Our Rights, Our Future

Supreme Court Cases from March 23, 2009 to April 6, 2009

The following is a compilation of cases in which the Supreme Court granted, denied, or received a petition for cert.

Supreme Court Roundup

Faces of the Administration: Dawn Johnson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel

Dawn Johnson, President Obama's nominee for the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Council couldn't differ more from her predecessor, Steven Bradbury.

Proposition 8 Belongs Before California's Supreme Court

Cross-posted from The Huffington Post.

We are a nation of laws. Lawmaking belongs to legislatures, but occasionally, the people write laws of their own through ballot initiatives. Regardless of their origin, all laws are subject to judicial review, something a small band of zealots in California would like you to forget.

Beyond the core issues surrounding Proposition 8, which reversed a landmark ruling from California's Supreme Court allowing gay couples to marry, lies a far deeper question affecting the very nature of our democracy: can the court review laws?

South Carolina House Oks Measure Requiring Photo IDs To Vote

South Carolina may follow Indiana's lead by approving one of the toughest voter identification measures in the nation. Under a measure passed last week by the South Carolina House, voters will now be required to show a government issued identification before being allowed to vote.

President Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, But Challenges Remain

Cross-posted from The Huffington Post.

President Barack Obama recently signed the the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, reversing an absurd and disastrous Supreme Court decision that allowed companies to discriminate against workers based on their gender. The Act's namesake, 70-year-old Lilly Ledbetter, discovered shortly before retiring that her employer, Goodyear, had for decades systemically paid her less than her male colleagues. The Supreme Court ruled that because Lilly hadn't immediately discovered the pay discrepancy, she had no right to challenge the discrimination. With the new law, Congress stood up and clearly explained to the Court that each discriminatory paycheck is a violation of the law, regardless of when the discrimination began.

Though the Act is undeniably a tremendous victory for women and workers, it's far too soon to rejoice...