Supreme Court Divided Again on a Major Decision

Making News

Debate over Immigration Bill Put on Ice ()

Senate Republicans today killed what may be President Bush's last hope for immigration reform in his presidency.  Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina said the bill had become "a war" between Americans and their government.  In a brief but pointed reaction, President Bush called the status quo in immigration "unacceptable" and called on Congress to "prove to the American people that it can come together on hard issues."  Jonathan Weisman covers Congress for the Washington Post.

Guests:

• Jonathan Weisman: Congressional Reporter for the Washington Post, @jonathanweisman

Main Topic

Supreme Court Divided Again on a Major Decision ()

In 1954, US Supreme Court ruled--without a dissenting vote--that racial segregation in public schools violated the Constitution.  The Court's unanimity was considered a great achievement by the new Chief Justice, Earl Warren--and a major factor in driving the subsequent integration of schools. Today, the US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that schools cannot consider race in trying to maintain racial diversity. School districts nationwide could be affected by a split decision with Bush appointees Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts on the winning side. In dissent, Stephen Breyer said, "This is a decision the nation and the court will come to regret." We consider the first term of the Roberts Court, and whether its record of 5-to-4 decisions will make history or leave major issues more muddled than ever.

Guests:

• Dahlia Lithwick: Senior Editor and Legal Correspondent for Slate, @Dahlialithwick
• Edward Lazarus: Former US Attorney
• Bruce Fein: Principal with the American Freedom Agenda, @RonPaul
• Benjamin Wittes: Scholar at the Brookings Institution

Links:

• Flast v Cohen, US Supreme Court on (1968)
• Lithwick's article on impact of Brown v Board of Education
• Lazarus' ‘Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court'
• Wittes' 'Conservation Wars: Preserving Independent Courts in Angry Times'

Reporter's Notebook

Bald Eagle Recovers from Edge of Extinction ()

In 1967, there were just 417 breeding pairs of Bald Eagles in America, despite that bird's iconic status. Today, there are more than 10,000, evidence of what the Audubon Society calls "one of the greatest conservation success stories in US history. At the Jefferson Memorial today, a Bald Eagle was part of the proceedings as the species was officially removed from the endangered list. Kieran Suckling is policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity in Arizona.

Guests:

• Kieran Suckling: Policy Director at the Center for Biological Diversity