The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a plea from a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve to block the Air Force from disciplining him because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19. Three justices – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch – indicated that they would have granted the request and allowed him… Read More
Court declines to hear death-row inmate’s claim of juror’s racial bias, prompting dissent from liberal justices
The Supreme Court on Monday morning issued orders from the justices’ private conference last Thursday. The justices did not add any new cases to their docket, and over the dissent of the three liberals, the court denied review in the case of a death-row inmate who argued that he was deprived of his right to… Read More
In historic first, Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed to Supreme Court
By a vote of 53-47, the Senate on Thursday afternoon confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the 116th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Jackson will become the first Black woman to serve on the court, fulfilling a campaign promise by then-candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. By the time the Senate met… Read More
Jackson’s confirmation expected by end of week after committee deadlocks along partisan lines
The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked 11-11 along party lines on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, who plans to retire from the Supreme Court this summer. Despite the tie vote on Monday, Jackson’s nomination can still go to the Senate floor using a procedure known as a discharge petition… Read More
Justices add three new cases, including challenge to animal-welfare law and Warhol copyright dispute
The Supreme Court on Monday issued orders from the justices’ private conference last week, adding three new cases to next term’s docket. The new cases involve a challenge to an animal-welfare law in California, a death-penalty issue in Arizona, and a copyright dispute over an Andy Warhol work. The justices also turned down a request… Read More
Justices mull purpose of Hague Convention in international dispute over child custody
On Tuesday the justices considered what obligations, if any, U.S. courts have to consider measures that might reduce the risk of harm if a child who has been abducted is returned to the country where she lives. The oral argument in Golan v. Saada was the latest case asking the justices to interpret the Hague… Read More
Court allows Department of Defense to reassign unvaccinated Navy SEALs
The Supreme Court on Friday gave the Pentagon the go-ahead to consider whether some members of the elite Navy SEALs are vaccinated against COVID-19 when making operational decisions. With three justices noting dissents, the court temporarily blocked an order by a federal trial court that U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said would commandeer “the Navy’s… Read More
Thomas is discharged from hospital; court gives no details on diagnosis or treatment
After nearly a week in the hospital, Justice Clarence Thomas was released on Friday morning, the Supreme Court announced. The court’s public information office did not provide any additional information about the health of the 73-year-old jurist. Thomas was hospitalized on the evening of Friday, March 18, with what the Supreme Court described as “flu-like… Read More
Court bars Texas from executing inmate unless it allows pastor’s touch and audible prayer
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a man on death row in Texas can have his pastor touch him and pray out loud while he is being executed. The decision in Ramirez v. Collier was the latest chapter in the nearly three-year-long dispute over the presence of spiritual advisers at executions, and the justices… Read More
College board’s censure of one of its members didn’t violate First Amendment, justices rule
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a community college board did not violate the First Amendment when it censured one of its trustees. The unanimous ruling was the latest episode in a long-running drama that pitted the Houston Community College System against David Wilson, a trustee and outspoken critic of the board. Wilson was… Read More