The Supreme Court declined to block the execution of Texas man Arthur Brown, who is scheduled to die on Thursday for his role in the 1992 shooting deaths of four people. Brown had asked the justices to put his execution on hold and direct a state court to consider his claim that he should not… Read More
Justices take up case on federal admiralty law, seek government’s views on two pending petitions
The Supreme Court on Monday morning added a maritime law case to its docket for the 2023-24 term and invited the federal government to submit briefs expressing its views in two more cases. Both announcements came on an otherwise quiet order list released from the justices’ conference on Friday, March 3. The justices granted review… Read More
Justices order new briefing in Moore v. Harper as N.C. court prepares to rehear underlying dispute
The Supreme Court on Thursday raised questions about whether it would reach a decision in a major election law case. In a brief order, the justices asked for additional briefing in Moore v. Harper, a case argued in December, to address whether the court still has the power to hear the case when the North… Read More
Biden’s student-loan forgiveness plan gets cold reception from conservative justices
The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared skeptical of the Biden administration’s student-loan debt-relief program. During nearly three and a half hours of oral arguments, a majority of the justices appeared unconvinced that Congress intended to give the secretary of education the power to adopt the program, which has an estimated price tag of $400 billion…. Read More
Court will review constitutionality of consumer-watchdog agency’s funding
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a major case involving funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was formed in response to the 2008 financial crisis. A federal appeals court ruled in October that the funding mechanism for the CFPB violates the Constitution, but the Biden administration, which had asked the… Read More
In lawsuit against tech companies, justices debate what it means to “aid and abet” terrorism
The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared wary of a lawsuit seeking to hold Twitter, Facebook, and Google liable for aiding and abetting international terrorism based on ISIS’s use of the companies’ platforms. But during nearly three hours of oral argument, the justices struggled to draw a line between holding organizations responsible for supporting terrorism and… Read More
Court declines to hear case on whether defense attorneys are obligated to seek favorable plea deals
Over a dissent from two of the court’s liberal justices, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal asking them to decide whether a criminal-defense attorney is required to initiate negotiations with prosecutors when his client is likely to get a better result from a plea deal. The denial of review on Tuesday in the case… Read More
“Not, like, the nine greatest experts on the internet”: Justices seem leery of broad ruling on Section 230
The Supreme Court on Tuesday debated the scope of a 27-year-old federal law that shields social-media companies from liability for content published by others. At issue in Gonzalez v. Google is whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects internet platforms when their algorithms target users and recommend someone else’s content. Google and its… Read More
Justices will consider whether tech giants can be sued for allegedly aiding ISIS terrorism
In 2015, ISIS conducted a series of coordinated attacks around Paris that killed 130 people and wounded nearly 500 more. Two years later, 39 people were killed in an ISIS attack on an Istanbul nightclub during the early hours of New Year’s Day. This week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair… Read More
In a pair of challenges to student-debt relief, big questions about agency authority and the right to sue
While campaigning for president in 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden pledged to cancel at least $10,000 in federal student-loan debt for each borrower. More than two years later, Biden announced a debt-relief program that would forgive up to $20,000 in loans for borrowers who qualify. On Feb. 28, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in… Read More