Summary of U.S. Supreme Court victories from Sen. Ted Cruz
July 17, 2023 | Austin, TX
The U.S. Supreme Court ended its term with rulings on three cases for which Senator Ted Cruz had filed amicus briefs. Senator Cruz is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Cruz provides an update on how these rulings upheld 14th Amendment Equal Protection Rights, religious liberty, and First Amendment speech rights.
14th Amendment Equal Protection
“I’ve continually said that affirmative action is a practice that may have been a less overt form of discrimination, but was a more subtle and harmful form of discrimination,” said Senator Cruz.
“The rulings in Fair Admissions v. Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina were great for Americans and more specifically, minority populations.
“The Supreme Court upheld the 14th Amendment rights of Asian-Americans and ruled that Harvard and the University of North Carolina’s explicit and egregious policies of racially discriminating against Asian-Americans and other students are unconstitutional.
“Both Harvard and UNC have had long and ugly traditions of discrimination—Harvard with its anti-Jewish quotas in the 20th century and UNC with racial segregation—that made it impossible for a prospective student to be judged on his or her own merit, rather than their skin color or religious background. These universities eventually ended these forms of overt discrimination, instead substituting them for a different, more subtle form of discrimination in Affirmative Action.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling ends our country’s long and failed experiment with racial quotas and government-sanctioned racial discrimination, and, in the process, restores some measure of objectivity and fairness to the college admissions process.”
In May of 2022, Senator Cruz led an amicus brief on the issue. Thirteen additional U.S. Senators joined the brief, including John Cornyn (TX), John Kennedy (LA), and Rand Paul (KY). Five U.S. Representatives also joined the brief. Read the full brief here.
First Amendment Religious Liberty
The Court also issued a unanimous ruling in Groff v. DeJoy. Senator Cruz explained, “I’m a passionate defender of the Constitution and was pleased to see the Supreme Court rightly reaffirm religious freedom with their ruling that the USPS, under the leadership of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, had failed to adequately accommodate postal carrier Gerald Groff’s ability to observe the Sabbath, as his religion requires.”
Sen. Cruz spoke at the Voice for Freedom Korean Church Coalition for North Korea Rally on the West Lawn of the Capitol on July 12.
“This decision is not only a victory for our ‘first freedom,’ but is also an important check on future efforts by the federal government to trample the religious rights of federal workers. This is a victory lap decision for our freedoms as Americans. Religious liberty has prevailed once again.”
Senator Cruz filed an amicus brief with Republican U.S. Senator James Lankford (OK) and Representative Mike Johnson (LA). Seven other members of Congress joined the brief, including Texas Representative Wesley Hunt. Read the full brief here.
First Amendment Freedom of Speech
Finally, free speech was upheld in the 303 Creative v. Elenis case with the determination that Colorado’s state law unconstitutionally restricts American business owners’ First Amendment rights.
Senator Cruz said, “Before this ruling, the state of Colorado wanted to compel the speech of Christian artists and business owners who declined to use their God-given talents to celebrate views that run contrary to what their faith teaches.
“This law wasn’t just a threat to Christians. Should a Muslim artist be compelled by the government to draw the image of Muhammed? Should Jewish artists be forced to create art that is anti-Semitic? No, absolutely not.
“The Supreme Court’s decision in this case is a victory for the First Amendment not just in Colorado, but all across the United States.”
Senator Cruz filed a July 2022 amicus brief on this issue with 11 other Republican U.S. Senators, including John Cornyn (TX), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Tom Cotton (AR), Mike Lee (UT), Chuck Grassley (IA), Josh Hawley (MO), and John Kennedy (LA). Read the full brief here.