SCOTUS Archives

Pro-choice movements celebrate outside in support of the decriminalization of abortions from the penal code, outside the Constitutional Court in Bogota, Colombia on February 21, 2022. Abortions were decriminalized after 8 hours of debate leading now access for pregnant women to access them up to week 24. Photo by Chepa Beltran/Long Visual Press/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Overturning Roe v. Wade could impact how other countries view abortion rights

As the Supreme Court’s final decision on whether it will overturn Roe v. Wade looms, a question remains: Will other countries follow the same path as the United States by restricting or banning abortions, or will this be an incentive for them to move in the opposite direction?

by Morgyn Joubert May 23, 2022

Demonstrator walk to a protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Will overturning Roe v. Wade impact this year’s midterm elections?

As mobilization intensifies after POLITICO released a leaked draft of the Supreme Court’s opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, many are wondering if this expected ruling will upend the 2022 midterm elections. Northeastern political science experts weigh in as voters prepare to cast their votes this election cycle.

by Morgyn Joubert May 6, 2022

Demonstrators protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday. Whatever the outcome, the Politico report represents an extremely rare breach of the court's secretive deliberation process, and on a case of surpassing importance. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

The leaked SCOTUS draft threatens contraception and same-sex marriage rights, too.

The willingness of the conservative justices to take such a brazen stance against Roe v. Wade threatens other rights rooted in the same privacy framework, including contraception and same-sex marriage rights, says Martha F. Davis, university distinguished professor of law at Northeastern.

by Tanner Stening May 3, 2022

U.S. President Joe Biden congratulates Ketanji Brown Jackson moments after the U.S. Senate confirmed her to be the first Black woman to be a justice on the Supreme Court in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

How will Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson influence the Supreme Court?

The jurist, who will be leaving her post as a judge with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is the first Black woman to ascend to the High Court.

by Tanner Stening April 7, 2022

What’s changed since abortion rights were last before the Supreme Court?

With the addition of several Trump appointees, the court appears ready to dismantle Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that established a person’s right to an abortion. But it’s not the first time a conservative-led bench threatened to defang abortion rights.

by Tanner Stening March 29, 2022

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, poses for a portrait, Friday, Feb., 18, 2022, in her office at the court in Washington. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

How Ketanji Brown Jackson is a departure from the norm–and the obstacles facing her confirmation to the Supreme Court

Jackson’s legal career will certainly be scrutinized by Senate Republicans ahead of her confirmation hearing. But it’s unlikely that the GOP will be able to make a play on delaying a vote given the availability of yes votes in the Senate, says Nick Beauchamp, assistant professor of political science at Northeastern.

by Tanner Stening February 25, 2022

Can states preserve access to abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned?

More state legislatures are mobilizing in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s decision on an abortion ban in Mississippi, which directly threatens the rights spelled out in Roe v. Wade. Northeastern legal experts weigh in on the latest effort in Vermont.

by Tanner Stening February 10, 2022

Stephen Breyer speaks during the 2008 Law School Commencement. Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring from the Supreme Court. Photo by Northeastern University

What does Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement mean for the Supreme Court?

Biden has a chance to make history with his Supreme Court pick, but he'll need the deadlocked Senate’s approval. Will he get it?

by Tanner Stening January 26, 2022

Abortion, guns, religion: Here are the major US Supreme Court cases for 2022

As the U.S. Supreme Court decision on President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate shows, the nation’s highest court has a full docket of important cases this term. Justices will weigh in on cases that could affect people’s right to an abortion, possession of firearms outside the home, and free exercise of religion.

by Tanner Stening January 18, 2022

Federal judges’ financial conflicts add to mistrust of the judicial system

Given concerns about the increasing politicization of the federal judiciary, the Wall Street Journal investigation's findings that 131 federal judges oversaw cases involving their own stockholdings are deeply troubling, says Martha Davis, university distinguished professor of law at Northeastern.

by Tanner Stening January 11, 2022

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