FOR 146 YEARS, until 1935, the Supreme Court had no building of its own: it met in the Capitol. But architect Cass Gilbert, in consultation with former chief justice Charles Evans Hughes, modeled new quarters for the court on a Roman temple, creating a marble structure suitable for opening the bodies of fowl and examining their […]
US Supreme Court
Posted inThe Download
Sen. Markey seeks to pack ‘illegitimate’ Supreme Court
US Sen. Ed Markey has emerged as one of the most forceful critics of the US Supreme Court after recent decisions on abortion, gun licensing, and environmental protection. Markey has called for adding four more seats to the court, to minimize its current conservative tilt. “If a bully steals your lunch money and you don’t […]
Posted inGovernment
Sen. Markey seeks to pack ‘illegitimate’ Supreme Court
US SEN. ED MARKEY has emerged as one of the most forceful critics of the US Supreme Court after recent decisions on abortion, gun licensing, and environmental protection. Markey has called for adding four more seats to the court, to minimize its current conservative tilt. “If a bully steals your lunch money and you don’t […]
Posted inOpinion
If Barrett is confirmed, we’re for packing the court
WHY ARE REPUBLICANS so desperate to ram through a Supreme Court nomination that will impact Americans’ lives for decades? They’re scared that come November 3 they will lose. That despite their attempts to subvert democracy through false attacks on mail-in voting, felony disenfranchisement of 5.2 million people, and reduction of available voting locations, Americans will […]
Posted inUncategorized
A term limit solution to SCOTUS circus?
THE IDEA THAT the future tilt of the Supreme Court rested with Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s oncologists is about all you need to know to understand something is wrong with how we fill seats on the most consequential court in the land. While no medical intervention likely could have staved off Ginsburg’s death last Friday from […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
History suggests SJC rulings will improve policing
IF HISTORY IS a guide, three unanimous Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rulings on race and police practices issued last week will make policing more effective and more just. In one, the SJC broadened the circumstances in which a black motorist may argue that racial profiling by police led to a traffic stop. The ruling states, […]