Photo: OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP / Getty Images
The Us Supreme Court has issued its first rulings of the term:
- The justices unanimously sided with a Wisconsin-based Catholic charity group in a case centered on unemployment tax credits for religious institutions – delivering a victory for faith-based institutions, who had argued the state's decision had violated the religious clauses under the First Amendment.
- It also unanimously blocked a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against top firearm manufacturers in the U.S. alleging the companies' business practices have fueled tremendous cartel violence and bloodshed. Big-name manufacturers like Smith & Wesson had appealed to the justices after a lower court let the suit go forward under an exception for situations in which the companies themselves are accused of violating the law.
- The high court also sided with a straight woman in Ohio who filed a lawsuit against her employer when her gay boss declined to promote her in a ruling that will make it easier to file such suits in some parts of the country.