The culture wars will flare up again when the Supreme Court soon decides whether Colorado baker Jack Phillips may refuse to bake cakes for same-sex weddings. Charlie Craig and David Mullins sued the baker after he declined their cake request … Continue reading
The Law
The Grove City College Case: One Small but Mighty College vs. Federal Domination
In 1976, Grove City College, a Christian college of arts, letters, and sciences situated in the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania, received what seemed to be a misdirected notification. The document came from the federal government’s Department of Health, Education, … Continue reading
Freedom of Speech and Forced Union Payments: Janus v. AFSCME
Unions have been on the decline since 1954—which was their high point in membership as a percentage of the workforce. Today, unions represent a paltry 6.4 % of private sector employees. Their real strength in membership and funding is the … Continue reading
Colorado’s “Half-baked” Decision: The Masterpiece Cakeshop Case
Who would have guessed that the religious liberty and free-speech rights of Americans would be tested in a dispute over the baking of a wedding cake? A case will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this term involving whether … Continue reading
The Playground Fight Over Religious Liberty: Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer
Trinity Lutheran Church is a church in Columbia, Missouri that operates a Christian preschool and daycare center offering students a playground for recess and exercise during the school day. It recently found itself in a major case before the U.S. … Continue reading
The New Conservative Legal Mainstream—and Why the Left is Worried
Senators Chuck Schumer and Patrick Leahy claimed that newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was not in the “legal mainstream.” They were referring to the “living Constitution” approach to constitutional interpretation. That interpretative approach, still thriving today and embraced by the … Continue reading
Judge Neil Gorsuch: A Worthy Scalia Successor
President Donald Trump has nominated Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Put simply, Gorsuch’s judicial philosophy is to respect the text (textualism) of the Constitution and the intent of its original writers … Continue reading
The Center Presents: Top Stories of 2016 (Part One)
he year 2016 may likely be remembered by history as a year full of surprises, divisions, and changes. To help remember the year that was, we at The Center for Vision & Values asked some of our fellows and contributing … Continue reading
The Center for Vision & Values Presents: Top 10 of 2016
2016 has been a fantastic year for The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. We celebrated an all-time high in website traffic, an exponential growth in social media (approaching 35,000 Facebook fans), and a record number of … Continue reading
The Inside Story: What Really Happened with Roe v. Wade?
Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, courts have struck down many attempts by state governments to regulate the abortion industry. Just this past summer a Texas law requiring abortion-providing facilities to meet the same health and safety standards as outpatient … Continue reading
The Supreme Court’s Texas-Abortion Ruling … Justice Black’s Warnings Become Reality
Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt was recently decided 5-3 by the U.S. Supreme Court. It struck down the Texas legislature’s regulations requiring abortion clinics to meet the same standards as any other Texas ambulatory surgical center and to have their physicians … Continue reading
Supreme Court Avoids the Issue: Little Sisters Get a Win
In a highly unusual move, the Supreme Court passed off the case of Zubic v. Burwell like a hot potato. It passed the case to the lower federal appeals courts. The high court, short by one justice due to the death of … Continue reading
No Need to Consider Judge Garland—An Eight-Member Court Can Work
With the death of Justice Antonin Scalia the Supreme Court is left with one chief justice and seven associate justices. President Obama has nominated Merrick B. Garland, chief judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, who was a Clinton … Continue reading
The Death of Antonin Scalia: An Inestimable Loss for Constitutionalism
Justice Antonin Scalia’s death leaves the Supreme Court without one of its most courageous and colorful conservative legal minds. First, he was a staunch defender of the separation of powers, which, like the American founders, Justice Scalia saw as a … Continue reading
Scalia and the Constitution
I had the great privilege to hear Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia speak on three separate occasions and once to meet him in person after hearing him announce a decision. You can learn a lot about someone by reading his … Continue reading
Big Brother vs. The Little Sisters … Obama Administration Takes Nuns to Supreme Court
The Obama administration’s lack of understanding of the spiritual depth and commitment of private religious charities is shocking. The callousness of the federal effort to compel a noble Catholic religious order—the Little Sisters of the Poor—to forsake its faith commitments … Continue reading
The Top 10 of 2015 (Part Two)
2015 has been a banner year for The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. We celebrated an all-time high in website traffic, an exponential growth in social media (approaching 25,000 Facebook fans), and a record number of … Continue reading
The Top 10 of 2015 – Part One
2015 has been a banner year for The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. We celebrated an all-time high in website traffic, an exponential growth in social media (approaching 25,000 Facebook fans), and a record number of … Continue reading
Freedom of Speech and Public Employee Unions: Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association
U.S. labor unions have long been experiencing a decline. In 1954, union membership for both public and private sector employees combined peaked at 28.3 percent. Today only around 11 percent of all workers belong to unions. The overall rate of … Continue reading
Supreme Court Cases in the New Term (Part 1) – Race and University Admissions: Abigail Fisher v. University of Texas II
Abigail Fisher applied for admission to the University of Texas at Austin (UT) as part of the entering class of 2008. Little did she know that being rejected for admission under UT’s race-conscious program would bring her before the U.S. … Continue reading