One ruling was significant because it is a smackdown of DEI wokeness. That the ruling was 9-0 makes it hard for the woke folk to claim those mean old Trump appointed White racist and misogynist justices on the Court or perpetuating bigotry. This excerpt from a news report explains the case:
The case originated from a heterosexual woman, Marlean Ames, who sued the Ohio Department of Youth Services, which runs the state's juvenile correctional system, after she was passed over for a promotion and subsequently significantly demoted in favor of two gay candidates with less education and experience than herself. Two lower courts ruled against her, arguing that she had failed to clear a higher bar to prove discrimination set for plaintiffs from majority groups. Both courts found that she had not provided "background circumstances" showing that "the agency was the rare employer who discriminates against members of a majority group," according to the Supreme Court Opinion.
While the Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of Ames' discrimination claim, they did rule that the lower courts' "background circumstances" standard was unconstitutional and inconsistent with federal civil rights law, which protects all individuals equally, regardless of whether they belong to majority or minority groups. (link)
Since Trump has returned to office, he has been on a campaign to purge DEI policies from the Federal government. While I disagree with much that Trump does and especially the way he goes about it, I support the effort to rollback DEI and other aspects of wokeness. Unfortunately, most of the Trump attacks on DEI are simply departmental policies or executive orders. An executive order can simply be overturned by the next administration, but a Supreme Court ruling has more lasting impact and a 9-0 Supreme Court order means that the advocates of reverse discrimination might as well give up. The next president cannot simply go back to things the way they were. This ruling is expected to trigger a slew of "reverse discrimination" lawsuits which will roll back DEI across the country. This will have more lasting impact than all of that the Trump administration has done to fight DEI.
Another 9-0 decision was a blow for religious liberty. The Court ruled that Catholic Charities is entitled to tax relief it was denied because its operations were not primarily religious. This decision could expand eligibility for religious tax exemptions.
Another 9-0 decision was a victory for gun rights. The Court threw out a lawsuit brought on by the Mexican government against Smith & Wesson. Mexico argued that the gun manufacturer was worsening violence in the country. The justices upheld a law that shields gun companies from legal liability.
Not only are these rulings gratifying for the policy positions they advanced but because the liberal justices ignored policy implications and ruled on the law. Maybe, we really are all originalist now.
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