Judges & the Courts

History in the Making

With Elena Kagan's confirmation as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, three women will serve together on the highest court in the land for this first time in its 221 year history.

Supreme Court and the Health Care Law

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the health care law known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

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Reed v. Reed at 40

Learn more about the Reed v. Reed decision and the past and future of women's legal rights under the Equal Protection Clause.

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History in the Making

Health Care Law Challenge

Women and the Constitution

Highlights

Fact Sheet | The Vacancy Crisis in the Federal Judiciary: What's at Stake for Women

April 25, 2013

There are currently 82 vacancies on the federal district and appellate courts, a nearly 10 percent vacancy rate. This alarmingly high vacancy rate forces people around the country to wait for justice.

Fact Sheet | Women in the Federal Judiciary: Still A Long Way to Go

April 26, 2013

Over the past three decades, an increasing number of women have joined the legal profession. Since 1992, women’s representation in law school classes has approached 50%. But the number of women in the federal judiciary has stagnated. It is of critical importance to increase the representation of women on the federal bench.

Fact Sheet | Supreme Court Preview: 2012-2013 Term

October 1, 2012

This fact sheet previews important cases affecting women in the 2012-2013 Supreme Court Term.

Fact Sheet | Hollingsworth v. Perry and United States v. Windsor: The Supreme Court Should Presume Laws Discriminating On the Basis of Sexual Orientation are Unconstitutional

March 25, 2013

This term, the Supreme Court will decide United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry. Windsor challenges Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which prohibits the federal government from recognizing marriages between same-sex couples, and Hollingsworth challenges the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment that revoked same-sex couples’ right to marry in that state. This fact sheet explains why Section 3 of DOMA and Proposition 8 should be subjected to heightened scrutiny under the Constitution and struck down.

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Fact Sheet | Walmart v. Dukes: New Hurdles and a Significant Step Back for Women Employees

June 11, 2012

The Supreme Court’s decision in favor of Wal-Mart in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes struck a devastating blow for employees who seek to hold their employers accountable for discrimination and other violations of workplace law. While the decision does not mean the end of the road for the women of Wal-Mart, it does undermine their ability to achieve companywide change through their lawsuit.

Fact Sheet | The Health Care Litigation: What Women Could Lose

March 26, 2012

In 2010, Congress passed the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as the “Affordable Care Act” or “ACA.” The ACA is intended to achieve near-universal health insurance coverage, slow the growth of health care costs and insurance premiums, and end an array of insurance practices that have prevented individuals from obtaining health insurance and health care. One of the ACA’s primary goals is to improve women’s health and address the discrimination women have faced in the health insurance market—disadvantages and discrimination that often lead women to bear significant costs or go without health care altogether. The law begins to remedy the economic impact of the discrimination that women have long faced in the health insurance market.

Legal Briefs & Testimony | Amicus Brief: Department of Health and Human Services, et al., v. State of Florida, et al.

January 13, 2012

The National Women’s Law Center's “friend of the court” brief is on behalf of 60 organizations in United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al v. State of Florida, et al. The brief explains what’s at stake for women in the challenge to the new health care law and why the ACA, in correcting fundamental gender inequities in the health insurance and health care markets, is an appropriate exercise of federal Commerce Clause authority and therefore is constitutional.

Fact Sheet | Supreme Court Preview: 2011-2012 Term

January 12, 2012

This fact sheet previews the important cases affecting women before the Supreme Court in the 2011-2012 term.

Legal Briefs & Testimony | NWLC Written Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Barriers to Justice and Accountability: How the Supreme Court's Recent Rulings Will Affect Corporate Behavior

June 29, 2011

On June 29, 2011, Marcia D. Greenberger, on behalf of NWLC, submitted written testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Barriers to Justice and Accountability: How the Supreme Court's Recent Rulings Will Affect Corporate Behavior.

The written statement focuses on the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes and discusses the the importance of class actions in the employment discrimination context and illuminates how the decision could cause great injury for women in the workplace

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Emily Martin

Emily Martin is Vice President and General Counsel at the National Women's Law Center, where she undertakes cross-cutting projects addressing women's health, economic security, and education and employment opportunities. She also provides in-house legal advice and representation to the Center. Prior to joining the Center, Ms. Martin served as Deputy Director of the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, where she spearheaded litigation, policy, and public education initiatives to advance the rights of women and girls, with a particular emphasis on the needs of low-income women and women of color.

Judges & the Courts

History in the Making

Supreme Court and the Health Care Law

Reed v. Reed at 40

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