California supreme court

The Supreme Court has just created an aristocracy of the religious, who now can plausibly demand the right to defy almost any law. The Court has sometimes been willing to accommodate conscientious objectors, but its earlier decisions were nothing like what it has now done. By the Court’s logic, human sacrifice now presents a hard case, with a colorable argument for its protection. Tandon v. Newsom was a 5-4 decision against California's COVID-19 order limiting more than three households from gathering in homes. The Court declared that laws can’t be applied to religious objectors so long as the state “treats some comparable secular activities more favorably.” Some regard this as a de facto return to the old rule, in effect from 1963 to 1990, that religious conscientious objectors have a right to accommodation where that’s reasonably possible. What the Court has announced, however, is far more extravagant: a right to nullify even the most urgent laws. The Court declares … [Read more...] about The Supreme Court creates a new religious aristocracy

close Video Democrats unveil bill expanding Supreme Court Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Democrats introducing a bill to pack the Supreme Court. Progressives Thursday took one more step forward in their radical march to destroy another American institution. They already demand an end to the Electoral College , they want to do away with the filibuster, and they want to add more states to disrupt the workings of the Senate.  Now they have made the Supreme Court their next target. Speaking on Thursday from the Supreme Court steps, Democratic political leaders introduced legislation to expand the Court from 9 to 13 Justices. Giving President Biden four appointments to the Court would override President Trump’s greatest legacy – Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett – but at the price of transforming the Court into yet another plaything for radical politicians. Congress has the constitutional authority to set the size of … [Read more...] about John Yoo: Democrats’ court packing push is next step in radical march to destroy another American institution

Sign up to get our new weekly column as a newsletter. We're looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. (CNN) Tom Stoppard's play, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," begins with the two minor characters from "Hamlet" betting on the toss of a coin. It comes up heads ... and heads ... and heads -- 92 times in a row -- and Guildenstern has to keep handing over his money. "I'm afraid it isn't your day," says Rosencrantz. "Life is a gamble, at terrible odds," says another character near the end of the 1966 play , "if it was a bet you wouldn't take it." This week President Joe Biden continued taking some hard bets, hoping the coins will land his way. He set the pattern in January, days before he took office, by outlining a huge Covid relief package amounting to $1.9 trillion and then topped it last month with a proposal for a $2 trillion infrastructure bill. On Wednesday he made another … [Read more...] about Joe Biden’s audacious gambles