June 21

Federal court blocks Louisiana Ten Commandments classroom mandate

A federal district court issued a preliminary injunction blocking Louisiana's law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom. The court found the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, citing the Supreme Court's 1980 Stone v. Graham precedent that struck down an identical Kentucky law. Louisiana officials said they would appeal.

Manhattan DA cites more than 100 threats after Trump hush-money conviction

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked a judge to keep parts of Donald Trump's gag order in place after Trump's felony conviction. Bragg's office said he and other officials had faced more than 100 threatening emails and calls, including racial slurs and death threats, and New York police had logged dozens of actionable threats tied to the case.

Trump publicly denies E. Jean Carroll's sexual assault allegation, calls it false, attacks her credibility

Trump issues a public statement denying Carroll's allegation that he sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. He calls her claims false, says she is "not his type," and accuses her of lying to promote her book. The statement is issued through official White House channels.

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GAO finds 13,673 safety incidents at Job Corps centers in one year

The Government Accountability Office released GAO-18-482 on June 21, 2018, documenting 13,673 safety and security incidents at Job Corps centers from July 2016 to June 2017. Drug-related incidents and assaults accounted for 48 percent of all reports across 125 centers serving 79,000 students. GAO recommended consistent monitoring and comprehensive safety planning by the Department of Labor.

Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project that the material support law survives a First Amendment challenge

The Supreme Court upheld the federal material support statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2339B, in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 561 U.S. 1, on June 21, 2010, ruling 6-3 that prohibiting coordinated speech and advocacy with designated foreign terrorist organizations did not violate the First Amendment. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, holding that even peaceful, nonviolent assistance — such as training a designated group in human rights law or teaching it to petition the United Nations — constituted material support because it could free resources for terrorism. Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor dissented, arguing the ruling criminalized core political speech. The decision became one of only two instances in First Amendment history in which the Court upheld a content-based speech restriction under strict scrutiny, and it significantly curtailed the ability of civil society to engage with designated foreign organizations.

Supreme Court recognizes Latino students in Denver desegregation case

The Supreme Court rules in Keyes v. School District No. 1 on June 21, 1973, addressing school segregation in Denver. The case is the Court's first major desegregation ruling involving a school district outside the South. The Court treats Black and Hispanic students as groups harmed by segregation and says intentional segregation in a meaningful part of a school system can support broader desegregation remedies. The ruling expands the school desegregation story beyond the South and includes Latino students in federal equal protection analysis.

Supreme Court strikes down Oklahoma grandfather clause in Guinn

The Supreme Court rules in Guinn v. United States on June 21, 1915, striking down Oklahoma's grandfather clause for voter registration. The rule exempted some white voters from literacy-test requirements if their ancestors had been eligible to vote before the Civil War. The Court says the law violates the Fifteenth Amendment because it uses ancestry to preserve racial exclusion from the ballot. Southern states continue using other devices, but Guinn becomes an early federal victory against racial voter suppression. States try to evade Black voting rights through formally clever rules after Reconstruction.

Article III of U.S. Constitution ratified, establishing judicial independence through life tenure

The U.S. Constitution is ratified with Article III providing that federal judges shall hold their offices during good behavior, granting federal judges life tenure unless they voluntarily resign or are impeached and convicted. This provision insulates the judiciary from shifts in public consensus and political pressure. (Senate.gov, May 2, 2026)