Renewed interest in packing the Supreme Court has come under scrutiny by politicians across the political spectrum. Court-packing refers to increasing the number of Justices on the Supreme Court to enrich the majority party’s objective. Throughout history, the fluctuation of Justices on the highest ...
A Comparison Between Scalia and Thomas: Part II — Gonzales v. Raich
One of the sociopolitical issues where public opinion in the United States has significantly changed in the last couple of decades is marijuana legalization, as more and more Americans have realized the pointlessness of statutes that criminalize consumption of marijuana for personal reasons. Proposi ...
Percoco v. United States
Many people might have a pretty clear image of what corruption and bribery is and who can commit such acts. The reality is not so clear. Background Percoco v. United States involved the longtime friend and aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Joseph “Joe” Percoco, and revolved around two sc ...
A Comparison Between Scalia and Thomas: Part I—Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)
Dissimilarities Between Scalia and Thomas In the post-Ronald Reagan era of the Supreme Court of the United States, two of the most preeminent jurists of conservative persuasion have been the Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Scalia, who was an incumbent justice from 1986 unti ...
Merrill v. Milligan
Drawing congressional maps is often a contentious process, and the recent undertaking in Alabama is no exception. Despite the 2020 census showing that the number of Black voters in the state increased by 3.4%, the number of majority-minority districts did not increase. The map, which was drawn by st ...
Death by Firing Squad: Nance v. Ward
Background In 1993, Michael Wade Nance attempted to rob a bank and killed an innocent bystander in the process of fleeing the scene. In 1997, Nance’s case was held in trial court in which a jury convicted him of murder and sentenced him to the death penalty. Nance appealed the conviction, applyin ...
Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta: The Prosecutorial Jurisdiction of Non-Indian Offenders on Indian Country
Facts: Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta, whose crime induced jurisdictional uncertainty, was charged by the State of Oklahoma for child neglect and was sentenced to 35 years of imprisonment. Castro-Huerta appealed his state-court sentence, and as this appeal was pending, the Supreme Court decided McGi ...
Hoke County Board of Education v. The State of North Carolina (2022): The right to a basic sound education
Background/Facts of the Case: Hoke County Board of Education v. The State of North Carolina addresses the constitutional right of school children in North Carolina to have the opportunity to receive a “sound basic education” and whether the judicial branch has the jurisdiction to order a transfer ...
“The Red Trickle”
On Wednesday, November 9th, 2022, millions of Americans awoke to the reasonably predictable news that the Republicans won both houses of Congress, securing majority control of the legislative branch. This reality, albeit utterly false, seemed almost a certainty in the weeks leading up to the 2022 mi ...
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District – The Conflict Between the Free Exercise Clause and Establishment Clause
Background The United States Constitution includes various protections for religious beliefs. These include the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause, both incorporated in the First Amendment. The Free Exercise Clause grants citizens the right to practice their religion freely, as lon ...