AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Friday, a panel of judges for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the First Amendment protects individuals’ right to film police officers performing their official duties. The 3rd Circuit now joins the 1st, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th Circuits in concluding that the Constitution . No federal appeals court has yet concluded that the First Amendment does not safeguard the right to film law enforcement officers conducting police activity in public.AdvertisementFriday’s decision involved two instances in which the Philadelphia police retaliated against citizens...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Friday, a panel of judges for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the First Amendment protects individuals’ right to film police officers performing their official duties. The 3rd Circuit now joins the 1st, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th Circuits in concluding that the Constitution . No federal appeals court has yet concluded that the First Amendment does not safeguard the right to film law enforcement officers conducting police activity in public.AdvertisementFriday’s decision involved two instances in which the Philadelphia police retaliated against citizens...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementSlate's series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you.The Supreme Court all but guaranteed that nearly 1 million Floridians will be unable to vote in the 2020 election because of unpaid court debts in handed down on Thursday. Its decision will throw Florida’s voter registration into chaos, placing a huge number of would-be voters in legal limbo and even opening them up to prosecution for casting a ballot. The justices have effectively permitted Florida Republicans to impose a poll tax in November.Florida’s ex-felons have a right...…AdvertisementAdvertisementSlate's series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you.The Supreme Court all but guaranteed that nearly 1 million Floridians will be unable to vote in the 2020 election because of unpaid court debts in handed down on Thursday. Its decision will throw Florida’s voter registration into chaos, placing a huge number of would-be voters in legal limbo and even opening them up to prosecution for casting a ballot. The justices have effectively permitted Florida Republicans to impose a poll tax in November.Florida’s ex-felons have a right...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementLate on Friday night, the Supreme Court issued a 5–4 decision in , which blocked California’s COVID-related ban on religious gatherings in private homes. Chief Justice John Roberts dissented, as did the three liberal justices, making Tandon COVID decision in which Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s vote made the difference.Although the conservative majority’s decision was unsigned and ran just four pages long, it radically altered the law of religious liberty. Since 1990’s , the Supreme Court has not interpreted the First Amendment’s free exercise clause to require...…AdvertisementAdvertisementLate on Friday night, the Supreme Court issued a 5–4 decision in , which blocked California’s COVID-related ban on religious gatherings in private homes. Chief Justice John Roberts dissented, as did the three liberal justices, making Tandon COVID decision in which Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s vote made the difference.Although the conservative majority’s decision was unsigned and ran just four pages long, it radically altered the law of religious liberty. Since 1990’s , the Supreme Court has not interpreted the First Amendment’s free exercise clause to require...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Supreme Court’s recent decision in was hailed by many liberal court watchers for reproductive rights, as the court declined to overturn Roe v. Wade and formally eliminate the right to an abortion. On Friday, however, a federal appeals court ruled that June Medical significantly narrowed the constitutional right to abortion access. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel swept away an injunction that had blocked Arkansas from enforcing a slew of abortion restrictions, including a requirement that patients pregnant as a result of rape notify their rapists...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Supreme Court’s recent decision in was hailed by many liberal court watchers for reproductive rights, as the court declined to overturn Roe v. Wade and formally eliminate the right to an abortion. On Friday, however, a federal appeals court ruled that June Medical significantly narrowed the constitutional right to abortion access. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel swept away an injunction that had blocked Arkansas from enforcing a slew of abortion restrictions, including a requirement that patients pregnant as a result of rape notify their rapists...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Sunday, a police officer Daunte Wright, an unarmed Black man, after pulling him over for hanging an air freshener from his rearview mirror. Wright’s death is just the latest instance of police assaulting and killing drivers—specifically, Black men who pose no danger—following a routine traffic stop. Philando Castile, Walter Scott, and Sam DuBose were all shot and killed by police after a traffic stop; none of them posed any danger to the officers who took their lives.AdvertisementRacism surely plays a role here, but there is another reason so many appalling...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Sunday, a police officer Daunte Wright, an unarmed Black man, after pulling him over for hanging an air freshener from his rearview mirror. Wright’s death is just the latest instance of police assaulting and killing drivers—specifically, Black men who pose no danger—following a routine traffic stop. Philando Castile, Walter Scott, and Sam DuBose were all shot and killed by police after a traffic stop; none of them posed any danger to the officers who took their lives.AdvertisementRacism surely plays a role here, but there is another reason so many appalling...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upheld an Ohio law that prohibits doctors from performing an abortion if they know the reason is because the fetus has been diagnosed with Down syndrome. The 9–7 seems to defy the Supreme Court’s decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which found a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy before viability. Yet the court’s conservative judges claimed that those precedents did not necessarily apply here, because Ohio was not simply regulating abortion; the state claimed to be...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upheld an Ohio law that prohibits doctors from performing an abortion if they know the reason is because the fetus has been diagnosed with Down syndrome. The 9–7 seems to defy the Supreme Court’s decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which found a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy before viability. Yet the court’s conservative judges claimed that those precedents did not necessarily apply here, because Ohio was not simply regulating abortion; the state claimed to be...WW…

Slate's series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you.One district looks like a “,” as a federal judge put it. Another is commonly called the “.” After the 2010 census, state legislators carved up states into these sometimes bizarrely shaped slivers, a process known as gerrymandering, in order to entrench their electoral power. The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that these districts must contain roughly equal populations. But in 2019, it ruled that federal courts have no power to stop legislators from drawing districts along partisan lines and thus...…Slate's series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you.One district looks like a “,” as a federal judge put it. Another is commonly called the “.” After the 2010 census, state legislators carved up states into these sometimes bizarrely shaped slivers, a process known as gerrymandering, in order to entrench their electoral power. The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that these districts must contain roughly equal populations. But in 2019, it ruled that federal courts have no power to stop legislators from drawing districts along partisan lines and thus...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Monday, three Republican state senators in North Carolina the Youth Health Protection Act, a perverse title for a bill that imperils youth health. The measure would prohibit all gender-affirming health care for children and adults under the age of 21. It also requires all “government agents,” including school officials, to report a child’s “gender dysphoria” or “gender nonconformity” to their parents—effectively requiring schools to out LGBTQ students. By Wednesday, the act had drawn four additional Republican cosponsors, meaning a full quarter of the North...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Monday, three Republican state senators in North Carolina the Youth Health Protection Act, a perverse title for a bill that imperils youth health. The measure would prohibit all gender-affirming health care for children and adults under the age of 21. It also requires all “government agents,” including school officials, to report a child’s “gender dysphoria” or “gender nonconformity” to their parents—effectively requiring schools to out LGBTQ students. By Wednesday, the act had drawn four additional Republican cosponsors, meaning a full quarter of the North...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementAt least five justices on the Supreme Court identify as originalists, meaning they believe judges must interpret the Constitution as it was understood when ratified. Originalism is ascendant everywhere: on SCOTUS, on the lower courts stacked with Donald Trump nominees, in law schools and Congress and state legislatures. The Republican Party endorses originalism in its platform every four years. GOP politicians wield the doctrine to justify their own policies to attack those favored by Democrats. Progressive lawyers may fight and Democrats may gripe about it, but...…AdvertisementAdvertisementAt least five justices on the Supreme Court identify as originalists, meaning they believe judges must interpret the Constitution as it was understood when ratified. Originalism is ascendant everywhere: on SCOTUS, on the lower courts stacked with Donald Trump nominees, in law schools and Congress and state legislatures. The Republican Party endorses originalism in its platform every four years. GOP politicians wield the doctrine to justify their own policies to attack those favored by Democrats. Progressive lawyers may fight and Democrats may gripe about it, but...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementNext year, state lawmakers will redraw the congressional district maps based on the 2020 census, a process mandated by the Constitution. In anticipation of this new redistricting cycle, Slate is revamping our gerrymander from 2013 as part of our initiative. We’ll be releasing new puzzles over the upcoming weeks, highlighting the worst and weirdest gerrymanders in the country. Find out how quickly you can and learn everything that’s at stake in the next round of redistricting.AdvertisementPlease enable Javascript in your browser to view Slate interactives.Missouri’s...…AdvertisementAdvertisementNext year, state lawmakers will redraw the congressional district maps based on the 2020 census, a process mandated by the Constitution. In anticipation of this new redistricting cycle, Slate is revamping our gerrymander from 2013 as part of our initiative. We’ll be releasing new puzzles over the upcoming weeks, highlighting the worst and weirdest gerrymanders in the country. Find out how quickly you can and learn everything that’s at stake in the next round of redistricting.AdvertisementPlease enable Javascript in your browser to view Slate interactives.Missouri’s...WW…