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Following oral argument this morning, the Florida Supreme Court this afternoon unanimously ordered that two proposed state constitutional amendments cannot appear on the November ballot. The amendments would have repealed the Florida Constitution's prohibition on public aid to religious institutions and allowed public funds to be used to subsidize religious and other private education. Placed on the ballot by the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, the proposed constitutional amendments were intended to overturn the Court's 2006 ruling that invalidated the state's voucher law. The Court today ruled that the Commission overstepped its authority by placing the items on the ballot.

The House Judiciary Committee today voted to hold Karl Rove in Contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee. In response, People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert said, "I applaud the House Judiciary Committee for standing up for the rule of law. Ordinary Americans don’t get to pick and choose which subpoenas they comply with and neither does Karl Rove."

In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Exxon v. Baker drastically reducing a punitive damages award against the corporation arising out of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, People For the American Way Foundation president Kathryn Kolbert said, "The Exxon Valdez struck a reef 19 years ago, but the people and environment of Prince William Sound are still feeling its effects. The oil spill was an environmental and economic disaster of historic proportions. The punitive damages in the case should reflect that fact as well as the size and scope of the responsible corporation."

At an event today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Senator Barack Obama spoke about his support of the Fair Pay Restoration Act, which would reverse the Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear. That decision severely curtailed the right of women and other employees who are victimized by unlawful wage discrimination to obtain back pay. Senator Obama criticized Senator John McCain’s refusal to support the same legislation.

People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert issued the following statement:

After Senator Norm Coleman bragged to the Minnesota GOP convention about the supposedly crucial role he played in winning confirmation for Chief Justice John Roberts, People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert said “It’s hard to believe that Norm Coleman is actually taking credit for putting Chief Justice Roberts on the Supreme Court. Under Roberts, the Supreme Court has voted to: deny equal pay to a woman who was paid less than the men in her factory, strike down voluntary integration plans for public schools that wanted to bring black and white students together, uphold a ban on an abortion procedure with no exception for the health of the woman, and deny free speech protections to internal government whistle-blowers.