“The loftier the soul, the more it feels the unity that there is in us all.” – Rabbi Avraham Kook By any reasonable standard, the belligerent nationalism of Realpolitik or power politics makes no sense. After all, without exception, this zero-sum mantra of “everyone-for-himself” clearly undermines every country’s national security. Most perplexing, perhaps, is that [...]
It may be some time before we know everything that President Trump was up to between election day and January 6, 2021, when he urged his followers to go to the Capitol and derail the constitutional process of electoral vote certification. As well, there are likely to be long investigations into the security at the [...]
The judgment in Anjali Guru Sanjana Jaan v. State of Maharashtra gives rise to a deep interpretational incoherence of Article 19(1)(a), i.e. right to freedom of speech and expression. This doctrinal disarray stems from the fact that the Court inadequately interpreted the jurisprudential basis of pluralism set in Nalsa v. UOI. The facts of the [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition for certiorari by Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley regarding Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak’s COVID-19 reopening orders. Sisolak’s May Emergency Directive 021 allowed businesses like amusement parks, museums and gyms to open at 50 percent capacity but specified that religious institutions could host no more than 50 people [...]
The Hungarian Minister of Justice announced on Facebook Tuesday that the Ministry of Justice would bring a bill to the Hungarian Parliament to regulate social media companies’ deplatforming policies in Hungary this spring. In her post, Minister Varga Judit decried conditions where “everyone can be arbitrarily switched off from the online space without any official, [...]
The governor of Puerto Rico declared a state of emergency on Sunday in response to the high rate of violence against women and transgender individuals. Governor Pedro Pierluisi, who took office earlier this month, issued an executive order to combat the high rates of gender-based violence in the territory. In addition to declaring the state of [...]
The US Supreme Court Monday vacated lower court rulings in a case related to Texas’ ban on most abortions during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of Texas’ response to the pandemic, Governor Greg Abbott ordered a halt to all non-essential medical procedures last March in order to preserve resources such as protective equipment. Later, Attorney General [...]
US President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday allowing transgender people to serve in the US military. The order reverses two executive orders signed by former president Donald Trump. Transgender members of the military will now be able to serve openly and begin transitioning. Further, they will not face involuntary separation, discharges, or denials [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled Friday that the city of Boston did not violate the First Amendment when it denied a private group’s request to fly a Christian flag on a flagpole at the city hall. Over the course of the last 12 years, the city approved 284 flag-raising events [...]
“In the field of law and public interest, there are stars, there are superstars, and then there’s Harry Pregerson.” When you hear the term “judicial activism,” what comes to mind? Do you imagine judges legislating from the bench? Going beyond their constitutional power to interpret the law by considering the broader societal implications of their [...]
