US Supreme Court & US race-relations

Props to AJB for this; a summary by the BBC of the US Supreme Court as they gear up for the end of term with decisions on Gay Marriage and possibly others.

US Supreme Court, with added zing. Picture Credit: BBC

A recent decision about patent law in relation to a "Spider-Man" toy is mainly useful for G and P students because Justice Kagan wrote that the legal decision whether or not to overturn precedent is set at a high bar; that the court does not overturn precedent "lightly". It may be argued that with this in mind the court is less likely to be "activist" in creation of rights or the overturning of past decisions.

Elsewhere, the tragic shooting of 9 people in Charleston, South Carolina, (a BBC news report can be found here) underlines for G and P students contemplating Unit 3C that race is still a major issue in US society and government. President Obama's recent comments about the event, including use of the "N" word in an interview, highlight that for him at least there is a long way to go to erase the legacy of slavery despite the long fight for civil rights.

UPDATE: The Supreme Court has supported Obama care against its opponents' objections in the case of King v Burwell (2015). Interestingly this was decided 6-3 with Roberts siding with the "Liberal wing" of the court. The BBC's report is here, and the Guardian's is here.

Abortion in the USA

Rolling Stone Magazine highlights a Texas court ruling which will have the effect of closing almost all the abortion clinics in the state. Separately, they have a longer profile of the conservative activists and campaign groups who are influencing Republican-controlled states to pass laws which make it harder for women to have an abortion.

Strikingly, and tragically, in a state of 27 million people there are fewer than 25 clinics and this number is likely to fall. There will undoubtedly be unforeseen consequences of this.

A former abortion clinic in Texas. Picture Credit: Rolling Stone

For G and P students thinking about Unit 3C or Unit 4C this is a fascinating topic which links issues like the policies of the Democrats and Republican parties with Supreme Court decisions such as Roe v Wade or Citizens United. In addition, the power of the individual states to pass laws which contradict federal law or undermine Supreme Court rulings.

2015 election - the most unfair ever?

Sadly this came out too late to be of use to the Unit 1 paper taken this morning, but perhaps would be useful in future. The Electoral Reform Society has published research explaining how the 2015 election was the most "disproportionate in history". The BBC has a report about it here, and includes a set of graphs comparing the result of 2015 and then the same if run under a different voting system. To illustrate using List PR:

The 2015 election as run, and under a "List PR" system. 

Great stuff for anyone contemplating electoral reform in Unit 1. Props to AJB for the tip.