U.S. Supreme Court

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued a statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear the Texas case evaluating President Obama’s immigration program, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), this term. 

“Today is a great day for California and the entire nation.  The Supreme Court’s decision to grant review in United States v. Texas means that millions of hard-working immigrants – including 1.2 million Californians – will finally have their day in the Supreme Court.  DAPA and expanded DACA, which were a lawful exercise of the President’s authority, will bring law-abiding immigrant families out of the shadows, boost our economy, and make communities safer.  I urge the Court to restore the rule of law by unfreezing these programs and giving millions of immigrants the justice they deserve.”

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued this statement following oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association.

“California’s long-term prosperity depends on the right of hard-working Californians – including teachers, firefighters, peace officers and nurses – to negotiate fair wages, benefits and protections. This case is about fairness: While no employee should be forced to pay for a union’s political speech outside the workplace, if a union represents all employees in negotiating and administering a collective bargaining agreement, then all the employees ought to share the costs of that representation. This has been the standard for the last 40 years, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to change course now. We must protect California’s interests, fair and effective bargaining procedures, and public workers’ First Amendment rights.” 

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that California has joined 13 other states and the District of Columbia in signing a friend-of-the-court brief in the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision substantially restricting access to abortion services in Texas.

The brief, written by New York, and signed by California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia, was filed on Monday.

“Every woman has the right to make informed choices about her health and well-being,” said Attorney General Harris. “I strongly urge the Supreme Court to overturn the Fifth Circuit ruling, which undermines both public health and a woman’s right to choose.”

Attorney General Harris and the 13 other attorneys general argued in the brief that the Fifth Circuit erred in its analysis of a Texas statute that requires all abortion clinics to comply with ambulatory surgical center standards and requires any physician performing an abortion to hold admitting privileges at a hospital within thirty miles of the location where the procedure is performed. 

The statute has resulted in the closure of half of Texas’s clinics, and further threatens the closure of all but 9 of the 40 clinics operating before the law was passed.   As a result, many women have been left without access to abortion services and other reproductive health care.

While the law was ostensibly passed to promote women’s health, Attorney General Harris and the other signatories of the brief argue that the legislation actually undermined, rather than promoted, women’s health.  The brief also argues that a state cannot restrict access to in-state abortion services simply because the same services are available in other states.

Attorney General Harris authored a multi-state friend-of-the-court brief in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. in January 2014, urging the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling allowing for-profit companies to deny essential healthcare to female employees based on the religious beliefs of the company’s owners.  In addition, in November 2013, Attorney General Harris joined a multi-state amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court in McCullen v. Coakley, supporting a Massachusetts law creating a 35-foot buffer zone around reproductive health care facilities.

In 2015, Attorney General Harris co-sponsored AB 775, the Reproductive FACT Act, to ensure women have equal access to comprehensive reproductive health care and are able to make informed choices about their health.  The bill was signed into law by Governor Brown and went into effect on January 1, 2016.  Attorney General’s office is currently defending the law in federal and state court. 

Attorney General Harris also filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the First Resort, Inc. v. Herrera et al., in support of a San Francisco ordinance prohibiting limited service crisis pregnancy centers in that city from knowingly providing false or misleading information to women regarding their reproductive health.

A copy of the brief is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that California has joined 14 other states and the District of Columbia in a friend-of-the-court brief, in the case of United States v. Texas, supporting the U.S. Department of Justice’s request for the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court’s decision and allow President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration to move forward. Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld an injunction, sought by Texas and 25 other states, that prohibited the federal government from putting into effect the new deferred action programs.

The brief, signed by California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, asks the Supreme Court to lift the injunction and allow the programs to move forward.  The brief points out the economic, public safety, and humanitarian benefits of President Obama’s immigration actions and argues that Texas and the other plaintiff states did not have standing to challenge the administration’s policies.

“President Obama’s common-sense actions on immigration will allow millions of hard-working immigrants to more fully contribute to the prosperity and security of California and the nation,” said Attorney General Harris. “I urge the Supreme Court to grant review in United States v. Texas and allow these important immigration programs to move forward so that millions of Californians can share in the American Dream.”

President Obama’s immigration actions will allow approximately 5 million people, including 1.2 million Californians, to apply for protection from deportation and work authorization. Eligible individuals will be required to submit biometric data, pass criminal and national security background checks, pay taxes, and meet the specific requirements for the deferred action program, including having resided in the U.S. for at least five years. The federal policies also expand a preexisting program for certain immigrants who came to the United States as children. 

A copy of the brief is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.

LOS ANGELES - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a high-profile affirmative action case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Fisher v. University of Texas, urging the Court to reaffirm its 2003 ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger and allow public universities to consider race as one factor among many in admissions decisions.

In the brief, Attorney General Harris argues that public colleges and universities should be able to consider race not only to increase the numbers of underrepresented students of color admitted, but to also ensure that students at these colleges and universities are reflective of a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.  As the Supreme Court ruled in 2003, there is a compelling interest in providing the educational benefits of a diverse student body at public colleges and universities that can justify considering an applicant’s race as part of a holistic admissions plan.  Additionally, the brief argues that diversity on college and university campuses produces benefits that extend into our society and democratic process.

“To prepare our future leaders to thrive in the global workforce, we must embrace the educational benefits of diversity,” said Attorney General Harris.  “I strongly urge the U.S. Supreme Court to reaffirm its decision that public colleges and universities may consider race as one factor in admissions decisions.”

The brief acknowledges the limitations imposed by Proposition 209 on California’s efforts to increase the diversity of its academic institutions.  Proposition 209, among other things, prohibits California from considering race during admissions decisions to its public colleges and universities.  As the brief emphasizes, however, California has a strong interest in retaining the flexibility to change course in the future, and each state should have the broadest discretion permissible to decide how to fashion suitable admission standards.

The U.S. Supreme Court first considered this challenge to the University of Texas admissions plan in 2012 and Attorney General Harris submitted a friend-of-the-court brief at that time.  The President of the University of California and the Chancellors of its campuses have also filed a brief arguing that the University of California is unable to achieve the academic benefits brought by diversity because of Proposition 209, as they did in 2012.

The case is set for oral argument on December 9, 2015.

A copy of the brief is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.

SACRAMENTO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges:

“Finally the highest court in the land has acknowledged that marriage is a fundamental right to which no one should be denied. This holding reaffirms the sacred principle that all people are created equal. It's time to end the debate – let the wedding bells ring.”

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in King v. Burwell:

“The Affordable Care Act delivered access to quality, affordable health coverage to millions of Californians who otherwise would not have been able to afford insurance. Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in King v. Burwell ensures that millions of families can keep their affordable health insurance. Because of this ruling, health insurance continues to be accessible to every American, making our entire nation healthier and more prosperous.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deny review in all five pending same sex marriage cases:

“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is a significant victory in the fight for marriage equality. Those circuit courts that are still considering this issue should swiftly join those that have already ruled in favor of equality. There are many gay and lesbian couples across the country who are still waiting to realize their full civil rights, and I urge the courts to move quickly to ensure that every American has the right to marry the person they love.”

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby:

“A woman’s access to quality, affordable preventive healthcare coverage should not depend on her employer’s beliefs. Every woman should be able to make healthcare decisions for herself and her family. I am deeply disappointed that the Court ruled to limit this important right.  

The decision also opens a perilous loophole that may enable private, for-profit companies to challenge other common-sense laws—including those that protect against discrimination—based on the religious beliefs of their shareholders or managers.”

In January 2014, Attorney General Harris was joined by 13 states and the District of Columbia to file a friend-of-the-court brief that urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit which held that for-profit businesses may exercise religion and therefore are covered by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.

SAN FRANCISCO – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the court to strike down a lower court’s ruling that would allow for-profit companies to deny essential healthcare to female employees based on the religious beliefs of the company’s owners.

“Every American deserves access to quality, comprehensive healthcare,” Attorney General Harris said. “A woman’s access to essential services, including contraception, should not be restricted because of the religious views of her employer—particularly when the right to these services is protected under federal law.”

Attorney General Harris’ brief, co-authored by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, urges the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Kathleen Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. that held that for-profit businesses may exercise religion and therefore are covered by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The ruling would deny women coverage for contraception, which is protected under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as a critical preventive service.

The brief further asks the Court to affirm the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit’s ruling in a companion case (Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Kathleen Sebelius) that came to the opposite conclusion and held that for-profit companies could not claim religious exemptions from the ACA coverage requirement.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia joined Attorney General Harris and Attorney General Coakley’s brief, including Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

“Measures adopted by States, and now the federal government, to expand affordable access to contraceptives through health plan coverage provisions are narrowly tailored to further compelling public interests in promoting gender equity and achieving significant health, social, and economic benefits,” the brief states.

A copy of the brief is attached to the electronic version of this release at oag.ca.gov/news.