On February 13, 2016, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died of apparent natural causes at a luxury resort in West Texas, creating a vacancy on the Court with nearly 11 months remaining in President Obama’s term. Within hours of Scalia’s death being announced, Senate Majority Leader …
President Obama directly criticizes Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision during State of the Union Address, with Justice Samuel Alito visibly shaking his head and mouthing ’not true’ in unprecedented breach of judicial protocol
Barack ObamaSamuel AlitoJohn RobertsRuth Bader GinsburgStephen Breyer+2 moreconstitutional-crisisseparation-of-powersjudicial-independencecampaign-financepresidential-criticism+2 more
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, fundamentally transforming American campaign finance by allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts on elections. The decision struck down key provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, ruling that …
Citizens UnitedFederal Election CommissionAnthony KennedyJohn RobertsAntonin Scalia+2 morejudicial-capturesupreme-courtcorporate-influencecampaign-financecitizens-united+1 more
In Cheney v. United States District Court, the Supreme Court rules 7-2 to protect the secrecy of Vice President Cheney’s Energy Task Force meetings with oil executives. The Court vacates a lower court order requiring disclosure of task force participants and documents, ruling that federal …
Dick CheneySupreme CourtAnthony KennedyAntonin ScaliaRuth Bader Ginsburg+3 moresupreme-courtexecutive-privilegecheneyenergy-task-forcesecrecy+2 more
The Supreme Court issued a controversial 5-4 decision in Bush v. Gore that effectively awarded Florida’s 25 electoral votes to Republican candidate George W. Bush, ensuring his victory over Al Gore. The unsigned per curiam decision reversed a Florida Supreme Court request for a selective …
George W. BushAl GoreWilliam RehnquistSandra Day O'ConnorClarence Thomas+4 morejudicial-capturesupreme-courtcorporate-influenceelection-interferenceconflict-of-interest+1 more
The Supreme Court grants George W. Bush’s request for an emergency stay to halt the Florida recount, with Justice Antonin Scalia arguing that counting votes would cause Bush “irreparable harm” by casting “a needless and unjustified cloud” over his legitimacy. This …
Antonin ScaliaSupreme Court Conservative MajorityWilliam RehnquistClarence ThomasSandra Day O'Connor+1 moresupreme-court-stayantonin-scaliairreparable-harmjudicial-partisanshipvote-counting-suppression+1 more
On August 4, 1987, the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, a 1949 policy requiring broadcast license holders to present controversial issues of public importance in a manner that fairly reflected differing viewpoints. The elimination of this fundamental …
Federal Communications CommissionMark S. FowlerRonald ReaganRobert BorkAntonin Scaliamedia-infrastructureregulatory-capturefairness-doctrinepartisan-mediafcc+1 more
In April 1982, three Yale Law School alumni – Steven Calabresi, David McIntosh, and Lee Liberman Otis – founded the Federalist Society at a pivotal moment in conservative legal thought. Their inaugural conference, funded by the Institute for Educational Affairs and John M. Olin Foundation, featured …
Steven CalabresiDavid McIntoshLee Liberman OtisRobert BorkAntonin Scalia+1 morejudicial-captureconservative-legal-movementsupreme-courtinstitutional-infrastructurelegal-ideology