The Supreme Court will kick off its November argument session with the highest-profile cases of that session: challenges to the consideration of race in the admissions process at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. That news came with the release of the November argument calendar (as well as an updated October argument calendar) on… Read More
With no recorded dissents, justices allow execution of Alabama man to proceed
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to postpone the execution of Joe Nathan James, who was scheduled to die in an Alabama prison at 7 p.m. EDT. James was sentenced to death for the 1994 murder of Faith Hall, his former girlfriend. Hall’s family had urged Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to convert James’ death sentence… Read More
Court will hear affirmative-action challenges separately, allowing Jackson to participate in UNC case
The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will consider two challenges to the role of race in college admissions separately, rather than – as it had originally planned – together. That news, which came in a brief order from the court, was not unexpected: It allows Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s newest justice,… Read More
Divided court declines to reinstate Biden’s immigration guidelines, sets case for argument this fall
The Supreme Court will again weigh the executive branch’s authority to set immigration policy as some red states claim that the Biden administration’s enforcement decisions are too lax. The justices on Thursday agreed to take up a challenge by Texas and Louisiana to a new federal policy that prioritizes certain groups of unauthorized immigrants for… Read More
Progressive panel is pessimistic about court’s jurisprudence
Like many institutions, the University of California, Irvine School of Law held – in conjunction with Ms. Magazine – a panel to look back at the Supreme Court’s 2021-22 term. However, Wednesday’s event, held before a packed house at the Irvine Barclay Theater and live-streamed to an even wider online audience, was likely the only… Read More
In a historic term, momentum to move the law often came from the five justices to the chief’s right
If the Supreme Court’s 2021-22 term had a soundtrack, it might be “With or Without You,” the 1987 anthem by the Irish rock group U2. In a year in which the justices issued a series of high-profile rulings moving the law to the right, five of the court’s Republican appointees signaled that although they welcomed… Read More
“Clean-up” conference prompts three new grants, lots of separate writings
Before departing for the summer recess, the justices on Thursday issued orders from their private conference the day before. That conference was not one of the justices’ regularly scheduled conferences; instead, it was what is sometimes referred to as the “clean-up” conference, an opportunity for the justices to dispose of the petitions for review that… Read More
Divided court allows Biden to end Trump’s “remain in Mexico” asylum policy
This post was updated on June 30 at 4:52 p.m. The Supreme Court on Thursday handed the Biden administration a major victory, giving it the green light to end one of the Trump administration’s signature immigration programs: the controversial “remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they wait for… Read More
Supreme Court curtails EPA’s authority to fight climate change
This post was updated on June 30 at 2:48 p.m. The Supreme Court on Thursday truncated the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gases. The ruling may hamper President Joe Biden’s plan to fight climate change and could limit the authority of federal agencies across the executive branch. By a vote of 6-3, the… Read More
Justices will hear case that tests power of state legislatures to set rules for federal elections
The Supreme Court will take up a case from North Carolina next term that could upend federal elections by eliminating virtually all oversight of those elections by state courts. On Thursday, the justices granted review in Moore v. Harper, a dispute arising from the state’s efforts to draw new congressional maps in response to the… Read More