Supreme Court
BREAKING: Supreme Court will decide fate of state bans on gay marriage
By Richard Wolf — January 16, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) The high court will hear arguments in four cases in April, and its ruling is expected to clarify whether gay marriage becomes legal coast to coast.
Supreme Court weighs a church’s right to advertise services
By Lauren Markoe — January 12, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) "Our town treats church signs differently than other types of signs," said Pastor Clyde Reed of Good News Community Church in Gilbert, Ariz.
If the Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage in 2015, how will evangelicals respond?
By Jonathan Merritt — January 5, 2015
(RNS) “A Supreme Court ruling might be the last word in legal terms," Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore said, "but it is hardly the last word in cultural or spiritual terms.”
Are vanity license plates government speech? Supreme Court to decide
By Richard Wolf — December 8, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) The cases present two issues that have come up repeatedly in lower courts: Do vanity plates speak for the government that issues them or the driver that displays them?
Supreme Court seems increasingly wary on death penalty
By Richard Wolf — December 3, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) On top of drug protocols, developmental disabilities and lawyers' mistakes, justices must decide if mental illness should be a reason to keep prisoners such as Scott Panetti alive. An appellate court gave him last-minute reprieve.
Gay marriage hits major bump in federal appeals court
By Richard Wolf — November 6, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) "This decision gives greater certainty that this matter will ultimately return to the Supreme Court, as we have said all along that it must," said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage.
Ted Olson: ‘Point of no return’ on gay marriage passed
By Susan Page — October 27, 2014
WASHINGON (RNS) "I do not believe that the United States Supreme Court could rule that all of those laws prohibiting marriage are suddenly constitutional after all these individuals have gotten married and their rights have changed," Ted Olson said.
Justice Roberts asks if the case of the Muslim prisoner’s beard is too easy
By Lauren Markoe — October 7, 2014
(RNS) In the first religion case of the Supreme Court season, a Muslim prisoner asks for the right to grow a very short beard.
What happens next in the 20 states that still ban gay marriage?
By Brad Heath — October 7, 2014
(RNS) The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday leaves unchanged 20 state laws blocking same-sex unions. Each is already under legal attack, and some judges in those cases had been waiting to see what the high court would do. The court's instruction Monday: Proceed.
The ‘Splainer: Beards, belief and baseball
By Kimberly Winston — October 7, 2014
(RNS) The Supreme Court will decide whether a Muslim inmate can grow a beard. So what does facial hair have to do with religion, anyway? Let us 'Splain ...
Mormon apostle: Be civil in fighting gay marriage
By Peggy Fletcher Stack — October 6, 2014
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) “Though we may disagree, we should not be disagreeable," Mormon Apostle Dallin H. Oaks said before Utah started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. "Our stands and communications on controversial topics should not be contentious.”
Supreme Court allows gay marriage to expand to 30 states
By Richard Wolf — October 6, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) The unexpected decision by the justices immediately affects five states in which federal appeals courts had struck down bans against gay marriage: Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Utah.
Justices to take up Abercrombie & Fitch headscarf case
By Richard Wolf — October 3, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Supreme Court agreed to rule on a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by a Muslim girl who claimed she was not hired as a "model" by Abercrombie & Fitch because of her black headscarf.
Muslim inmate takes his case for a beard to the Supreme Court
By Lauren Markoe — October 1, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) Inmate Gregory Holt wants to grow a half-inch beard in observance of his Muslim faith. Arkansas prison officials say he can't. The Supreme Court will decide.
Why I stopped saying America’s Pledge of Allegiance
By Brian Pellot — September 9, 2014
Atheists launched a “Don’t Say the Pledge” campaign on Monday to protest the phrase “under God.” I stopped saying the Pledge in my tweens for more reasons than one.
