The U.S. Supreme Court does not hand down 8–1 rulings very often, especially on culture-war issues. So when this Court—this Court—lands almost unanimously on one side, it’s an earthquake.

Justices John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, AND the Court’s conservatives all converged to say a particular law in Colorado was unconstitutional. Cue the earthquake.

The case has to do with “conversion therapy.” The term has been deceitfully used by LGBTQ proponents for many years to equate it with a barbaric practice.… Continue Reading

Excuses, Deflection, and Denial

Illinois billionaire Governor JB Pritzker appeared on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier on Thursday, where he blasted the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement in Chicago while downplaying the city’s spiraling crime problem. The two-term Democratic governor also dodged questions about his presidential ambitions, took shots at Trump’s tariff policies, and doubled down on his paranoid claim that U.S. troops could be used to “steal” the next election.… Continue Reading

Republicans might finally take me seriously after years of warning: America suffers not from mass incarceration, but from mass under-incarceration. The system needs tougher sentences, not softer ones.

The brutal murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, allegedly at the hands of career criminal Decarlos Brown Jr. on a Charlotte commuter train, didn’t reveal anything new. It shocked the nation precisely because it put on camera what has become routine in our cities since the bipartisan “criminal justice reform” wave dismantled Reagan-era tough-on-crime policies.… Continue Reading

In a case that could have national implications for election integrity, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Judicial Watch, Inc. et al. v. The Illinois State Board of Elections, a lawsuit brought on behalf of U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) and two presidential electors. At the heart of the case is whether Illinois acted unlawfully by allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to 14 days after the federally established Election Day.… Continue Reading

If you still doubt whether elections have consequences, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a Tennessee statute last week should clarify things.

In a 6-3 ruling, the high court upheld a state law protecting minors from transgender experimentation that includes puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and, in some cases, surgical removal of healthy body parts. In other words, permanent child abuse.

All six of the Republican-appointed justices voted in United States v. Skrmetti to protect children and reject radical transgender ideology.… Continue Reading

President Donald Trump is in a public wrestling match with Chief Justice John Roberts and some of the federal judiciary.

Along with congressional lawmakers, Mr. Trump has called for impeaching several U.S. district judges who have issued orders blocking his administration from carrying out key policies.

Mr. Roberts says this imperils the independence of the judiciary, without which abuses of power could become routine.

Mr. Trump says that this is nonsense, that these judges have gone well beyond their authority to hear cases and are trying to dictate national policy.… Continue Reading

When Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 78 that the U.S. Supreme Court would wield “neither force nor will” over politics, he never envisioned the judiciary having the final say on every political decision in the country. Now imagine his reaction if he were told during the American Revolution that, in the future, a single lower-court judge could unilaterally grant citizenship to illegal immigrants’ children, override the will of elected branches, and even force the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to maintain information about transgenderism on its website.… Continue Reading

About half of America’s 50 states seem to care more about children’s well-being than about being sufficiently “woke.”

That’s why they don’t embrace gender insanity and instead ban puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones and irreversible surgery for minors.

The U.S. Supreme Court this past week heard arguments on Tennessee’s law barring trans treatments for minors.

Some justices blew wide holes in the case for creating trans kids. But it’s by no means a lock that this allegedly conservative court will restore sanity on this issue.… Continue Reading

I know it sounds crazy to say in our modern era, but the federal judiciary was little more than an afterthought to the Founding Fathers who designed our constitutional system.

Thomas Jefferson, the same guy who penned a fairly scorching list of grievances against unaccountable, tyrannical government, entitled the Declaration of Independence, called the federal judiciary the “least dangerous” branch.

Well, Thomas Jefferson never met Ketanji Brown Jackson or Sonia Sotomayor.

I’m assured that if he had, the third president might rethink his comfort level with unelected, black-robed lawyers, being able to operate as an oligarchy, legislating, vetoing, and dictating from the bench.… Continue Reading

Something really started bothering me as I read the news that our sister site, The Babylon Bee, was forced into a lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom and the absurd California legislature for passing an anti-free speech law in their state.

I read that news the same day I saw a “thread” post from mega-minister Ray Ortlund that stated, “Never Trump, this time Harris, always Jesus.” The post was endorsed by Christian writer David French who affirmed, “This is the way.”… Continue Reading

All Americans should be in favor of term limits for the U.S. Supreme Court.

“How long is the term of a Supreme Court Justice?

The Constitution [Article III, Section 1] states that Justices “shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour.” This means that the Justices hold office as long as they choose and can only be removed from office by impeachment.”

The term of a Supreme Court Justice is life, and one life term is enough!… Continue Reading

President Joe Biden plans to propose sweeping changes to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to recent reports. This includes legislation to impose term limits for justices, which would have the most immediate impact on the longest-serving members of the court, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. He is also expected to push for an enforceable code of ethics.

Due to recent decisions that haven’t gone his way, Biden is now joining the radical Left to attack the U.S.… Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court works in strange and mysterious ways.

It can enrage the progressive left with a solidly constitutional ruling like Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), which overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the issue of abortion to the states.

But it can also amaze and frustrate conservatives, as when it refused before and after the 2020 election to review Pennsylvania officials’ unconstitutional changes to election procedures.

“We failed to settle this dispute before the election and thus provide clear rules.… Continue Reading

Have you ever wondered what our jails and prisons would look like had the Black Lives Matter rioters of 2020 been given the “January 6 treatment”? Well, it’s hard to envision such a parallel universe. We don’t have enough jail cells to house the tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of individuals who would be languishing in prison for years based on the January 6 standard of justice.… Continue Reading

“Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret — it only causes harm.”
(Psalm 37:7-8)

The Scriptures are the best place to go when something makes no sense — like the unanimous jury conviction of former President Donald Trump.

A friend of mine who is wired into international intelligence added some perspective to the stunning 34-count guilty verdict against Mr.… Continue Reading

As Election Day approaches, the far Left, politicians and some of the most radical groups in America continue their attacks on the U.S. Supreme Court and our judicial system.

U.S. House Democrats recently announced a new “Court Reform Now” task force that will work to advance legislation that would supposedly fix “political activism” at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The representatives say the U.S. Supreme Court has usurped “legislative and executive authority with activist decisions that disregard established precedent in order to achieve political results.”… Continue Reading

During his 2005 confirmation hearings, Chief Justice John Roberts compared the role of the U.S. Supreme Court to that of an umpire calling balls and strikes. But what happens when the umpire allows one team more at-bats than the other? Once again, the much-vaunted conservative U.S. Supreme Court is a one-way ratchet for left-wing litigation. Some things never change.

When Donald Trump was president, not a single major administrative policy went unchallenged by the officiously litigious left-wing legal movement.… Continue Reading

In the name of “saving democracy,” a former presidential aide is now in a federal prison in Miami.

Former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro was sentenced to four months for ignoring a congressional subpoena ordering him to appear before the U.S. House Jan. 6 Select Committee.

That’s the kangaroo court that permitted no pro-Trump witnesses or pro-Trump committee members, and staged a Stalinist-style show trial that outranks the most disgraceful congressional abuses of power ever seen.… Continue Reading

Every Republican seems to agree that our country has been taken over by a post-constitutional junta that usurps power to achieve its insidious objectives rather than follows the rule of law. But when it comes to redressing those usurpations with the only tool James Madison gave us — federalism — our elected officials too often shirk their responsibilities. Worse, they declare that the egregious usurpations are, in fact, the law of the land.… Continue Reading

Recent events give new meaning to the term “trumped-up charges.”

A Democratic New York State Supreme Court justice, in cahoots with a Democratic state attorney general, has written a new chapter in the book of political lawfare.

With no victims, no client complaints and no evidence of fraud, Judge Arthur Engoron nonetheless levied a $354 million fine against former President Donald Trump for the crime of doing business in the Democratic jurisdiction of New York.… Continue Reading

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court released an order list taking action on several cases we’ve been watching.

Most notably, the Court declined to review Missouri Department of Corrections vs. Finney. Justice Samuel Alito issued a five-page statement about the Court’s denial. This includes a direct reference to First Liberty’s Supreme Court victory in Carson v. Makin.

In this case, multiple conservative Christians were excluded from a jury in an employment discrimination case brought by a lesbian plaintiff.… Continue Reading

Six of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices have been appointed by Republicans, yet red states are now being prevented by federal courts from keeping boys out of girls’ bathrooms. What was the point of the generation-long battle for control of the high court?

A three-judge panel for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in August upheld a lower court ruling forcing the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville, Indiana, to allow people to enter the school bathrooms of their choice, not the one that matches their sex.… Continue Reading

Last Friday afternoon, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he had named Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel to continue the investigation into Hunter Biden “as well as any matters that arose from that investigation or may arise from the Special Counsel’s investigation.” This appointment has been criticized as illegal by many, including liberal Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz.

George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley is also on record in a column for The Hill pointing out significant problems with the appointment:

This is, after all, the same Weiss who headed an investigation that was trashed by whistleblowers, who alleged that his investigation had been fixed from the outset.

If recklessly lying to voters were a crime, most everyone in D.C. would be serving life in solitary confinement at Supermax. But in a liberal democracy, as frustrating as it often is, political misconduct is settled by voters and elections, not partisan prosecutors or rioters.

Feel free to campaign and vote against Donald Trump if you like. I’m certainly no fan. If Trump wins in 2024, Congress can impeach and remove him if they choose.… Continue Reading

As you know, yet another federal indictment of former President Donald J. Trump has been filed. This time for his efforts to protest the results of the 2020 election. Many legal experts and political pundits are saying this will be an extremely challenging case to prove, as it involves questions about freedom of speech, election interference, and whether the specific charges brought against him hold water legally.

In an interview with Morning Wire, attorney Andy McCarthy speculates that “a good 90 percent of it, is politically protected speech.… Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court is under all-out attack. Recent headlines reveal a concerted effort to manufacture an “ethics” scandal about Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court’s leading conservative and one of the foremost defenders of religious liberty. Justice Neil Gorsuch has also been the target of this smear campaign.

Democrats in Congress, along with their allies in left-wing radical groups and the media, are bringing back calls for radical court “reform.” A constitutionally suspect “judicial ethics” bill was introduced and the U.S.… Continue Reading

As with ProPublica’s recent smear of Clarence Thomas, there’s a lot of excitement across the left-wing Twittersphere over a Politico hit on Neil Gorsuch. But even as a transparent piece of partisan propaganda, it is poorly conceived.

Politico kicks off the piece, “Law firm head bought Gorsuch-owned property,” with a purposefully deceptive claim: “For nearly two years beginning in 2015, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch sought a buyer for a 40-acre tract of property he co-owned in rural Granby, Colo.”… Continue Reading

One thing we learned from the courts throughout COVID is that there is almost nothing state and local government officials cannot do to your life, liberty, and even body under the guise of public health. Yet for years, these same courts have placed limitations on the ability of government officials to pray in public when nobody is coerced to join them. Pagan groups have been empowered to shake down cash-strapped local governments in cumbersome lawsuits over the issue of public prayer, and Justice Clarence Thomas is finally calling for an end to this insanity.… Continue Reading

This week, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s 100^th federal judicial nominee, reaching that milestone faster than his two predecessors. At this point in their presidencies, Trump had 88 judges confirmed and Obama had 67.

Biden’s judicial confirmations include one U.S. Supreme Court justice, 30 circuit court and 69 district court judges. The wave of confirmations this week included:

• Cindy K. Chung to the U.S. 3^rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

Unless you were at the Capitol on January 6, federal prosecutors don’t target you for prison for simply possessing marijuana. In fact, in this era of marijuana as the national pastime, you won’t find anyone originally targeted by prosecutors for nothing more than simple possession serving time in prison. So, when Biden makes a grand announcement that he is pardoning all those convicted of simple possession, you know there is more to it than meets the eye.… Continue Reading

This article continues addressing a ballot measure that Illinois voters must vote on this election cycle. We urge voters to reject Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that would elevate collective bargaining rights in the Illinois Constitution, allowing government union contracts to override state law.

One political party appears to be turning more radical by the minute. Recent polls suggest the Democrat Party holds extreme positions regarding the U.S. Constitution and the structure of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Nearly one in four Democrats (23%) say the U.S. Constitution is “no longer a relevant document,” based on a new poll from Echelon Insights. Additionally, a recent Heartland/Rasmussen survey found nearly half of Democrats (49%) believe the Constitution “should be mostly or completely rewritten.”… Continue Reading

You know it’s a good sign when President Joe Biden and lefty celebrities go bat crazy.

At a press conference in Spain, Mr. Biden trashed the U.S. Supreme Court as “destabilizing” because of its “outrageous” rulings on abortion and guns. He pledged to do an end-run on the U.S. Senate filibuster to pass a national abortion bill.

On June 24, a 6-3 court majority overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.… Continue Reading

What part of a judge being soft on child pornography offenders don’t they understand?

Having embraced every perversion under the sun and proclaimed it all good, Democrats in the U.S. Senate predictably voted 50-0 on Thursday to affirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

That would include Joe Manchin. The senator from West Virginia has stood in the gap against some of the Democrats’ worst schemes like “Build Back Better.”… Continue Reading

The confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson have been a relatively peaceful affair. In comparison to the ruthless attacks on Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, there has been relative civility surrounding the D.C Court of Appeals judge. While it is likely that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be confirmed, it is good to take a dive into her actual rulings and responses to questioning, not just her resume.… Continue Reading

“I am not a biologist.”

With that, U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ducked the puzzling question about what constitutes a human female adult.

It’s not that she doesn’t know. She is a woman.

It’s more likely she was pandering to the far-left fringe that controls the Democratic Party, Big Tech, academia and the media. To them, sex is entirely subjective. We are supposed to cheer as little boys don dresses and big-shouldered, athletic men destroy competitors in women’s NCAA swim meets.… Continue Reading

This past week, the following exchange took place between U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Mrs. Blackburn: “In United States vs. Virginia, the Supreme Court struck down the Virginia Military Institute’s male-only admission policy. Writing for the majority, Justice Ginsburg stated, ‘Supposed inherent differences are no longer accepted as a ground for race or national origin classifications, physical differences between men and women, however, are enduring.

“Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.’”
~Acts 10:34-35

I was always taught that the best person for a job will get the job, but apparently merit means nothing to Biden. The current President of the United States has only one requirement for his new U.S.… Continue Reading

There were more than a few storylines to track after one of the most intransigent liberals in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court, Stephen Breyer, announced he would be stepping down at the end of this term.

First, the timing of the announcement seemed suspect. Justices have historically waited much later in the term to declare such an intent (Kennedy, Souter, O’Connor). That early timing led to widespread speculation that Breyer likely gave the White House the courtesy of a wary heads-up to avoid them being taken off guard and allow them to give a full and proper vetting of potential replacements.… Continue Reading

President Biden closed out his first year in office with 40 judges placed on the federal bench, a record number of confirmations not seen since Reagan.

As the New Year starts, it doesn’t appear Biden’s push to “restore balance” to the judiciary is slowing down.

Recently, the President announced his 12th round of federal judicial nominees, a wave that included candidates for two important appellate court vacancies on the Eleventh Circuit and the D.C.… Continue Reading

Why is there a record number of criminals on the streets? Well, if they are being removed from the prisons, where else do you think they will land?

It’s not enough for Republicans to only focus on funding the police. What point is there in funding the police if prosecutors, judges, and new laws from the legislature will just let out all the repeat violent offenders? A new Bureau of Justice Statistics report easily sheds light on why there is so much rampant crime in the streets.… Continue Reading

In the biggest wave of judicial confirmations so far, the U.S. Senate recently confirmed nine (9) nominees to the federal courts. This brings the total number of judges appointed during the Biden administration to twenty-eight (28), which means the President continues outpacing his predecessors by sizeable margins.

Here’s a quick look at judicial confirmations at this point in a President’s first year, dating back to the Reagan administration:

President Biden is having a relative measure of success up to this point in his presidency, with some judicial analysts calling his confirmations “historic.”… Continue Reading

Which branch of the federal government do you trust the most?

The President? Congress? The Supreme Court of the United States?

Gallup reports that a vast majority of Americans—an average of two-thirds or more—say they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust the judicial branch. The same polling shows over the past two decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ranked as the most trusted branch of the federal government.… Continue Reading

As members of the Democratic Party recently doubled down on their calls to pack the U.S. Supreme Court, Justices Stephen Breyer and Amy Coney Barrett issued a series of responses to those pushing to rig the Court for ideological and political gain.

In an interview with Fox News, Justice Breyer warned of the dangers of altering the structure of the Court. When asked about the idea of increasing the number of justices on the bench, he responded:

“Well, if one party could do it, I guess another party could do it…On the surface it seems to me you start changing all these things around, and people will lose trust in the court.”

This week, Illinois Family Spotlight focuses on current issues regarding religious freedom and the U.S. judicial system. To start the podcast, Monte Larrick interviews well-known Colorado baker and cake artist, Jack Phillips and general counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner.

Phillips describes the persecution and targeting he has endured at the hands of the LGBT faction in his ongoing battle for religious freedom within the context of his business.… Continue Reading

When Americans hear the term “court-packing,” they almost instinctively make a connection to the radical coup attempt of the U.S. Supreme Court.

However, court-packing isn’t limited to adding stacks of politically motivated, activist justices to the nation’s highest court.

While rigging the U.S. Supreme Court would indeed destroy one of America’s most venerated institutions, the far Left is also waging a two-front attack to ideologically capture the lower federal courts—a plot that could endanger the judiciary’s integrity from top to bottom and accelerate the erosion of our God-given rights and freedoms.… Continue Reading

A lot has changed since President Franklin Roosevelt tried to rig the U.S. Supreme Court in 1937, but some things stay the same—like widespread opposition to court-packing among both political parties.

When President Roosevelt tried to increase the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices to advance his New Deal agenda in the late 1930s, his own party was key in stopping him. Despite FDR’s overall popularity, Congress—and the American people—recognized that his court-packing plan was a “bonehead idea,” to use Joe Biden’s term from 1983.… Continue Reading

Six months ago, the idea of expanding the size of the U.S. Supreme Court was side-stepped by presidential candidate Joe Biden, and the issue seemed to wane. But now, “court packing” has surfaced once again—and in two forms. The first is an executive order from President Biden creating a commission to study possible reforms of the U.S. Supreme Court. The second is legislation proposed by progressive Democrats to increase the court’s size by four new justices.… Continue Reading

America moved closer to a 180-degree shift last week when President Joe Biden established the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. And now, the treacherous idea of court-packing is closer to becoming reality, as Democrats filed a bill this week to add four (4) seats to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In examining “reforms” to the U.S. Supreme Court, the major issue the commission will examine is court-packing—put simply, increasing the number of justices on the U.S.… Continue Reading

Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 78 that the U.S. Supreme Court would be the weakest branch of government because it had “no influence over either the sword or the purse.”  Why then the panic and flaming hair on the Democrat side of the isle with the elevation of Amy Coney Barrett to that Court?  What gives?  She claims to be an originalist, and by definition an originalist ignores his or her own policy preferences and yields to the intention of the U.S.… Continue Reading

Democrats never have any doubts about their court nominees. They know with certainty that once their picks are on the court, they will be willing to do anything in a real case to interpret the U.S. Constitution the way they see it. They will rule with the party’s preferred political outcomes regardless of past precedent or the plain meaning of the Constitution. There is no reason why conservatives cannot have that same confidence that GOP nominees will rule on the side of the original meaning of the U.S.… Continue Reading

Sometimes, the facts of a case have an emotional appeal in addition to a strong constitutional basis. Espinoza v. Montana certainly qualifies.

Kendra Espinoza, a hard working (three jobs) and determined single mom, decided to take her two daughters out of the local public schools and enroll them in Stillwater Christian School in Kalispell, Montana. She explained that she “wanted them to be able to read the Bible and be taught how to pray, and taught from that faith-based perspective.”… Continue Reading

King George couldn’t hold a candle to the judicial despotism we are governed by some 12 score and three years after the colonists rebelled against what they thought were “intolerable acts.” Sure, there was some taxation without representation going on in the 1770s, but I think the colonists would have taken that any day if they were to see in their crystal ball the severity of today’s social transformation without representation.

We celebrate so much more than the founding of a new nation on July 4.… Continue Reading