Monday, June 30, 2014

SCOTUS: Obama, abortion clinics & unions lose, Hobby Lobby wins!

Two decision last week and two more handed down by the Supreme Court this morning have the mainstream media and the Obama administration shaken and frustrated that their leftist agenda isn't being allowed to journey full-bore into utopia. Although these decisions have been narrow in their scope, they still maintain some semblance of lawful order from what we've been used to during the length of Obama and Democratic reign...
Wednesday: The court's first-ever case involving the Constitution's recess appointments clause ended in a unanimous decision holding that Mr. Obama's appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in 2012 without Senate confirmation were illegal.

Still, the outcome was the least significant loss possible for the administration. The justices, by a 5-4 vote, rejected a sweeping lower court ruling against the administration that would have made it virtually impossible for any future president to make recess appointments.

Thursday: The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that a Massachusetts law setting a 35-foot protest-free zone outside abortion clinics violates the First Amendment.

The government is allowed to limit speech in public spaces, so long as there is a significant interest in doing so, and as long as the limits are narrowly tailored and leave open alternative channels for speech. The Massachusetts law did not meet the latter part of those standards...
Then this morning, Hobby Lobby WON!
AP: The Supreme Court says corporations can hold religious objections that allow them to opt out of the new health law requirement that they cover contraceptives for women.

The justices' 5-4 decision Monday is the first time that the high court has ruled that profit-seeking businesses can hold religious views under federal law. And it means the Obama administration must search for a different way of providing free contraception to women who are covered under objecting companies' health insurance plans.
Specifically targeted were abortifacients lumped in with the rest of what the government under Obamacare deems as contraception. Only something like 4 of 20, Nance.

Also, this morning, the SCOTUS ruled that public sector unions can't force nonmembers to pay fees. Im with the Scoop on this one, "It’s amazing that it took the Supreme Court to decide something so fundamental as this." This was another 5-4 decision.

Did the High Court suddenly rediscover some constitutionality? The fact that many of these decisions are 5-4 says we're really just getting luckier than normal by one justice. And even when they're unanimous decisions, there are still catches. Crazy that our laws (or the administration's lawlessness) is being deemed one way or the other by a single individual, isn't it? The courts have the power to uphold or abuse on a whim, instead of ruling on a strict constitutional basis all of the time, but it appears that they've been in a more American mood than not as of late.

Levin's latest prediction might be worth noting:
Prediction: Having suffered recent losses at the Supreme Court (which, incidentally, are narrower than most are reporting), watch Obama start a smear campaign against the justices.
Related link: SCOTUS Rules Against Forcing Family Members Caring For Disabled Relatives To Pay Fees To Public Sector Unions Like SEIU