U.S. Supreme Court End of Term

PBS News has a good summary here of several of the last big cases handed down by the Supreme Court on Friday June 27, with interviews with two Court experts. 10 min., transcript available.

Church and State in the U.S. -- Separation? 

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case from Maine that would weaken the separation between church and state if plaintiffs, parents who want the state to pay for their children's religious education, prevail. In the state of Maine, many school districts are so scarcely populated that they do not have public high schools. To remedy this, parents are allowed to choose public schools in other districts or nonsectarian private schools that provide a “rough equivalent” of a public education. Schools can be affiliated with a religion, but if a school compels students to engage in religious exercise—and discriminates against those who don’t adhere to the faith—it doesn’t qualify for the program under state law. NPR's Nina Totenberg has a report here of oral arguments in the case. 4 min. 23 sec. transcript available.

 SCOTUS' End of Term Blitz

The U.S. Supreme Court term traditionally finishes by the end of June, with the most controversial cases handed down just before then. The first of those major cases concerns the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), which was under attack for the third time. In a 7-2 decision, the Court rejected the newest challenge on a point of procedure, saying the challengers lacked standing. NPR's Nina Totenberg has the report here. 4 min. 58 sec. transcript available. Another report by Totenberg, about the Affordable Care Act and another important case decided the same daywhich pitted religious freedom against anti-discrimination laws can be found here. 4 min, 40 sec. transcript available.