Tag Archives: SCOTUS

Action Through Inaction: The Supreme Court’s Declination to Hear Recent Same-sex Marriage Appeals

BY CLAIRE HOWE — At the beginning of its October 2014 term, the Supreme Court released orders declining to review seven petitions based on state laws that banned same-sex marriage in five states. The states directly affected include Indiana, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Utah, and Virginia. In declining to hear the cases, the Supreme Court effectively affirmed […]

McCutcheon v. FEC: More Money in Politics, Less Integrity in Democracy?

BY STEVEN SWARTZ — The United States Supreme Court issued a ruling this month in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission that allows money to play a larger role in political campaigns. The plaintiff, Shaun McCutcheon, is a wealthy Alabama businessman and contributor to the Republican Party. He wanted to donate more than the decades-old aggregate limit […]