Category: The Constitution
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A Historic Choice for the High Court
President Joe Biden announced Friday that he was nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson from the influential D.C. Circuit to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Jackson would make history as the first African American woman to serve on the nation’s high court and her nomination fulfills a campaign promise made by the president. Moreover, Judge Jackson […]
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States Spar Over Redistricting Maps
Several states still had unresolved redistricting maps as midterm elections loomed in November. Congressional districts are redrawn after every decennial census and might determine which party controls the House of Representatives next January. The legislatures are tasked in most states with redistricting, but an increasing number have established commissions to draw more representative districts. Commissions, […]
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Supreme Court Hears Abortion Challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. The Court will be deciding whether Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks is constitutional or in violation of the precedent set by the 1973 Roe v. Wade case. Legal experts believe that the questions posed by the most […]
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Two Trials, Two Verdicts
Two polarizing court cases were decided within days of each other. In Georgia, a nearly all-white jury found three men guilty in the murder of Ahmad Arbery. Three co-defendants were found guilty of charges ranging from malice murder to false imprisonment and could face life in prison. In early 2020, the defendants pursued Arbery, while […]
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Trump Acquitted in Second Impeachment
The second impeachment of former President Donald Trump concluded with an unsurprising acquittal less than one week after proceedings began. Even though 57 senators voted to convict Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection, a two-thirds super-majority was required to convict. The conclusion of the impeachment trial followed days of heated exchanges between the […]
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2020 Elections & The Constitution: The Popular Vote
The 2020 election saw attempts by the Trump campaign to convince state legislative leaders to overturn the results of the popular vote in that state. This happened because of the electoral college. The Constitution grants state legislatures the power to decide how their electors will be selected. While each state has decided its electors will […]
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State of the Union 2019
President Donald Trump gave his 2019 State of the Union Address last week. According to Article II of the Constitution, the President “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” Instructors, click the […]
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Capital Punishment
The Supreme Court will hear the case of Vernon Madison, a 68 year-old man sentenced to death in Alabama. Mr. Madison now has dementia. As The Economist notes: “No one disputes that Mr. Madison killed a police officer in 1985 or that strokes he suffered in 2015 and 2016 have taken a grave toll […]