Clip File: 4 Supreme Court Cases That Will Say a Lot About the Direction of Our Country

Would a Human Sacrifice TV Channel be protected by the First Amendment? This and other key questions will be answered this term.

"As the Supreme Court kicked off its new season last week with a brand new justice on the bench, the cases on the docket provided a fascinating glimpse into the judicial soul of the country.

"In the first days alone, there were cases involving dog fighting, a controversial cross on public land, and a number of prickly criminal justice issues.

"The months to come will test laws on some of the most controversial issues of our time, including guns, sex offenders and the uniquely American question of whether teenagers can be sentenced to life without parole. The outcomes will tell us a lot about the future direction of the Roberts court, and what it might mean to have Justice Sonia Sotomayor on the bench."

The rest of the story: 4 Supreme Court Cases That Will Say a Lot About the Direction of Our Country by Liliana Segura (AlterNet 2009-10-12)