Court Collection

I recently did a new “Best of” update, relating to the political, economic, and social spheres and their interrelationships. In the past I’d also done topic collections related to the Defense of Marriage and Education.

I’ve noticed lately, as I write more on the Defense of Marriage, the pieces tie in with current court cases. These often relate to religious freedom as well. And I decided maybe a new collection relating to the courts was in order. Much of this list relates to the Supreme Court. But there’s also a fair amount related to circuit courts and state courts. The topics covered by the courts are fairly broad, but  it was surprising to me how much relates to the definition of marriage—and how much of that relates subsequently to freedom of religion issues. Also included in freedom of religion are cases related to the Obamacare mandate that employers have to pay for things that go against their religious beliefs.

We shouldn’t have to depend on protection from the courts, which was designed the weakest branch of government. Nevertheless, it helps in defense of the Constitution and our God-given rights when the courts understand and rule fairly on Constitutional issues.

SCOTUS is seasonal. They decide during the fall which cases to take on during a session. They hear arguments during winter and spring. And they rule in late spring through June 30^th. One thing we’ll be watching this session is the ruling on whether states have the right to define marriage. Oral arguments will be heard April 28. We can expect a ruling to come by late June. The battle won’t be over, no matter which way they rule. But a correct ruling would sure help in the fight for civilization.

So, below is the relatively comprehensive list of posts related to the courts, with links. They’re listed chronologically, with a brief topic statement. 

• The Law and the Nine 5-16-2011  Looking at the Court, and the book The Nine
• Constitutionality Questions 11-15-2011  Related to Obamacare
• One Small Victory  11-18-2011  Related to standing in Prop 8
• First Amendment Freedom of Religion vs. Obamacare  2-10-2012  Related to mandate to provide contraceptive coverage
• Unprecedented 2-13-2012  Related to so-called compromise over mandate to provide contraceptive coverage
• Oral Arguments  3-28-2012  Court hears oral arguments related to Obamacare mandate
• Supreme Court Voting Patterns 4-13-2012  Data on agreement on the Court
• Borderline Ruling  6-25-2012  Related to Arizona law on border enforcement
• Mandate Does Not Equal Freedom 6-27-2012  Prediction that the Obamacare mandate would be struck down
• The Day After Blog  6-29-2012  Debrief of the Obamacare mandate ruling
• Supreme Court and the Definition of Marriage  3-27-2013   Related to arguments on Prop 8 and DOMA
• SCOTUS on Marriage, Part II: The Gotcha Question 3-29-2013  Related to marriage definition arguments
• Supreme Court and Definition of Marriage Part III: Outcomes of the Cases  4-1-2013  Possible outcomes of the marriage cases
• On the Court  6-19-2013  Arizona voter ID law outcome and other cases
• The Marriage Rulings  Blog post 6-28-2013  Rulings on Prop 8 and DOMA
• SCOTUS 2012-2013 Voting Patterns Blog post 7-15-2013   A look at the data
• SCOTUS 2012-2013 Voting Patterns, Part II  7-17-2013
• SCOTUS 2012-2013 Voting Patterns, Part III  7-19-2013
• Texas Abortion Ruling 11-1-2013  Constitutionality of Texas HB2, related to abortion clinics
• Angels of Death  11-4-2013  Follow-up on HB2, and more on abortion
• Corporate Religious Freedom 12-6-2013  Related to Hobby Lobby case and Obamacare mandate
• Defining Marriage  1-20-2014  Upcoming arguments in marriage definition cases
• Essential Religious Freedom  2-6-2014  Religious freedom and the Hobby Lobby case
• Being Anti-Slavery Among Willing Enslavers  2-27-2014  Religious freedom and same-sex “marriage” discrimination cases, Arizona ruling
• Being Anti-Slavery Among Willing Enslavers, Part II  2-28-2014  More on same-sex “marriage” cases, Texas case
• Fractious Fractional Argument  3-24-2014   Related to Hobby Lobby freedom of religion case
• Court Kudos  4-3-2014   5^th Circuit ruling on Texas abortion law
• Supreme Court Sampler  6-26-2014  Various recent rulings
• A Good Day for Religious Freedom  6-30-2014   Ruling on Hobby Lobby case
• Case Studies on the Sphere  7-11-2014  Review of cases related to religious freedom and Obamacare mandate
• SCOTUS Annual Review  7-18-2014  Agreement and disagreement on the Court during 2013-2014 session
• Admitting Bias  8-7-2014   Related to Texas abortion clinics law
• Admitting Bias, Part II  8-11-2014   Related to Mississippi abortion clinic law
• Intolerance on Its Head  8-28-2014  New York judge forces couple to hold same-sex “marriage” in their home
• Bench Slap Needed  9-1-2014  Judge Yeakel interferes with implementation of Texas abortion clinic law yet again
• Supreme Disservice  10-9-2014  Supreme Court declines to take up same-sex “marriage” cases
• Houston’s LGBT Mayor Intolerant  10-16-2014  Houston restroom law and subpoena of sermons
• Splits  11-10-2014  6^th Circuit reverses lower court rulings requiring same-sex “marriage”
• Courts and Public Opinions  1-29-2015  Supreme Court takes up same-sex “marriage" issues
• Confusion among the Courts 2-12-2015   Federal courts clash with Alabama state courts on same-sex “marriage”
• This Is Not Tolerance  2-23-2015  Washington coerces floral service against religious rights
• The Free Exercise of Religion Clause  3-9-2015  Religious freedom, resisting federal rulings affecting religious freedom