menu_open Columnists
Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Common Dreams

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Supreme Court puts voting rights on the menu

The Supreme Court justices gave an ominous prelude to next term, when voting rights — another pillar of a strong democracy — will be in the...

yesterday 0

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Who is an American? Trump wants to decide.

Two new citizenship policies threaten to push the country to a place where horrific human rights violations would become, again, as American as apple...

wednesday 2

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The courts will not save us from tyranny

The Supreme Court just washed its hands of its role in upholding the rule of law, the foundational principle that laws are meant to be followed by...

25.06.2025 20

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Originalist sin

It's no surprise that the court’s conservative majority upheld the law. But the opinion in United States v. Skrmetti was something different...

20.06.2025 4

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Even the legal wonks are standing up to Trump

The nonpartisan American Bar Association is now a central player in the very public, very political war President Trump is waging on the rule of law.

18.06.2025 8

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The ‘reverse discrimination’ US Supreme Court ruling could’ve been much worse

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is focused on the bigger battles ahead.

12.06.2025 7

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Grin and Barrett

It seems folks in the MAGAverse are looking for some good ol' fealty from Trump-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

06.06.2025 5

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Musk’s D.C. departure may not shield him from the courts’ accountability

What is the likelihood that the Supreme Court will rule against Musk and DOGE? Perhaps greater than you think.

04.06.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Humphrey dies again — giving Trump more power

A shadow docket order from the Supreme Court allowed President Trump to fire board members of two federal agencies — despite laws that prohibit...

30.05.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Why Trump’s attack on big law matters

By targeting pro bono programs, Trump’s vengeful executive orders deny real justice to those who need it most but can afford it the least.

28.05.2025 3

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

What to watch for in the court’s home stretch

The Supreme Court's decisions in its most high-profile cases will come in this term's final weeks. Here are predictions of what's to...

23.05.2025 4

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Don’t blink. The arrest of a lawmaker is a constitutional crisis in motion.

The arrest of Representative LaMonica McIver is proof that the constitutional crisis is escalating.

21.05.2025 2

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

John Roberts misses the moment

Where the country needs heat to denounce Trump’s attacks on the judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts only has cold comfort to offer.

16.05.2025 3

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Supreme Court could swiftly end Trump’s bid to strip birthright citizenship

The justices don’t yet have to decide if the executive order is unconstitutional. They should anyway.

14.05.2025 4

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

David Souter: What a simple man from N.H. taught me, and all of us

The Supreme Court justice wasn’t flashy, but he was faithful to the rule of law. Even in cases that had outcomes that disappointed me, I rarely...

09.05.2025 3

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Shocking but not surprising: Supreme Court OKs Trump’s trans military ban for now

Why did the Supreme Court, allow the Pentagon's ban on transgender servicemembers and recruits to go into effect?

08.05.2025 3

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Trump’s prime-time defiance of the Supreme Court

Trump admitted that he could facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, but he is choosing not to.

02.05.2025 3

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Trump is coming for the press

An independent and free press is essential for a functioning democracy. That’s precisely why it’s in the administration’s crosshairs.

30.04.2025 3

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The biggest constitutional battle of all: Trump vs. the justices

Trump's frustration with the Supreme Court is reaching a boiling point.

24.04.2025 2

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

How do you solve a problem like nationwide injunctions?

It’s a task that should be handled by lawmakers. Instead, the Supreme Court is entering the chat.

23.04.2025 2

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

LGBTQ visibility? Not in classrooms, if religious challengers have their way at the SCOTUS.

Maryland parents claim that the inclusion of books that include the experiences of LGBTQ people, without the ability to opt their children out of the...

17.04.2025 2

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The Supreme Court missed a chance to check Trump’s autocracy. Its next shot may be its last.

While some downplay the constitutional crisis Trump has created, the Supreme Court cannot afford to look away from it.

16.04.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

After SCOTUS ruling, new battle begins in Trump’s war on Venezuelan immigrants

New challengers argue that the Alien Enemies Act does not authorize deportations like those of the Venezuelan immigrants who were sent to a brutal...

10.04.2025 3

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The Supreme Court has given up its power

The three-branch federal government is now the Trump triumvirate. Trump may not be a king, but Congress and the Supreme Court have gone out of their...

08.04.2025 7

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The Supreme Court and the false flag of ‘religious liberty’

The religious right has used the courts to secure the right not only to worship freely, even in government-funded spaces, but also to interfere with...

04.04.2025 5

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Trump doesn’t know what an executive order is. But you should.

A casual observer might think Trump has the powers of a king. But he doesn’t, even if he likes to pretend he does.

02.04.2025 40

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Supreme Court ghost busters

It’s a good day when the Supreme Court doesn’t wipe out a common-sense federal gun regulation.

27.03.2025 2

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

How the Supreme Court can curb one Trump attack on judges

The constitutional crisis Trump is spurring is real. The Supreme Court has a chance to be the democratic guardrail the nation needs.

26.03.2025 9

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Louisiana vs. the ‘non-African Americans’

The state’s previous congressional district map was struck down for diluting the votes of Black voters. Now, some Louisiana voters claim the new map...

14.03.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

All vaccine policy is local, and Massachusetts has fallen behind

There are gaps in the state’s vaccination infrastructure, despite the Bay State’s status as a national leader in medical innovation. Texas should...

12.03.2025 4

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Alito decries judicial ‘hubris,’ then demonstrates it

Justice Samuel Alito's dissent was a platform to vent about his views of judicial overreach — while engaging in some himself.

07.03.2025 6

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Federal health officials want to hear from you about vaccines. Give them an earful.

If the FDA and CDC sit on their hands, next season the flu shot will be a lot more expensive, if you can find it at all. That’s a deadly proposition

05.03.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Ignoring history, Supreme Court poised to open doors to odious claims of ‘reverse discrimination’

The justices all but ignored our nation’s long and shameful history of bias against marginalized populations, and could upend hard-fought...

28.02.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The Supreme Court defends its power — and does justice

The Supreme Court is right to defend its power by saying Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip deserves a new trial.

28.02.2025 4

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Dellinger swings for the high court fences but could strike out

By tacitly ruling that temporary restraining orders are reviewable, the Supreme Court will open the door for other TROs that have been issued to be...

21.02.2025 4

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

State AGs’ early loss in Musk case likely a blessing in disguise

Judge Chutkan’s order denying temporary relief could make it more likely that the law and Constitution catch up to Musk’s unprecedented government...

20.02.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Who will check Trump? The Supreme Court (maybe)

The Supreme Court majority’s distaste for administrative agencies running amok could come back to bite Trump.

13.02.2025 5

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The courts still matter, even if Trump tries to ignore them

For legal thought leaders to throw their hands in the air in resignation over Trump's actions is a form of capitulation in advance. I will not...

13.02.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Law vs. chaos: How Americans can resist Trump’s power grab

Trump is not a king. So say “We, the People.”

06.02.2025 5

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The Supreme Court could tear down the wall between church and state

The justices may give their blessing to the nation’s first religious public school. But we should have seen this coming.

31.01.2025 7

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

The battle to protect LGBTQ rights is winnable — but will take a fight

Legal advocates are gearing up to challenge Trump’s executive orders, and they have the law and the Constitution on their side. But to succeed,...

23.01.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Trump’s dangerous bid to end birthright citizenship

In a normal world, Trump’s gambit would seem ludicrous for the way it clearly runs afoul of the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent. But things...

16.01.2025 7

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Greenland and Trump’s desire to be colonizer-in-chief

He is signaling his desire to return the United States to its colonizing roots — and his refusal to rule out using violent means should shake to...

09.01.2025 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Trump tests Supreme Court power with TikTok intervention

Trump’s TikTok brief is an alarming preview of how he sees the Supreme Court and how he intends to treat it once he returns to office: as another...

02.01.2025 5

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Massachusetts stalls on vital facial recognition reform

State lawmakers, this is a no-brainer. Pass the bill and send it to Governor Healey.

26.12.2024 20

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Will a federal call for fast-fashion climate action ring hollow in the Trump era?

Fixing the fast-fashion climate problem isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for American businesses and farmers. Republicans should heed the...

19.12.2024 10

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

How clemency can help save us all

Biden now has a chance to not only wield a crucial tool to advance criminal justice but also strike back at the nation’s burgeoning bloodlust.

12.12.2024 6

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

More states must pass shield laws protecting gender-affirming care

If you don’t think you and yours have skin in this particular game, think again.

05.12.2024 8

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Don’t blame Garland and Smith for the failed prosecutions of Trump

The ire you may feel over the lack of accountability for Trump’s lawlessness is righteous. Just make sure your aim is right.

26.11.2024 5

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr

Will Supreme Court check Trump? Don’t count on it.

What will the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority, which Trump helped to build, have to say about Trump’s view that biding by the...

14.11.2024 8

Boston Globe

Kimberly Atkins Stohr