mario nicolais
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Nicolais: Religious liberty cases pit competing rights
Two weeks ago, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate. The nuns claim the law violates the organization’s right to religious freedom. Last week, they decided to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Little Sisters of the…
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Time to consider data-driven justice system?
Big data is a big deal to more and more industries and professions. Financial firms have crunched reams of numbers for decades. Barak Obama dedicated a whole floor of his campaign to data-driven decision-making. And of course, baseball — and every other major sport — has followed the sabermetric path blazed by Billy Beane. So,…
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Nicolais: Marriage decision isn’t ‘next’ Roe, it’s closer to Brown
In the wake created by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the marriage equality case, there has been a rush to pick the ruling apart and compare it to past landmark decisions. Due to the inherent social-political issue – and the subsequent bitter divides – some have cited it as the “next”…
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Nicolais: Voter equality up for review in Supreme Court
One person, one vote. For 50 years, those four words have been shorthand for the constitutional protection afforded Americans’ right to vote from improper dilution. The slogan is easy, elegant, and simple. It implies basic fairness and democratic rights. The meaning of this principle has seemingly been beyond dispute. But some Texas voters think otherwise,…