SCOTUS 101: Justices are People, Too

COMMENTARY Courts

SCOTUS 101: Justices are People, Too

Jul 28, 2017 1 min read

Commentary By

Tiffany Bates @TiffanyHBates

Former Legal Policy Analyst at The Heritage Foundation

Elizabeth Slattery @EHSlattery

Former Legal Fellow and Appellate Advocacy Program Manager

The Supreme Court iStock

This week...

  • Humanizing often-mysterious Supreme Court justices can be as simple as offering graduation wishes. Washington Post SCOTUS reporter Robert Barnes discusses the impact of Chief Justice Roberts' commencement address at his son's boarding school graduation - which has touched both sides of the aisle - and expresses hope for a stronger connection between the public and their justices.
  • The 2nd Amendment gets its day in court as the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals strikes down a D.C. law restricting concealed carry permits to residents with needs unique to those of the average person. The law made it so that most D.C. residents were unable to carry a handgun, making Tiffany and Elizabeth feel unsafe. With the invalidation, the law could make its way to SCOTUS, giving Gorsuch the chance to express 2nd Amendment support.

For some background...

  • Watch Chief Justice Roberts' graduation speech, then learn why Robert thinks it was the best thing he wrote this term.
  • Read Elizabeth's coverage of the D.C. concealed carry decision and some outside commentary about what the invalidation means for D.C. gun laws.

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