US High Court Enters Culture War
2022-01-31
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1The United States Supreme Court has again placed itself in the middle of America's most divisive issues.
2Last week, the nation's highest court agreed to hear a case on the admissions policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.
3The two universities use race as one of many things they consider in admissions decisions.
4A ruling against the universities, however, could seriously damage affirmative action.
5Affirmative action is a practice or policy of helping individuals belonging to groups known to have been discriminated against previously.
6It is a policy long criticized by conservative Americans.
7The court has already reviewed cases looking to restrict abortion rights and expand gun rights.
8Both are major goals of conservatives.
9The court's rulings on abortions and guns will come in June.
10And a ruling in college admissions is expected next year.
11The court has become more forceful since the addition of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
12She was the third conservative justice nominated by former President Donald Trump.
13Barrett's seat gave the nation's highest court a 6-3 conservative majority and changed its balance of power.
14"This particular six-justice majority seems willing to push ahead in an aggressively conservative direction on multiple fronts," said Elizabeth Wydra.
15She is president of the liberal group Constitutional Accountability Center.
16She added that the majority is ignoring the ideas of judicial restraint and stare decisis.
17Judicial restraint leaves policy-making decisions to the executive and legislative branches of government.
18And stare decisis is the legal belief of respecting past court rulings.
19Observers say that based on oral arguments from a case brought by the state of Mississippi last year, the court's conservatives seem prepared to weaken or even overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
20The Roe v. Wade ruling effectively legalized abortion in the U.S.
21The court also appeared ready to rule against a New York state law that limits the right to carry guns in public.
22Others say the court's willingness to hear these cases is a sign of how the conservative majority is moving the court to the political right.
23Four justices are needed for the Supreme Court to hear a case.
24And it has at least that many who are not worried about being seen as politically motivated, said Joshua Wilson.
25He is a professor at the University of Denver and is an expert on conservative law and politics.
26"Given the political appearance" of the kinds of cases they hear, "it's all the more remarkable given that they have to know how much the public is paying attention," Wilson said.
27The high court's conservative majority has been critical of the power of federal agencies.
28The action could be described by conservatives as a "war on the administrative state."
29The court, for example, this month blocked the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing requirement for companies with at least 100 workers.
30The justices also heard two cases challenging environmental laws aimed at reducing air and water pollution.
31They did so even though Biden's administration asked them to wait while agencies write new rules.
32Ian Fein is a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council environmental group.
33He said the court was "incredibly aggressive" in taking up the two cases.
34The court also seems to support religious rights.
35It has ruled in favor of religious groups challenging COVID-19 restrictions.
36And last week, the court heard a case from Maine that could expand public funding of religious groups.
37I'm Dan Novak.
1The United States Supreme Court has again placed itself in the middle of America's most divisive issues. 2Last week, the nation's highest court agreed to hear a case on the admissions policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. The two universities use race as one of many things they consider in admissions decisions. A ruling against the universities, however, could seriously damage affirmative action. 3Affirmative action is a practice or policy of helping individuals belonging to groups known to have been discriminated against previously. It is a policy long criticized by conservative Americans. 4The court has already reviewed cases looking to restrict abortion rights and expand gun rights. Both are major goals of conservatives. 5The court's rulings on abortions and guns will come in June. And a ruling in college admissions is expected next year. 6A more forceful court 7The court has become more forceful since the addition of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She was the third conservative justice nominated by former President Donald Trump. 8Barrett's seat gave the nation's highest court a 6-3 conservative majority and changed its balance of power. 9"This particular six-justice majority seems willing to push ahead in an aggressively conservative direction on multiple fronts," said Elizabeth Wydra. She is president of the liberal group Constitutional Accountability Center. 10She added that the majority is ignoring the ideas of judicial restraint and stare decisis. 11Judicial restraint leaves policy-making decisions to the executive and legislative branches of government. And stare decisis is the legal belief of respecting past court rulings. 12Observers say that based on oral arguments from a case brought by the state of Mississippi last year, the court's conservatives seem prepared to weaken or even overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The Roe v. Wade ruling effectively legalized abortion in the U.S. The court also appeared ready to rule against a New York state law that limits the right to carry guns in public. 13Others say the court's willingness to hear these cases is a sign of how the conservative majority is moving the court to the political right. 14'Political appearance' 15Four justices are needed for the Supreme Court to hear a case. And it has at least that many who are not worried about being seen as politically motivated, said Joshua Wilson. He is a professor at the University of Denver and is an expert on conservative law and politics. 16"Given the political appearance" of the kinds of cases they hear, "it's all the more remarkable given that they have to know how much the public is paying attention," Wilson said. 17The high court's conservative majority has been critical of the power of federal agencies. The action could be described by conservatives as a "war on the administrative state." 18The court, for example, this month blocked the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing requirement for companies with at least 100 workers. The justices also heard two cases challenging environmental laws aimed at reducing air and water pollution. They did so even though Biden's administration asked them to wait while agencies write new rules. 19Ian Fein is a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council environmental group. He said the court was "incredibly aggressive" in taking up the two cases. 20The court also seems to support religious rights. It has ruled in favor of religious groups challenging COVID-19 restrictions. And last week, the court heard a case from Maine that could expand public funding of religious groups. 21I'm Dan Novak. 22Reuters reported this story. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. ____________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24aggressive - adj. using forceful methods to succeed or to do something 25multiple - adj. more than one 26motivate - v. to give a reason for doing something 27remarkable - adj. unusual or surprising 28challenge - v. to question the action or authority of 29incredible - adj. difficult or impossible to believe