On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The following is excerpted from the president’s remarks at the White House following the announcement. Of the many powers and responsibilities that the Constitution vests in the presidency, few are more consequential than appointing a Supreme Court justice — particularly one to succeed Justice Scalia, one of the most influential jurists of our time. The men and women who sit…

Justice Antonin Scalia died in his sleep while on vacation at a ranch resort near Marfa, Texas, on February 13, 2016. Although the cause of death was not announced, the 79-year-old jurist had battled health problems, including heart disease, for a number of years. “Nino” Scalia, as he was referred to by friends, was nominated to be an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 26, 1986. He became the first Italian American to serve on the Court. With nearly 30 years on the bench, he was the…

While the Obama Administration attempts to sort out difficulties with the healthcare.gov website and Congress holds hearings on the subject, another cases challenging an employer-related portion of the Affordable Care Act is a step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court. On October 31, the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the provision mandating that all health insurance plans must provide free-of-charge contraceptive coverage could violate the First Amendment religious freedom of owners of small businesses. In the case of Gilardi v. U.S. Department of Health  & Human Services, the two brothers who own Freshway Foods and…

According to a recent survey by the Gallup polling firm, more Americans (46 percent) disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job than approve (43 percent). This marks only the second time since Gallup began asking the question in 2000 that the High Court has had a negative favorability rating. The other time was in June 2005. (Interestingly, the 2004-05 term featured few high-visibility, controversial cases, although the Court was criticized by many for its decision in favor of giving government broad eminent domain powers in Kelo v. City of New London.) Digging down into the…

On Monday, the Supreme Court upheld Maryland’s DNA Collection Act, which allows law enforcement officials to collect DNA samples on anyone they arrest for a serious crime. In the case, Maryland v. King, Alonzo Jay King, Jr. had been arrested for assault after pointing a shotgun at a group of people. Police took a DNA sample from King, and four months later, after the sample had been sent off to a national crime database, DNA evidence linked King to an open rape case from 2003. King was tried and convicted for rape based on that evidence. He appealed, and Court…