Category Archives: Supreme Court

An historic day!

Posted on June 26, 2015 by jyourist

Obama’s powerful and compassionate response to the Supreme Court decision today legalizing gay marriage. And the final poetic and heartfelt paragraph of Justice Kennedy’s Opinion for the majority: No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals … Continue reading →

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“The Court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield.”

Posted on June 30, 2014 by jyourist

Indeed. I totally agree with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Dissent in Hobby Lobby/ Conestoga v Burris 2014, having just read her intelligent, assertive, unmitigated dissent. SCOTUS agreed in a 5-4 decision that corporations could effectively opt out of the contraceptive … Continue reading →

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Will wonders never cease?

Posted on June 28, 2012 by jyourist

xxxx xxxxxx May we live in interesting times. -Chinese Proverb

Posted in Constitution, health, politics, Supreme Court | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Brown undermining Brown

Posted on May 17, 2012 by jyourist

Today is the 58th anniversary of Brown v Board of Education Topeka Kansas. This should be a day of celebration, but it needs to be a day of recommitment to the ideals of this landmark Supreme Court decision. The conservative … Continue reading →

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Equity in education is attached to the hip of integration

Posted on May 17, 2011 by jyourist

Today, May 17,  is the 57th anniversary of the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education. The promise then was that segregation in our nation’s public schools would no longer be tolerated— that in fact, such practices … Continue reading →

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Bravo John Roberts

Posted on March 9, 2011 by jyourist

Let’s hear it for the latest decision of the Supreme Court. I never thought I would be saying this about a Robert’s Court decision, but miracles do happen. Earlier this year, the Westboro Baptist Church protested at our High Holiday … Continue reading →

Posted in freedom of speech, Supreme Court | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Lemon Test

Posted on November 19, 2010 by jyourist

Today was the Constitution test. It’s the big one. The kids have been pretty freaked out about it because they have to pass it in order to pass eighth grade. It’s the first time they are experiencing a test that … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, school, Supreme Court, Teaching | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Where is Charlton Heston when you really need him?

Posted on November 10, 2010 by jyourist

Today I broke my 8th grade students into pairs and each pair examined a different Supreme Court case that had to do with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution, freedom of speech, school, Supreme Court, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Freedom of Speech

Posted on October 7, 2010 by jyourist

Imagine my surprise going to school yesterday and hearing that the Westboro Baptist Church, the group that protested outside our house of worship this last Rosh Hashannah (Shofar Blows), was arguing a case before the Supreme Court today (Phelps v … Continue reading →

Posted in freedom of speech, Supreme Court | Tagged , | 3 Comments