ScotusBlog: Legal analysis of the Supreme Court of the United States


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OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Sonia Sotomayor: Rejected abortion rights challenge to Mexico City Policy.     Elena Kagan: Health exceptions for partial-birth abortion ban.

Budget & Economy     Elena Kagan: 14th Amendment's "liberty clause" includes economic liberty.

Civil Rights     Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Let women sue for gender discrimination without time limits.     Elena Kagan: Military ban on gays is moral injustice of the first order.     Merrick Garland: Let civil rights plaintiffs receive appropriate day in Court.     Sonia Sotomayor: Anonymous offensive speech by off-duty cops is protected.

Corporations     Neil Gorsuch: Don't apply "dormant commerce clause" to limit state laws.

Crime     Neil Gorsuch: Very strict reading of relief criteria for death penalty.     Elena Kagan: Death penalty is constitutional, but requires due process.     Anthony Kennedy: Government is not responsible for abuses in private prisons.     Antonin Scalia: Government is not responsible for abuses in private prisons.     Clarence Thomas: Government is not responsible for abuses in private prisons.     David Souter: Government is responsible for abuses in private prisons.     John Paul Stevens: Government is responsible for abuses in private prisons.     Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Government is responsible for abuses in private prisons.     Sandra Day O`Connor: Government is not responsible for abuses in private prisons.     Sonia Sotomayor: Government is responsible for abuses in private prisons.     Stephen Breyer: Government is responsible for abuses in private prisons.     William Rehnquist: Government is not responsible for abuses in private prisons.

Drugs     Elena Kagan: Individual suspicion required before administering drug test.

Education     Sonia Sotomayor: School policies on grade transfers must be race-neutral.

Environment     Merrick Garland: Supports EPA's anti-haze regulations.     Anthony Kennedy: EPA, not Congress, determines when cost-benefit applies.     Antonin Scalia: EPA, not Congress, determines when cost-benefit applies.     Clarence Thomas: EPA, not Congress, determines when cost-benefit applies.     David Souter: Congress, not EPA, determines when cost-benefit applies.     John Paul Stevens: Congress, not EPA, determines when cost-benefit applies.     John Roberts: EPA, not Congress, determines when cost-benefit applies.     Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Congress, not EPA, determines when cost-benefit applies.     Samuel Alito: EPA, not Congress, determines when cost-benefit applies.     Sonia Sotomayor: Ok for EPA to balance cost vs. environmental effectiveness.     Stephen Breyer: EPA, not Congress, determines when cost-benefit applies.

Families & Children     Elena Kagan: Grants to churches ok if used for non-religious purposes.     Sonia Sotomayor: Parental custody includes preventing child from leaving USA.

Government Reform     Neil Gorsuch: Administrative law: end the Chevron deference.     Elena Kagan: I believed in opposing Citizens United, but we lost.     Elena Kagan: Strong executive lets president press his agenda.     John Roberts: States waive sovereign immunity by accepting federal funds.     Merrick Garland: Preference for open & transparent government, like FOIA.     Sonia Sotomayor: Barring felons from voting disqualifies race-based groups.

Gun Control     Neil Gorsuch: Knowingly possessing a gun illegally isn't a felony.     Elena Kagan: 2nd Amendment confers individual right, not broad principle.     Jeff Sessions: 2nd Amendment is a specific provision, not a broad principle.     Patrick Leahy: Heller case established a fundamental individual right.     Sonia Sotomayor: States may restrict weapons; Heller only applies to feds.

Health Care     Elena Kagan: Upheld ObamaCare in Sebelius case, despite recusal concerns.

Homeland Security     Elena Kagan: Al Qaeda suspects should be held under indefinite detention.     Sonia Sotomayor: Construe FOIA exemptions narrowly, in favor of disclosure.     Elena Kagan: Apply rule of law to Guant namo detainees.

Immigration     Elena Kagan: Recused herself from Arizona immigration case.     John Roberts: Voted with liberals on Arizona immigration case.

Jobs     Elena Kagan: Let Congress fix problems like Ledbetter Act, not judges.     Jeff Sessions: Courts shouldn't overrule Congress on job discrimination.     Sonia Sotomayor: Sexual harassment counts as a hostile work environment.     Sonia Sotomayor: Acceptable to cancel civil service test results due to race.

Principles & Values     Neil Gorsuch: Ok to display donated Ten Commandments in public park.     Elena Kagan: Recused herself from 28 out of 75 cases in first term.     Elena Kagan: Attended Harvard Law School; then became Dean.     Elena Kagan: 1995: Clinton Administration Associate White House Counsel.

Welfare & Poverty     Jeff Sessions: Basic tradition is opportunity to work hard & keep fruits.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Anthony Kennedy Republican Appointee to Supreme Court Antonin Scalia Republican Appointee to Supreme Court (deceased 2016) Clarence Thomas Republican Appointee to Supreme Court David Souter Republican Appointee to Supreme Court (retired 2009) Elena Kagan Democratic Appointee to Supreme Court Jeff Sessions Alabama Attorney General John Paul Stevens Republican Appointee to Supreme Court (retired 2010) John Roberts Republican Appointee to Supreme Court Merrick Garland Supreme Court nominee 2016 Neil Gorsuch Republican Appointee to Supreme Court Patrick Leahy Democratic Sr Senator Vermont Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Appointee to Supreme Court Samuel Alito Republican Appointee to Supreme Court Sandra Day O`Connor Republican Appointee to Supreme Court (retired 2005) Sonia Sotomayor Democratic Appointee to Supreme Court Stephen Breyer Democratic Appointee to Supreme Court William Rehnquist Republican Appointee to Supreme Court (until 2005)