Affirmative Action After Fisher v. the University of Texas
On Monday, the Supreme Court handed down Fisher v. the University of Texas a highly anticipated affirmative action case. In a somewhat anticlimactic decision, the High Court remanded “the case back to the lower court to apply “strict scrutiny” to the University’s admissions policy.” NPR’s Talk of the Nation discussed the future of affirmative action after Fisher.
Supreme Court Curtail Voting Rights Act
In Shelby County v. Holder, today the Supreme Court struck a key provision of the voting rights act, a provision that required states to get federal permission to change their voting laws.
For more on this historic case, see the SCOTUS blog coverage.
Don’t be fooled by the jurisprudence that she’s got, she’s still, she’s still “Sonia from the Bronx.” However, it is unclear whether she know J-Lo personally. Regardless, 60 Minutes recently re-air its interview Supreme Court Justice Sonio Sotomayor. Here is a description of the story:
In the 223 years of the Supreme Court of the United States, it is fair to say there has never been a justice like Sonia Sotomayor. Among other things, she’s the first Hispanic on the court, she’s the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who settled in the Bronx — that New York melting pot that pours out streetwise kids and American success stories.
Sotomayor, now 58 years old, calls the streets of her childhood “my beloved world” and when we aired this story in January, she was about to come out with a memoir of the same name. She told us that, the neighborhood gave a poor girl, with a serious illness, a chance to serve and an opportunity to become one of the most powerful women in America.
Akhil Amar and Barry Scheck on Maryland v. King
In a 5-4 decision, featuring a scathing Scalia dissent, the Supreme Court in Maryland v. King held that the 4th Amendment does not prohibit law enforcement from obtaining and testing DNA samples from arrestees. Last evening, All in with Chris Hayes discussed Mayland v. King with Barry Scheck, co-founder of The Innocence Project, and Akhil Amar, Yale Law School professor.
In a star studded video, Funny or Die presents, “Prop 8 — The Musical,” featuring Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris, Craig Robinson, Lake Bell, Rashida Jones, Kathy Najimy, John C Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Allison Janney, Margaret Cho, Andy Richter, and Sarah Chalke. I know that this video is several years old, but in the wake of Hollingsworth v. Perry, it remains relevant. The video runs just over three minutes.