Monday’s Supreme Court developments

Here are the highlights of developments Monday at the Supreme Court:

  • Ruled that minority applicants may be given an edge when applying for admissions to universities, but limited how much a factor race can play in the selection of students.
  • Ruled that Congress can force the nation’s public libraries to equip computers with anti-pornography filters. Such technology does not violate the First Amendment even though it shuts off some legitimate, informational Web sites, the court said.
  • Struck down a California law intended to help Holocaust survivors collect on insurance policies from the Nazi era. The court ruled that the law was unconstitutional meddling by a state in foreign affairs.
  • Agreed to decide whether states can be sued for failing to install wheelchair ramps or other accommodations for people with disabilities. The issue involves the case of a paraplegic man who crawled two flights to reach a hearing in a courthouse without an elevator.
  • Agreed to decide whether states can block local governments from offering local phone and Internet service.
  • Rejected an appeal from a New Jersey borough that wanted to bar the community’s Orthodox Jewish leaders from marking utility poles in a religious district.
  • Declined to hear arguments on whether The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should be allowed to limit speech it deems offensive in a park that it purchased from Salt Lake City. The decision lets stand a lower court ruling that said because the church had guaranteed the city pedestrian access through the park, free-speech rights must be retained.