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Top headlines
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If you can say “independent state legislature theory,” and know what it is, then you’re part of a pretty large group of people who have been watching the U.S. Supreme Court website, and the very helpful Scotusblog.com, like hawks recently. The court has steadily been issuing opinions in cases over the past few weeks and has evidently saved some of the biggest decisions for last.
Yesterday, one of those big opinions dropped. More precisely, it was a straightforward opinion in a big case that University of Richmond legal scholar Henry L. Chambers Jr. said “merely reiterates what most people always thought the law was: Legislatures cannot legislate inconsistently with the law that governs their actions and their state. This conclusion seems obvious, like saying the sky is blue or water is wet.”
But what if the decision had been different? Moore v. Harper was a case that could have changed U.S. elections and politics in fundamental ways. In my interview with Chambers, he explains that from the shape of legislative districts to who elects the president, Moore v. Harper was a case that could have unleashed “bedlam” across the country.
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North Carolina’s election districts have been under debate and review for years.
AP Photo/Gerry Broome
Henry L. Chambers Jr., University of Richmond
It’s official: State courts can review lawmakers’ election-district boundary decisions to ensure they comply with state law.
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Politics + Society
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Kevin M. Lerner, Marist College
The New York Times’ publication of the Pentagon Papers showed the paper was willing to jeopardize connections to other powerful institutions, including the government, to serve the public interest.
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Philip Ewell, Hunter College
The predominantly white European field of music education in the US is changing radically these days as schools confront anti-Black histories.
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Ethics + Religion
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Amy Lawton, Brandeis University
The lessons students learn from dissecting donor bodies go beyond anatomy – and they try to pay that gift forward.
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Arts + Culture
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Jabari M. Evans, University of South Carolina
The organization – which offers its high school-age players a minimum salary of $100,000 – represents a new model for young athletes looking to maximize their earning potential outside of the NCAA.
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International
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Frederike Ambagtsheer, Erasmus University Medical Center
As the value of organs increases, people have a greater incentive to sell and trade.
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Oluwole Ojewale, Institute for Security Studies
The Wagner rebellion in Russia has implications for African countries that depend on mercenaries and non-state armed groups for security.
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