The Supreme Court announced on Friday morning that it would postpone oral argument in Department of Justice v. House Committee on the Judiciary, the dispute over access to secret materials from the Mueller investigation that had been scheduled for Dec. 2. The news came as part of the orders released from the justices’ private conference… Read More
Court issues new circuit assignments
A little less than a month after the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court on Friday issued a new set of circuit justice assignments, which take effect immediately. Barrett was assigned to the 7th Circuit, where she served as a judge for three years before becoming a justice. Two other justices, Sonia… Read More
House Committee on the Judiciary asks court to put off oral argument on Mueller materials
The House Committee on the Judiciary on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to remove its dispute with the Department of Justice over secret materials from the Mueller investigation from the court’s December argument calendar. The committee told the justices that once a new Congress and President-elect Joe Biden take office in January, it “will have… Read More
New York synagogues ask justices to lift attendance limits (updated)
Four days after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn asked the justices to block enforcement of a New York executive order restricting attendance at houses of worship, two Orthodox Jewish synagogues came to the Supreme Court to make a similar request. Arguing that their neighborhoods and religious institutions had been “targeted,” the challengers – which… Read More
Court denies plea from Texas inmates to restore coronavirus safety measures pending appeal
The Supreme Court on Monday afternoon rejected a request from two inmates at high risk for complications from COVID-19 to reinstate an order by a federal district court that would require Texas prison officials to take basic safety precautions to combat the virus. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from that ruling, penning an 11-page opinion –… Read More
Justices do not grant any new cases
The Supreme Court issued an uneventful order list on Monday morning, the second released from the justices’ private conference on Friday, Nov. 13. On Friday, the justices added one case to their merits docket for the 2020-21 term: Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, a challenge to a California regulation that gives union organizers access to… Read More
Justices will review property rights case
The Supreme Court on Friday added one new case to its merits docket for 2020-21 term. In Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, the justices will weigh in on a California regulation that gives union organizers access to the property of agricultural growers up to three hours per day, 120 days each year. The lawsuit was… Read More
Brooklyn Catholic diocese asks justices to block limits on attendance at church services
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to block limits imposed on in-person church attendance because of the coronavirus pandemic. The plea renews a dispute over restrictions on worship services while some secular businesses remain open. The Supreme Court rebuffed similar challenges over the summer, but this is the first… Read More
ACA seems likely to survive, but on what ground?
After roughly two hours of oral argument in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, it appeared likely that the Affordable Care Act will survive yet another effort in the courts to dismantle it. Although there may be five votes to strike down the ACA’s individual mandate – the provision in the law that directs virtually all… Read More
Justices grant new cases involving challenges to Social Security Administration judges
The Supreme Court on Monday morning issued orders from the justices’ private conference last week. The justices added two new cases, consolidated for one hour of oral argument, to their merits docket for the term. Monday’s list was also the first set of regularly scheduled orders in which the court’s newest justice, Amy Coney Barrett,… Read More