙂 LIVE ❗

    http://www.c-span.org/

  12. June 24, 2013 at 12:27 pm

    Jay coming out swinging on Snowden. WOW.

    Absolutely disputes Hong Kong’s version of events regarding the actions of US DOJ. “Has negative impact on US China relationship”

    Watch:

    http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

  13. June 24, 2013 at 12:27 pm

    There is no “grey” line here……he contact GG in Feb. prior to taking the NSA job…. all questions of his legitamicy, if there were any…

  14. 23 Nena20409
    June 24, 2013 at 12:28 pm

    I saw TJ Holmes on HLN for a tops 10 seconds today. I was walking by and heard his Voice. I looked up and there he was TJ Holmes. Anyone? Any idea? I like TJ Holmes.

    • 24 Layla
      June 24, 2013 at 12:34 pm

      I love TJ Nena! a calm, knowledgeable, no BS guy! Not afraid to state the facts, That explains his departure from TNN…that and of course he is blah!

      • 25 Nena20409
        June 24, 2013 at 12:41 pm

        Didn’t I say that we were kindred spirit? 😎

        No. He left CNN for a promised Newsy One Hour Show at BET. They didn’t keep their promise and the show was reduced to 30Mins weekly, then 30Mins for one day, then abruptly canceled……so he said…..when interviewed months ago.

  15. June 24, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    Rafa lost 2nd set 7-6 down 2 sets love, and a break in the 3rd, this is getting ugly….

    • 27 Nena20409
      June 24, 2013 at 12:34 pm

      LP, you are now depressing me 😦 Rafa was not ready…..My opinion. He used all his mind, soul and body to come back and play in the French Open. Now, with this sad loss…..about to come, per LP ……he can seriously get himself healed. I am a hurting unit upon this sad news.

  16. 28 amk for obama
    June 24, 2013 at 12:34 pm

    rafa down 0-2

  17. June 24, 2013 at 12:34 pm

    I posted this tweet, piggy-backing from something UT posted above.

  18. 44 utaustinliberal
    June 24, 2013 at 12:35 pm

    And boom goes the dynamite.

    • 45 Nena20409
      June 24, 2013 at 12:37 pm

      The reason…….Lawmakers and many at TOD were asking why GG and Poitras were aiding and abetting Snowden and the legal ramifications.

    • 46 nathkatun7
      June 24, 2013 at 5:24 pm

      Finally the TRUTH comes out. Shame on the media for hyping this as an Obama administration scandal.

  19. June 24, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    I am now keeping an eye on Chris Hayes Twitter TL to see how he’s gong to react to the breaking news about Snowden’s INTENT to collect data on the NSA…..So far, crickets from him. But the news is still relatively fresh…..

    • 48 Bill
      June 24, 2013 at 12:45 pm

      He was extra hyper with Joy Reid today.

      • 49 jacquelineoboomer
        June 24, 2013 at 12:47 pm

        I tried, I really tried, to watch Joy Reid, because I admire her so much, but then Hayes came on, hair a’fire. Mute. Gag.

        • June 24, 2013 at 1:02 pm

          Starting to feel as if MSNBC’s intent is to make people watch Chris Hayes. If you won’t watch him on his show at 8, then we’ll just put him on everyone else’s show.

          • 51 jacquelineoboomer
            June 24, 2013 at 1:04 pm

            They may think it will boost his ratings, I agree. Instead, it makes me turn away from others who bring him on their shows. NBC’s Phil Griffin is in charge, and he has NO CLUE how to get viewership back, at least in the case of Chris Hayes – who needs to go back to the sandbox.

          • June 24, 2013 at 1:15 pm

            MSNBC wants to shove Hayes and his anti-Obama, Libertarian talking points down people’s throats at all costs, but it’s not working. After they tried their level best to help Mitt Romney in 2012 with Chuck Todd “enthusiasm gap” crap, they’re now trying to undermine PBO and Dems for 2014, with this Chris Hayes “civil liberties” bullshit.

      • June 24, 2013 at 12:48 pm

        What exactly was he saying? Was he defending Snowden? Was he pushing back against Joy’s remarks?

        • 54 Bill
          June 24, 2013 at 12:55 pm

          I thought he was defending Snowden and could not listen but for a few minutes. I have never seen him so hyper. A very arrogant WikiLeaks representative was also on the panel.

          • 55 57andfemale
            June 24, 2013 at 1:02 pm

            Of course he was defending Snowden. He is completely blind on this issue and there will be no facts, no balance that will penetrate his fevered bias.

            • June 24, 2013 at 1:04 pm

              Wonder if he’s ever in his life admitted that he was wrong.

              • 57 57andfemale
                June 24, 2013 at 1:08 pm

                When you’ve lived a privileged life, deciding at an early age that you will make a living commenting on the lives that other people have to live, then no. You don’t admit you’re wrong, because you have a steely heart when it comes to the consequences of your commentary.

  20. June 24, 2013 at 12:42 pm

    This has, in fact, now been revealed to be ESPIONAGE.

    • June 24, 2013 at 12:46 pm

      Yes it is.

      Let’s see Mr. “I don’t see any espionage” explain this away….

      • 60 jacquelineoboomer
        June 24, 2013 at 12:49 pm

        Why does Chris Hayes start ANY question with “Am I wrong”? Guess he’s so desperate for attention, even the negative kind works for him. What a FOOL.

        • June 24, 2013 at 1:12 pm

          That’s a typical narcissistic, grandiose way of phrasing a question – it’s actually an obnoxious way of saying “I KNOW I’m right.”

          • 62 jacquelineoboomer
            June 24, 2013 at 1:36 pm

            Yes. Too bad none of these dolts have people at home who can point out the error of their ways. Friendless, self-possessed, livin’-large-in-mom’s-basement types. (And now I think I must make that last part into a tweet. I must.)

      • 63 Layla
        June 24, 2013 at 12:49 pm

        Awww Depends, not only for people with bladder control problems!

  21. June 24, 2013 at 12:42 pm

  22. 72 JER
    June 24, 2013 at 12:45 pm

  23. 76 Bill
    June 24, 2013 at 12:50 pm

    Jay Carney just said Snowden is still in Russia and “any further International travel should be limited to the US”.

    • 77 Nena20409
      June 24, 2013 at 12:51 pm

      He also said, that they know where he is…… 😉

    • 82 jacquelineoboomer
      June 24, 2013 at 12:53 pm

      This is probably way too optimistic, but I wonder if – because there’s a slight delay – Russia will, indeed, deport him back to the U.S. Maybe they’ll try to use him as some bargaining chip. As long as he’s still in Russia, there’s a slight glimmer of hope. Putin can keep the ring (as susanne mentioned last night!), and we’ll all move on.

      • 83 Nena20409
        June 24, 2013 at 1:00 pm

        No. Putin wants to toy with Us. He is plotting a way to get Snowden down to Ecuador without entering the USA Air space. My opinion….no evidence. I am sticking to it. Putin loves sticking it to USA.

  24. 84 utaustinliberal
    June 24, 2013 at 12:52 pm

  25. June 24, 2013 at 12:54 pm

  26. June 24, 2013 at 12:56 pm

  27. 90 Bill R.
    June 24, 2013 at 12:57 pm

  28. 93 amk for obama
    June 24, 2013 at 12:59 pm

    Meanwhile, Russia’s Interfax state news agency quoted an informed source as saying Moscow was considering a US extradition request, but that Mr Snowden had not officially crossed the Russian border so could not be detained.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23031801

    Hogwash.. It’s now a question of who blinks first.

  29. 95 amk for obama
    June 24, 2013 at 1:02 pm

    nadal 3-5 in 3rd set. Just one more service game for darcis for the biggest upset – rafa’s first round exit evah in grand slams.

    • June 24, 2013 at 1:07 pm

      Freaking cowards……. such double standards….. press lives by one set of rules…….. everyone else?

      • June 24, 2013 at 1:08 pm

        Absolutely LP, ‘no comment’ from a news organization? Incredible.

        • June 24, 2013 at 1:13 pm

          I don’t always agree w/ Wemple, but he is usually pretty objective….. when CNN replaces Howie “Fox News” Kurtz, in two weeks…. I would much rather he take over then that douchebag Dylan Byers from Politico… Eric Deggins from TB Times is usually ok too, but I lost respect for him this weekend when he was defending Paula Dean…..

        • 102 4morefor44
          June 24, 2013 at 1:18 pm

          i was happy when marissa meyer became c.e.o. of yahoo, and still hope she succeeds. she’s had an incredible mess to clean up and a bloated staff of terrible hires over the years, so we’ll see how it goes. not sure she should micromanage an issue like this “birther” nonsense, but who knows???

    • 103 4morefor44
      June 24, 2013 at 1:11 pm

      doesn’t look like she’s addressed her birtherism at all. just doing a “move along, nothing to see here…” tactic, and she’s back up today talking about the snowdenwald, and apparently is now a stenographer for jullian assange. quote the “journalist” yahoo has there.

  30. June 24, 2013 at 1:05 pm

    I never seen Rafa take a beating like that…….. Rest up till the U.S. OPen my friend….

  31. 108 Nena20409
    June 24, 2013 at 1:05 pm

    http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/red-panda-missing-from-national-zoo

    The National Zoo announced on Twitter Monday that a red panda named Rusty has gone missing from its enclosure. Rusty was last seen at 6 p.m. Sunday.

    That makes me so sad……stealing a Panda? Come on, now.

  32. June 24, 2013 at 1:06 pm

  33. 110 carolyn
    June 24, 2013 at 1:10 pm

    And I just heard on BBC news at noon, that Julian Assange said that Snowden is “in high spirits” and on his way to Ecuador. Has Assange ever told the truth in his life? Is there anything he will NOT say to discredit the U.S.?

    • June 24, 2013 at 1:18 pm

      Assange is lying. Or BBC is lying. Or they are both lying. I think all three of the above is correct. Remember BBC is a news org which protected pedophiles on their staff for 50 years. There’s nothing they won’t stoop to….

  34. June 24, 2013 at 1:10 pm

    AI have LOST THEIR MINDS:

    Amnesty International sees a “great risk of human rights violations” if Snowden ends up inside the US justice system.

    Amnesty believes Snowden “could be at risk of ill-treatment if extradited to the USA,” the organization said in a statement.

    “No one should be charged under any law for disclosing information of human rights violations by the US government,” said senior Amnesty official Widney Brown:

    “Such disclosures are protected under the rights to information and freedom of expression.”

    “[Snowden’s] forced transfer to the USA would put him at great risk of human rights violations and must be challenged.”

  35. 118 utaustinliberal
    June 24, 2013 at 1:12 pm

    In the realm of other holy shit news, Steve Darcis just knocked Rafael Nadal out of the first round of Wimbledon. Firs time that’s happened to Nadal I believe.

  36. 119 Nena20409
    June 24, 2013 at 1:17 pm

    Rafael Nadal Parera

  37. 120 amk for obama
    June 24, 2013 at 1:23 pm

  38. June 24, 2013 at 1:25 pm

  39. 123 utaustinliberal
    June 24, 2013 at 1:33 pm

  40. 124 Jovie
    June 24, 2013 at 1:59 pm


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