Following up on yesterday’s ruling on ending explicit use of race in admissions, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down earlier today the Biden Administration’s loan cancellation proposal. In a 6 – 3 decision, the court’s majority ruled that the Education Department did not have the authority to cancel loans. The decision is available here.
Category: Judiciary
UNC Chapel Hill, Harvard Admissions Practices Struck Down
In a much awaited decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that the admissions practices at both Harvard University and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill are unconstitutional because of how race is in their decisions.
The entirety of the ruling is available here.
Examples of initial analyses of the ruling are available here, here, and here.
Amy Coney Barrett Confirmed
Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States by a 52-48 partisan vote. Barrett is now the third justice appointed by President Trump to join the Court.
Updates here.
Appeals Court Upholds Block on Administration Travel Ban
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the block on the second version of the Administration travel ban. A federal judge in Maryland originally blocked the ban from going into effect earlier this year. The Fourth Circuit covers the following states: Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on a similar block issued by a judge in Hawaii.
Gorsuch Nomination Moves Forward After Senate Rule Change
The Senate earlier today used the “nuclear” option on the nomination of Neil Gorsuch for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court by eliminating the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations. The Senate voted along party lines to change the Senate rules to allow Supreme Court nominations to move forward by a simple majority vote rather than meeting the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
After the rule change, the Senate agreed to proceed on the nomination, setting up a final vote on Gorsuch most likely late Friday.