Covering the Supreme Court and the Judiciary in (mostly) Plain English

There was intense interest in today’s oral arguments, scheduled for 10 a.m., because newly confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh would take the bench for the first time. But before that, the justices issued orders from last week’s private conference. They did not add any new cases to their docket, and they did not act at all… Read More

In my latest podcast, I run down the Supreme-Court-related news of the week, including the first oral argument of the term in a death penalty case, the justices’ latest orders and the process leading to the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh.

[UPDATE: The Supreme Court announced that Kavanaugh will be sworn in today by Chief Justice John Roberts and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom Kavanaugh clerked. The ceremony will take place at the court and will allow Kavanaugh to “begin to participate in the work of the Court immediately,” a press release stated. A formal… Read More

The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy moved toward the final vote today, after a divided Senate voted in favor of cloture – a technical term for a procedure that limits debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination by creating a 30-hour window within which the Senate… Read More

[UPDATE on Friday, October 5: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg turned down the government’s request this afternoon, but she left open the possibility that the government could return to the Supreme Court before the depositions, which are currently scheduled for October 10 and 11, go forward. Ginsburg indicated that the application to block the depositions was… Read More

Today the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Vernon Madison, an Alabama inmate who has been on death row for more than 30 years for the murder of a Mobile police officer, Julius Schulte. In that time, Madison has had several strokes, causing significant brain damage, and suffers from (among other things)… Read More

The eight justices of the Supreme Court returned to the bench today to hear oral arguments in the first cases of their new term. But before they did so, they issued an extensive (75 pages) list of orders from last Monday’s “long conference” – their first conference since their summer recess began in late June…. Read More

If the Supreme Court issues orders from the “long conference,” but everyone is across the street at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, is anyone paying attention? Just in case you weren’t, I review the week at the Supreme Court and in the Kavanaugh confirmation battle in this podcast.

UPDATE: NBC News has reported that President Donald Trump has asked the FBI to conduct the supplemental background investigation requested by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Trump indicated that the investigation should be “limited in scope and completed in less than one week.”  Less than 18 hours after a hearing on sexual-assault allegations that alternated between… Read More

When the justices met for their conference on Monday, one of the cases that they were slated to consider was a familiar one: The case of Sergio Hernandez, a 15-year-old who was shot and killed by Jesus Mesa, a U.S. Border Patrol agent, while Hernandez was standing on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border…. Read More