Search Results for: strict scrutiny

US District Judge Timothy L. Brooks blocked Arkansas on Saturday from enforcing Act 372, a law that penalizes librarians for “furnishing harmful item to minors.” The case is in the US District Court for the Western District of Fayetteville Division. Judge Brooks ruled that the law is unconstitutional because it is overbroad and vague. Judge [...]

The US Supreme Court effectively ended affirmative action, which allowed US colleges and universities to consider race in their admissions programs. In a consolidated case brought by Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., the court found that Harvard University—a private university—and the University of North Carolina (UNC)—a public university—violated the US Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause by [...]

Pakistan’s transgender community finds itself embroiled in an ongoing struggle for inclusion, facing a recent setback with a verdict from the Federal Shariat Court (FSC). Transgender activists in Pakistan have appealed the judgement of the Federal Shariat Court (“FSC”), which adjudicates based on the tenets of Islam, to the Supreme Court (“SC”). As many as [...]

Judge Thomas Parker, a judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Friday ruled that Tennessee’s Adult Entertainment Act (AEA) is unconstitutional. In his opinion, Parker ruled that the AEA violates First Amendment rights. He stated that free speech does not extend to just words. Instead, the fundamental right covers [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday overturned a decision from the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that held the Virginia Fairfax County School Board’s (Board) new admissions policy violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause. The plaintiffs in the case asserted that the policy disparately impacted [...]

For years, Sri Lanka has occupied the international spotlight for one of its contentious laws—the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The PTA was introduced in 1979 during the Sri Lankan Civil War using the emergency law provisions in Part II of the Public Security Ordinance. While similar laws exist in other nations, showing widespread acceptance [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Monday ruled that employers who oppose abortion have a right to refuse to employ people on the basis of their reproductive health decisions under the freedom of association contained in the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The case arose over a 2019 New York law [...]

The Iowa District Court for Polk County Monday upheld a permanent injunction on S.F. 359, a 2018 law restricting abortion at about six weeks, once an abdominal ultrasound can detect fetal cardiac activity. District Judge Celene Gogerty ruled that no specific rule exists to dissolve permanent injunctions under the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure or [...]

Voters in Iowa Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to adopt a constitutional amendment allowing people to keep and bear firearms. The final vote was 745,118 in favor to 398,881 against. This will make Iowa the 45th state to include the right to keep and bear firearms in its state constitution. The amendment as ratified reads: Right to [...]

Marisa Wright is a US National Correspondent for JURIST, and a 2L at Harvard Law School.  The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday morning in two cases challenging the validity of race-conscious affirmative action programs in college admission. Through their questions to the parties, the justices signaled how they may ultimately vote in [...]