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

[NOTE: This post was updated with additional analysis at 3:30 p.m.] In 1925, Congress passed the Federal Arbitration Act, which (among other things) provides that an agreement to arbitrate a dispute “shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable.” Ten years later, Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act, which makes clear that employees have the right… Read More

When the justices return to the bench next fall after their summer recess, a case involving computer giant Apple may very well be on their merits docket. Last week the U.S. government recommended that the Supreme Court grant review in a case arising from allegations that the company has monopolized the market to distribute apps… Read More

On Monday the Supreme Court issued five decisions in argued cases, bringing its total number of opinions so far this term to 28. As Adam Feldman has reported at SCOTUSblog, the justices are moving slowly this term by just about any measure: At this point in 2008, they had already released 50(!) opinions, and they… Read More

After their April 27 conference, the justices relisted a securities law case, Quality Systems, Inc. v. City of Miami Fire Fighters’ and Police Officers’ Retirement Trust. When the court relists a case, it’s often a sign that the justices are seriously considering whether to grant review; indeed, in recent years the justices have normally relisted a… Read More

This morning the justices issued orders from their private conference last week. They added two new cases to their merits docket for the next term, which will begin in early October, and asked the U.S. solicitor general to weigh in on a third case. But they once again did not act on some high-profile cases,… Read More

[NOTE: This post was updated with additional analysis at 5:02 p.m.] The Fourth Amendment protects us from (among other things) a warrantless search of a place – such as our homes – that we can reasonably expect to remain private. Today the Supreme Court ruled that a driver who has permission to use a rental car… Read More

[NOTE: This post was updated with additional analysis at 4:16 p.m.] This morning the Supreme Court overturned a Louisiana inmate’s death sentence because the inmate’s lawyer – hoping to save his client’s life – had told the jury that the inmate was guilty, even though the inmate had expressly objected to that strategy. The 6-3 ruling… Read More

[NOTE: This post was updated with additional analysis at 3:18 p.m.] The 10th Amendment provides that, if the Constitution does not either give a power to the federal government or take that power away from the states, that power is reserved for the states or the people themselves. The Supreme Court has long interpreted this provision… Read More

“RBG,” the new documentary on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, always engaging and beautifully put together. For viewers who already follow the Supreme Court regularly, it does not break a lot of new ground. (Beyond Ginsburg’s fondness for prunes, there was very little that I didn’t already know.) But people like… Read More

The Supreme Court announced today that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who injured her left shoulder in a fall at her home earlier this month, will undergo “reverse total shoulder replacement surgery” tomorrow morning. In a press release issued this afternoon, the court’s public information office indicated that the 63-year-old justice will curtail her activities “for the… Read More