The case was Horne v. U.S. Dept of Agriculture (full embed pdf below).  Essentially a raisin farmer was fined (and the price of his crop similarly assessed) for not forfeiting their harvest to the USDA in a program where the government regulates supply and demand through production controls.

SCOTUS ruled 8-1 (Sotomayor dissent) the U.S. government cannot “take”, or force destroyed, farming crops without compensation to the farmer under the fifth amendment “takings” clause.

The most consequential aspect of the ruling stems from 8 justices affirming that “personal property” is afforded the same constitutional protection as “real property.  Specifically, in this case,  if  crops “taken” (or rendered removed from the market) for the public good, there must be compensation for the owner/farmer.   (more…)

The Supreme Court of The United States (SCOTUS) will be delivering rulings, on previously argued cases, all week. Today, two rulings announced.

♦  8-1 EEOC wins suit filed against Abercrombie and Fitch on behalf of Muslim woman who sought discrimination protection -based on religion as the qualifying protected category- claiming disqualification from employment because she wore a headscarf.
Ridiculously Abercrombie argued their side of the case based on the applicant never “requesting a religious accommodation“. Justice Scalia informed the business the applicant did not need to be specifically denied a requested accommodation in order to be discriminated; the applicant merely needed to prove their employment disqualification was due to their religious belief.

…”An applicant need only show that his need for an accommodation was a motivating factor in the employer’s decision”…  ~ Scalia

This was really a no-brainer win for religious freedom and employment eligibility. (more…)

The Congressional Black Caucus and the Decepticon Republican Establishment will collectively cry foul. A Supreme Court decision today essentially eliminates the twisted racial logic used to construct race-based (black) congressional districts.

As Christian Adams writes – “The Supreme Court has dealt a heavy blow to efforts — often by the Republican Party — to draw legislative districts that pack black voters into majority black legislative districts in order to elect black representatives”. (read more)

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…“Here, however, the District Court and the legislature both asked the wrong question with respect to narrow tailoring. They asked how to maintain the present minority percentages in majority-minority districts, instead of asking the extent to which they must preserve existing minority percentages in order to maintain the minority’s present ability to elect the candidate of its choice. Because asking the wrong question may well have led to the wrong answer, the Court cannot accept the District Court’s conclusion.”

Essentially by sending the HHS appeal back to the lower court SCOTUS is saying we’ve already ruled on this matter with Hobby Lobby and the religious exemption is already upheld. The HHS injunction against the Roman Catholic University is null.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out an appeals court decision that went against the University of Notre Dame over its religious objections to the Obamacare health law’s contraception requirement.

The justices asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision in favor of the Obama administration in light of the June 2014 Supreme Court ruling that allowed closely held corporations to seek exemptions from the provision. (more…)

Ultimately research shows the IRS Targeting Scandal is a series of magnitudes greater than all other Obama scandals. The Federal Department of Justice weaponizing the IRS to go after political enemies within the U.S. electorate is far more serious than any other controversy.
Cleta Mitchell updates on hopes and concerns moving forward:

This is a follow-up to a previous argument. Two district courts have split on the issue. The language of the legislation itself is specific that only exchanges set up by individual states are eligible for federal subsidy. The ObamaCare defenders claim differently.
Everyone with common sense should work to insure ObamaCare collapses – because it’s a total fraud and getting worse. 
To use the administrations’ own figures initially the goal was to create healthcare for 30 million “uninsured”.  According to the feds own figures they have registered 1.2 million people on the federal exchanges.   According to the same stats 70% of those registrations are qualifying for Medicaid (a state program).  That means only 300k are paying for some form of coverage, or actual health insurance.  
So a program sold to benefit 30 million is only benefiting 300k   And to benefit 3 million they are destroying the coverage of 300 million.  Think about it.
This was never about “Healthcare”, this was always about “CONTROL”.  

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear a legal challenge to a key part of the Obamacare health law that, if successful, would limit the availability of federal health insurance subsidies for millions of Americans. (more…)

When your own stick turns out to be a boomerang, or what happens when you step on your own rake !

The latest revelations in the ObamaCare debacle revolve around Obama architect Jonathan Gruber.
You might remember back in 2010 during the fight over ObamaCare mandates ‘we the people’ were told the mandate was a penalty and not a tax.   However, when ObamaCare challenges ultimately reached the courtroom the administration argument was exactly the opposite.  The government argued the mandate was a tax not a penalty; only as a tax could the construct survive legal scrutiny.   This latest Gruber development similarly pretzellian but infinite degrees worse.
The construct of ObamaCare execution relied upon a network of state exchanges to enroll people in the plans.   The problem for the administration was the volume of political opposition to the entire plan itself.   Consequently the Obama administration had to set up a “stick” or punitive punishment if any state failed to comply with setting up the exchange.
The stick they settled upon was a simple premise – financial blackmail.   Any state who did not construct an exchange for their state citizens to enroll in ObamaCare would face a punishment of not being allowed to receive a federal subsidy for their premium.     In essence the goal was to force states to set up exchanges.  To force compliance the carrot was the federal premium subsidy, the stick was financial punishment if they didn’t. (more…)

… and of course the media will just, well, cover for him.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama defiantly dared congressional Republicans on Tuesday to try to block his efforts to act on his own and bypass a divided Congress that has thwarted his policy initiatives.
“So sue me,” he taunted on a sweltering day, as he pushed lawmakers to pay for road and bridge repairs. “I’m not going to apologize for trying to do something.”
Obama struck an aggressive tone in the face of a lawsuit threat from House Speaker John Boehner and in the wake of two defeats before the Supreme Court, including a unanimous decision from the court that he overreached when he appointed members of the National Labor Relations Board while the Senate was in recess. (more…)

Headline reflects the “Cliff Notes” Version:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says corporations can hold religious objections that allow them to opt out of the new health law requirement that they cover contraceptives for women.
The justices’ 5-4 decision Monday is the first time that the high court has ruled that profit-seeking businesses can hold religious views under federal law. And it means the Obama administration must search for a different way of providing free contraception to women who are covered under objecting companies’ health insurance plans. (more…)