This morning the Supreme Court issued orders from the justices’ private conference last Thursday. The justices did not add any new cases to their merits docket for the fall. They did not act on the group of cases challenging federal and state gun restrictions or the group of cases asking the justices to reconsider immunity… Read More
After a long wait, a unanimous court upholds Puerto Rico oversight board
In 2016, Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA). The law created a seven-member board tasked with bringing financial stability back to the island. But when the board began proceedings in federal court to restructure Puerto Rico’s massive debt, a hedge fund that had invested in distressed Puerto Rico bonds… Read More
Court declines to lift restrictions on crowds at church services (UPDATED)
Last night the Supreme Court declined to intervene in challenges by churches in southern California and the Chicago area to stay-at-home orders issued as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. The churches had asked the justices earlier this week to lift restrictions on crowds in time for them to hold services on Sunday, when Christians… Read More
Church challenges COVID-19 stay-at-home order (Updated)
Update: Justice Elena Kagan has called for a response in the case; it is due on Thursday, May 28, by 8 p.m. On Wednesday, two Chicago-area churches asked the justices to allow them to hold services on Pentecost as well. The Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church and Logos Baptist Ministries, which are both Romanian-American Christian churches,… Read More
Court rejects – at least for now – government’s request to block Ohio prisoner release plan
Today the Supreme Court denied a request by the federal government to put a temporary hold on an order by a federal court that could lead to the release or transfer of over 800 inmates from a federal prison where nine inmates have died from COVID-19. The inmates’ victory, however, appeared to be mostly procedural… Read More
No new grants today
This morning the Supreme Court issued orders from the justices’ private conference last week. The justices did not add any cases to their merits docket for next term, nor did they seek the views of the federal government in any new cases. And perhaps most notably, the justices did not act on any of the… Read More
Government asks court to block Ohio COVID-19 prisoner transfer
Just a few hours after the Supreme Court granted his request to temporarily block the release of grand jury materials from the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco was back at the court with a new filing. This time the filing was on behalf of the federal Bureau of Prisons… Read More
Justices block release of secret Mueller grand jury materials
Today the Supreme Court blocked the disclosure to the House Judiciary Committee of grand jury materials from the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The Department of Justice had asked the court 13 days ago to put the release of the materials on hold while it appeals a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals… Read More
No new grants today
This morning the Supreme Court issued orders from the justices’ private conference last week. The justices did not add any new cases to their argument calendar for next term. Perhaps most significantly, they did not act at all on the 10 gun rights cases that they had considered for a second time at last week’s… Read More
Unanimous ruling for plaintiffs on punitive damages for embassy bombings
It has been over two decades since al Qaeda operatives detonated bombs outside the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing over 200 people and injuring thousands more. The victims and their family members later filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking to hold Sudan responsible for its role in providing support… Read More