Favorable views of Supreme Court remain near historic low
Half of Americans currently hold an unfavorable opinion of the Supreme Court, while roughly as many view the court favorably.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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How often does the Supreme Court overturn its own decisions?
Fewer than 1% of Supreme Court cases have overturned an older decision. More than half of these cases concerned economic activity or criminal procedure.
How Biden compares with other recent presidents in appointing federal judges
As Biden’s term draws to a close, here’s a look at the federal judges the 46th president appointed during his four years in the White House.
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Publications
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On Ceremonial Occasions, May the Government Invoke a Deity?
School children utter the phrase “one nation under God” as part of the Pledge of Allegiance. The national motto, “In God We Trust,” appears on U.S. currency. Congress and many state legislatures start their sessions with prayers, and the U.S. Supreme Court opens oral arguments with the invocation “God save the United States and this […]
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Hein, One Year Later: The Future of Church-State Litigation
Washington, D.C. In the Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation decision in June 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court made it more difficult for courts to enforce the Establishment Clause’s restrictions on government funding of religion. In Hein, the high court ruled that unless a legislative body has specifically directed funding to a religious organization or […]
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Courts Will Decide Church Property Disputes
In 2003, the Episcopal Church, USA, ordained a gay bishop, igniting an intense debate within the church over its views on homosexuality. Some local congregations that opposed the ordination voted to break away from the national denomination, leading to complicated legal disputes over the ownership of church property. There have been a number of similar […]
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In Brief: Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation
(Updated Aug. 13, 2008) In Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation (2007), the U.S. Supreme Court limited the power of federal courts to enforce the Establishment Clause’s restrictions on government funding of religion. In Hein, the high court ruled that unless a legislative body has directly authorized such funding, citizens do not have the right […]
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Courts Not Silent on Moments of Silence
In October 2007, the state of Illinois passed a law requiring its public schools to lead students each morning in a moment of silence for “reflection and student prayer.” Illinois already had a law on the books permitting schools to lead such moments of silence. But the Illinois General Assembly, overriding Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s veto, […]
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From Roe to Stenberg: A History of Key Abortion Rulings by the Supreme Court
Navigate this document Roe v. Wade The Post-Roe Court Casey and Stenberg Reproductive issues were largely a private affair early in American history. Although abortion was deemed illegal under English common law, the state rarely took any interest in prosecuting those cases that became public. Public attitudes changed dramatically in the early 19th century, driven […]
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An Impassioned Debate: An Overview of the Death Penalty in America
(Updated June 26, 2008) In this article: The role of the courts Lethal injection and the Baze case Child rape and the Kennedy case The history of the death penalty The death penalty worldwide Few public policy issues have inflamed passions as consistently and as strongly as the debate over capital punishment. Religious communities have […]
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Lethal Injection on Trial: An Analysis of the Arguments Before the Supreme Court in Baze v. Rees
On Jan. 7, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Baze v. Rees, a case that challenges the constitutionality of lethal injection as it currently is administered by the federal government and 36 states. In the case, the court will attempt to determine the standard that lower courts should employ when evaluating whether […]
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A Delicate Balance: The Free Exercise Clause and the Supreme Court
In a new series of occasional reports, “Religion and the Courts: The Pillars of Church-State Law,” the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life explores the complex, fluid relationship between government and religion. Among the issues to be examined are religion in public schools, displays of religious symbols on public property, conflicts concerning the free […]
