President Barack Obama and family walk toward Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., June 26, before their week long trip to Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama hailed the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act on Wednesday, declaring the court "has righted a wrong, and our country is better off for it."
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., accompanied by fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus express disappointment in the Supreme Court's decision on Shelby County v. Holder that invalidates Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, June 25, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Lewis, a prominent activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's, recalled being attacked and beaten trying to help people in Mississippi to register and vote in the 1960's. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) by Bill Barrow ATLANTA (AP) — Across the South, Republicans are working to take advantage of a new political landscape after a divided U.S. Supreme Court freed all or part of 15 states, many of them in the old Confederacy, from having to ask Washington's permission before changing election procedures in jurisdictions with histories of discrimination.
California's Proposition 8 plaintiffs, Kris Perry and Sandy Steir walk into the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) WASHINGTON (AP) — Chanting "DOMA is Dead," supporters of same-sex marriage burst into cheers Wednesday at news of the Supreme Court's decision invalidating part of a law denying gay marriage partners the same federal benefits heterosexual couples enjoy.
In this Oct. 10, 2012 file photo, Abigail Fisher, right, who sued the University of Texas, walks outside the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) by Mark ShermanWASHINGTON (AP) — Affirmative action in college admissions survived Supreme Court review Monday in a consensus decision that avoided the difficult constitutional issues surrounding a challenge to the University of Texas admission plan.
In this Sept. 27, 2012 photo, students walk through the University of Texas at Austin campus in Austin, Texas. This giant flagship campus - once slow to integrate - is now among the most diverse the country. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) by Justin PopeAP Education Writer In post-Great Recession America, which is the bigger barrier to opportunity — race or class? A decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court kept the focus on race as a barrier, upholding the right of colleges to make limited use of racial preferences to ensure a diverse student body. But in a ruling due this month, the court is widely expected to roll back that decision. Such an outcome would shift attention more toward a less constitutionally controversial practice: giving a boost to socio-economically disadvantaged students, regardless of race. If that happens, it would reflect more than just a more conservative makeup of the justices. Over the last decade, clogged social mobility and rising economic inequality have shifted the conversation on campuses and in the country as a whole. As a barrier to opportunity, class is getting more attention, while race is fading.
This photo taken in April 2009, provided by the Salisbury, Md., Police Department, shows Alonzo Jay King Jr. A narrowly divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that police can collect DNA from people arrested but not convicted of serious crimes, a tool that more than half the states already use to help crack unsolved crimes. (AP photo/Salisbury Police Department via Salisbury Daily Times)WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharply divided Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for police to take a DNA swab from anyone they arrest for a serious crime, endorsing a practice now followed by more than half the states as well as the federal government.
JOAN ORIE MELVIN (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File) by Joe Mandak PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin and her sister avoided prison time for their corruption convictions but were sentenced Tuesday to house arrest for what a judge called crimes of "arrogance."
SENTENCING DELAYED--This April 15, 2011 photo shows singer Lauryn Hill performing during the 12th Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. (AP Photo/Spencer Weiner, file) NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge postponed Lauryn Hill's tax evasion sentencing on Monday but not before scolding the eight-time Grammy-winning singer for reneging on a promise to make restitution by now.
WIN LAWSUIT-- In this Dec. 19, 2011 photo, Taeko Bufford, left, and Diane Cervelli, right, pose near Waikiki beach in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File) by Jennifer Sinco Kelleher HONOLULU (AP) — A judge has ruled a Hawaii bed and breakfast violated the law when two women were denied a room because they're gay.
WAITING FOR JUSTICE--In this Jan. 17, 2013 photo, Raymond Santana, right, stands with Kevin Richardson, center, and Yusef Salaam, center left, during a rally in Foley Square in New York on the day of a court hearing for the three men, and two others whose convictions were overturned in one of the most notorious crimes in New York City history (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File) by Colleen Long NEW YORK (AP) — New York is a safer, less fearful place than it was in 1990, when murders hit an all-time high, race relations were raw and the city felt under siege from drug dealers and gangs on "wilding" sprees.
