Articles

SCOTUS rules against inmates in right-to-counsel case

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled along ideological lines Monday against two Arizona death row inmates who had argued that their lawyers did a poor job representing them in state court. The ruling will make it harder for certain inmates sentenced to death or long terms in prison who believe their lawyers failed them to bring challenges on those grounds.

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Justices’ views on abortion in their own words and votes

When the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a major abortion case from Mississippi in December, it was clear to observers that there was substantial support among the court’s conservative majority for overruling two landmark decisions that established and reaffirmed a woman’s right to an abortion. Even before arguments in the current case, however, the justices themselves have had a lot to say about abortion over the years — in opinions, votes, Senate confirmation testimony and elsewhere.

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Supreme Court tackles case about praying football coach

A coach who crosses himself before a game. A teacher who reads the Bible aloud before the bell rings. A coach who hosts an after-school Christian youth group in his home. U.S. Supreme Court justices discussed all those hypothetical scenarios Monday while hearing arguments about a former public high school football coach from Washington state who wanted to kneel and pray on the field after games.

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