By Olympia Duhart
His visit demonstrated the commitment Justice Stevens typically displays to inclusion and access. It was also consistent with Justice Stevens’ alignment with “the little guy.”

By Olympia Duhart
In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that corporations are allowed to dip into their deep pockets to spend money to help elect or defeat candidates. In fact, they can spend all they want to support or oppose any candidate. The case effectively rolls back decades of restrictions on political campaign expenditures by corporations.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund wishes to commend Justice Stevens upon the announcement of his retirement from the Supreme Court at the end of this term.

By The Editors
Washington, D.C. — February 22 — In a closely-watched case involving the hiring of black firefighters in Chicago, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent mis-interpreted technical rules from blocking the correction of discrimination in employment.

By Leslie Proll
When President Obama took office last January, hopes were high that the right wing’s long stronghold on the federal courts had come to an end. LDF and other civil rights advocates were eager for a new day when fair and impartial judges would once again be nominated and confirmed in large numbers.

By John Payton
A year ago, we could barely contain our excitement as we contemplated a historic achievement. Barack Obama had won a decisive victory. There was widespread enthusiasm for his Presidency. Right after the election, Gallup reported that 68 percent of the public was proud that Obama was President. His choices of Senator Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State, of Eric Holder to be Attorney General and of Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense were well received. His Inaugural speech was brilliant. We were looking forward to acknowledging and confronting fundamental problems that have plagued our society for decades.

By Stacey Patton
The Supreme Court’s function is to solve important questions of the law by resolving cases and controversies. So what happens when it decides to hear fewer cases? And what happens when the Court hears even fewer cases on civil rights claims?

By The Editors
On Thursday, August 6, the Senate confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor, whose arc of achievements embodies one of the most cherished facets of the American Dream, as the newest Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

By The Editors
With the U.S. Senate set to vote next week on the appointment of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, the top Senate leadership and representatives from nearly a score of civil rights groups met this week in Washington to reiterate their fervent support of the nomination.

By Lee A. Daniels
I don’t mean to be flippant. But, as I’ve watched Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, testifying this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, that snippet of the tune sung to salute the newly-crowned winner of the Miss America beauty pageant, kept cycling through my mind.