The Supreme Court, for the first time, has trimmed the power of federal judges to remedy race discrimination.
But civil rights leaders, while attacking Wednesday's 5-4 ruling, said it was less of a defeat than expected from the increasingly conservative court.
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Court allows states to tax church sales
Jan. 18, 1990
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The Supreme Court Wednesday allowed states to tax the sale of religious items - sparking fears that taxing church property and income are next.
"It's a pretty disturbing trend," says University of Missouri-Columbia professor Carl Esbeck, an expert on church-state issues.
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Flag stars again before high court
May 14, 1990
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Call it "Flag-burning: The Sequel." It premieres this morning for an hourlong run at the U.S. Supreme Court.
For the second year in a row, the nation's highest court is taking on a question that arouses tempers wherever it's asked: Does the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech protect those who burn the U.S. flag?
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Court opens schools to religion clubs
June 5, 1990
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Public high schools may host a broad range of religious and political clubs this fall as a result of a Supreme Court ruling.
By an 8-1 vote, the court Monday upheld a 1984 federal law that guarantees such clubs access to high schools that get federal funds and permit other non-curriculum-related groups - such as chess clubs - to meet on school premises.
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Right to die; Justices deny parents' wish to take daughter off life support; Once 'fate,' death now is a 'choice'
June 26, 1990
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After seven years of awful choices, Joe and Joyce Cruzan now face yet another.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Carterville, Mo., couple's plea to let their daughter Nancy die by withdrawing the feeding tubes that have kept her alive since a 1983 car accident left her in a "persistent vegetative state."
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Court limits teen abortion
June 26, 1990
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A splintered Supreme Court Monday gave states new powers to intervene in two hotly contested areas of medical choice: limiting teens' access to an abortion and restricting comatose patients' right to die.
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Court gives affirmative action a nod
June 28, 1990
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The Supreme Court - in a surprising shift from previous affirmative action rulings - Wednesday upheld two programs that boost minority ownership of radio and TV stations.
In its final 1990 rulings, the court - which last year struck down a Richmond, Va., affirmative action program - upheld 5-4 federal policies that have doubled minority broadcasters in the last decade to about 250 licensees.
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Brennan void shifts court 'pendulum'
July 23, 1990
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Pick a national issue that makes your blood boil: abortion, civil rights, flag-burning, the rights of criminals, the power of the news media, school prayer.
Whatever your views, the debate on those issues is about to change direction - the only question is how dramatically - following the resignation Friday, for health reasons, of Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr.
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Private man is 'scholar'; Experience all gained at state level
July 24, 1990
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As any proud mother would be, 82-year-old Helen Souter was glued to the TV Monday as President Bush announced the nomination of her son David to the Supreme Court.
"I knew it all along," she said in the Concord, N.H., retirement home where she lives. "He's a scholar. I felt he would go awful far. As a mother, I thought he was perfect."
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Judging the judge; Senators begin hunt today for 'real' David Souter; High court hopeful on center stage
Sept. 13, 1990
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Supreme Court nominee David Souter wants the world to stop viewing him as a nerd.
Senate Democrats want to know if, instead, Souter is a neanderthal - a mean-spirited conservative bent on wrecking constitutional protections for women, minorities and accused criminals.
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Senators say yes to Souter
Oct. 3, 1990
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The Senate voted 90-9 Tuesday to confirm David Souter as the newest member of the Supreme Court.
He'll be sworn into office Tuesday at 9:15 a.m.
The following day, he'll hear one of the biggest cases of the court's term - whether employers can bar fertile women from hazardous jobs in order to protect fetuses.
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Supreme Court: Health fears no excuse for bias; Fertility issue could affect 20 million
March 21, 1991
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Patricia Briner went off to work on the second shift at a Louisville auto battery plant Wednesday afternoon with a Supreme Court victory in hand and a money-making goal in mind.
The court, in a stunning decision that could affect the jobs of 20 million women, told Briner's employer, Johnson Controls Inc., that it can no longer keep fertile women out of high-risk - and often higher-paying - lead-exposed jobs out of concern for the fetuses they might be carrying.
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Death-row delays cut
Apr. 17. 1991
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A Tuesday Supreme Court ruling could speed executions by sharply reducing appeals by death-row inmates.
The 6-3 decision in a Georgia case limits appeals to one trip through state and federal appeals courts, reducing repetitive petitions that delay executions a decade or more.
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Clinics to defy high court; Abortion foes rejoice over ban on advice
May 24, 1991
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Congressional Democrats say they'll move quickly to overcome a Supreme Court ruling barring counselors at federally funded clinics from discussing abortion options.
But a number of family planning groups say they'll continue business as usual - and ignore the court ruling - while awaiting congressional action.
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End of an era; Marshall retires from high court; About leaving, justice always said 'not yet'
June 28, 1991
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When Karen Hastie Williams got a phone call Thursday afternoon from her godfather and friend, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, she thought he was up to one of his pranks.
"He said he was leaving the court, and I said, 'That's not funny,' " says Williams, a Washington, D.C., lawyer.
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Thomas confirmed; 'Time for healing,' says new justice after 52-48 vote
Oct. 16, 1991
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The Senate, ending a brutal political brawl over sex, race and stereotypes that lasted for months, Tuesday confirmed Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.
The 52-48 vote - the closest margin of victory in more than a century for a court nominee - was taken in a hushed Senate chamber, where members rose one by one to vote.
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Fevered journey' is at its end
Oct. 16, 1991
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The Supreme Court will be a good place for Clarence Thomas to lick his wounds. A good place also to make amends - or seek revenge.
As soon as next week, Thomas will be received within the marble walls of the Supreme Court as if Anita Hill never existed. It is an exclusive club that is uncritical in its embrace of the new members sent to it by the other branches of government - and largely oblivious to the political eruptions beyond its walls.
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Prayer and pornography to high court
Nov. 6, 1991
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The Supreme Court hears arguments today in two historic civil liberties cases, the facts of which could not be more different.
At issue are a school prayer in Rhode Island and child pornography in Nebraska, but the cases share a common theme: the rights of the individual against the state.
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Cross-burning law collides with freedom of speech
Dec. 4, 1991
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St. PAUL, Minn. - All Russell and Laura Jones wanted was a bigger home for themselves and their five children.
But the Joneses are black, and the working-class neighborhood they moved to last year was white.
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Court takes Pa. abortion case; Ruling may have impact on election
Jan. 22, 1992
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The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to review one of the nation's strictest abortion laws, fueling a growing political fire.
The action could lead to reversal of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling legalizing abortion.
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Abortion battle embroils D.C.; Landmark 'Roe' ruling in question
Jan. 22, 1992
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The Supreme Court, hard to interpret and harder to predict, added to its aura of mystery Tuesday with a cryptic 16-line order on abortion.
Yes, the court said, it will consider the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania statute that restricts abortion access - a case advocates on both sides have urged the court to use as a vehicle to finally reaffirm or eliminate abortion rights.
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Future of 'Roe' hangs by one vote
June 30, 1992
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The first clear sign Monday that Roe v. Wade would not be overturned came in the Supreme Court cafeteria.
Justice Harry Blackmun - author of Roe - as he often does, was having breakfast with his law clerks. He seemed bubbly and chipper - not the mood to expect if he was about to witness the demise of his cherished doctrine legalizing abortion.
