5-Cent Explanation:  Two residents from the town of Greece, NY, filed a federal suit claiming the town board’s practice of starting monthly meetings with a prayer delivered by a “chaplain of the month” was a violation of the First Amendment’s establishment clause. 10-Cent Explanation:  In 1999, officials in Greece, NY, initiated the practice of opening… Continue Reading

The other case SB is watching this week is a 5th Amendment case to come out of Kansas.  Oral arguments are scheduled for Wednesday, October 16th. The 5-cent explanation:  This case sounds like an episode of Breaking Bad that came to life and went horribly, horribly wrong (or just ended up like a lot of… Continue Reading

On the docket this week are two cases that we’re interested in.  The first case, appearing before the Court Tuesday (October 15th) at 1pm, is called Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. The 5-minute explanation of the case:  This case is different from the affirmative action case of last season (Fisher v. University of… Continue Reading

The five-cent explanation:  Sean McCutcheon is a wealthy man who wanted to give more than $123,000, the total amount (aka “aggregate cap”) individuals can give, to candidates running for federal office in recent elections.  McCutcheon’s case challenges the constitutionality of the cap, the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), and has the potential to overturn the ruling in Buckley… Continue Reading