THE COURT ACTION

Wham Bam! That is the way the Supreme Court closed its 2013 session. Since the Supreme Court begins its annual session, or term, on the first Monday of October and the term lasts until the Court has announced its decisions in all of the cases in which it has heard argument that term—usually late June or early July it sits for 9 months each year..

This year the Court has made several decisions that will have important decisions that will have a major impact on political and social life.  The major ones are:

1. 1.  Made it harder to win  Workers Bias Cases by two decisions; one raised the bar needed on proof for harassment  by a supervisor with a stricter definition of supervisor, the other on religious discrimination causing  the plaintiff not getting a job. These were filed under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which forbids discrimination based on sex, race, color, national origin, and religion.

1. 2.  Exempted generic drug manufactures from claims arising from problems due to the drug. I would presume this means bad effects that were not known when the generic manufacture began producing the drug.

1. 3.  Ruled 5:4 that the oversight of States as required in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was no longer constitutional based on the changed conditions today. The law had specifically required 9 states to get Federal approval before changes could be made in its election laws. Although mentioned in the named states are such actions as “voter identification” and ‘racial/religious district determinations” the provisions were applicable to all political entities.

1. 4.  Ruling 5:4that the federal Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional as a violation of the Vth Amendment. This will make gay couples married in the 13 States that make it legal eligible for the same Social Security and Tax benefits as other married Couples. I would presume that in those States that do not recognize gay couple marriage as legal, that their Federal rights would stand but they would not qualify for state marriage benefits. There is a consensus that this action will impact on state’s bans on same sex marriage.

1. 5. In the case of California’s Proposition 8 which banned same sex marriages the Court 5:4 upheld on technical grounds a lower Court’s decision that the law was unconstitutional

This is a review of the Court’s actions. The two that impact on “gay couples” are undoubtedly the ones of greatest local interest.

Unquestionable any comments either pro or con that I post will anger someone.

I can find no fault with either decision. The action on California’s Proposition 8 was decided on purely technically grounds; not on the issue if same sex marriage was a civil or religious issue.

The declaration that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional will raise other issues as I noted; will the Federal Marital rights be valid for couples who have married where it was legal and then moved to a state where it has been prohibited? Is the prohibition by specific law or by not being permitted? I wish I was a lawyer.

 
I may address this issue as a philosophical one in an upcoming blog.