by #MarkJosephStern in #Slate:

"[I]n a direct response to the incandescent dissents by Sotomayor and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Roberts’ opinion leaves some room for admissions officers to undertake what might be called a 'holistic review' of each applicant, including their racial identity as it relates to their life experiences. A 'holistic review,' however, was already required by the precedents that Roberts effectively overturned on Thursday. Thus, the decision substitutes one vague regime with an even more ambiguous one—inviting, as Sotomayor noted, 'a plethora of litigation” that will “promote chaos' rather than establishing a workable new order."

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/06/affirmative-action-decision-supreme-court-bulldozes-college-admissions.html

#AffirmativeAction #SupremeCourt #SCOTUS #college #education #KetanjiBrownJackson #Sotomayor

by #ErinXWong in #Slate:

"A significant bloc of countries is calling for measures to prevent and manage plastic waste, which in some cities accounts for more than 50 percent of the materials waste pickers process. But as cities seek to improve their recycling rates, they may hire private companies, which then would likely lock landfills, set up new collection systems, and compete directly with waste pickers for recyclable materials—in most cases, waste pickers say, without their prior consultation. While everyone agrees that plastic needs to be better managed, many waste pickers turned to this work because they lacked alternative opportunities for employment. Losing access to plastic waste could jeopardize their only means of income."

https://slate.com/technology/2023/06/un-plastics-treaty-waste-pickers-just-transition.html

#plastic #recycling #waste #landfills #UN #environment #pollution

By #LeahLitman in #Slate:

"As a result of this opinion, people with illegal convictions and sentences—people who are legally innocent—will be stuck in prison for no good reason because the courts screwed up, not because they did. The law certainly did not require this result. And the Jones debacle carries a few warnings about the nightmare at One First Street."

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/06/supreme-court-conservatives-jones-hendrix-disaster.html

#SupremeCourt #SCOTUS #KetanjiBrownJackson #ClarenceThomas #JonesVHendrix