Sonia Sotomayor on Abortion

The Supreme Court, which now includes its first Hispanic justice Sonia Sotomayor, begins a new term on Monday that will focus on hot-button issues including gun rights and counter-terrorism. The nation's highest court, whose decisions deeply affect US policy, will also go to work amid growing speculation over the possible departure of a judge. The nine justices have agreed to examine 55 cases this term. They will soon decide whether to add to that roster an appeal brought by Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been cleared for release and are seeking resettlement in the United States. Another sensitive case likely to be taken up ... Read Full Story

A white cross erected in the California desert 75 years ago to honor soldiers killed in World War I plunged the US Supreme Court Wednesday into a complex debate on the separation of church and state. Critics charge that the cross, currently boxed and hidden in plywood, violates the US Constitution's ban on government favoring one religion over another because of where it sits: on government land at the Mojave National Preserve. The nine justices appeared divided on the issue, with the differences sharpest between progressive and conservative members of the nation's highest court. The court, whose decision will not be known for weeks, ... Read Full Story

The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide whether strict local and state gun control laws violate the Second Amendment, ensuring another high-profile battle over the rights of gun owners. The court said it will review a lower court ruling that upheld a handgun ban in Chicago. Gun rights supporters challenged gun laws in Chicago and some suburbs immediately following the high court's decision in June 2008 that struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia, a federal enclave. The new case tests whether last year's ruling applies as well to local and state laws. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld ... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the constitutional right of individuals to own firearms trumps state and local laws, reviving the legal battle over gun rights in America. The high court said on Wednesday it agreed to decide the reach of its landmark ruling last year that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guaranteed an individual right to own guns and use them for lawful purposes like self-defense in the home. Gun rights cases have been among the country's most divisive social, political and legal issues. The Supreme Court split, in a 5-4 vote, between the conservative and liberal ... Read Full Story

The US Supreme Court will rule next year on a new constitutional challenge over gun rights, reviving debate over one of America's most divisive issues, and examine a law banning "material support to terrorism" groups. The cases will be taken up beginning January 2010 and rulings are expected to be handed down in the spring, the Supreme Court announced Wednesday. The nine-member high court, which begins its fresh term Monday with new justice Sonia Sotomayor, will also delve into whether a former Somali official blamed for torture in his country can be sued under a 220-year-old US law that allows damages for wrongdoing committed ... Read Full Story