This morning the Supreme Court issued orders from the justices’ private conference last week. The justices did not act on two cases that have been repeatedly relisted in recent weeks, a death-penalty case from Texas and the federal government’s challenge to one of California’s “sanctuary state” laws, which prohibit state and local law-enforcement officials from… Read More
Decisive win for health insurers seeking compensation for ACA losses
Today the Supreme Court ruled that health-insurance companies that lost money offering policies on the “health benefit exchanges” established by the Affordable Care Act are entitled to compensation for their losses. The decision was a major victory for the four insurers, which argued that they are owed hundreds of millions of dollars, and a defeat… Read More
Court sends New York Second Amendment case back to lower courts without ruling on the merits
The Supreme Court sent a major Second Amendment case back to the lower courts today, ruling that the challenge to a New York City restriction on the transport of guns is “moot” – that is, no longer a live controversy – because the city changed the rule last year. But some of the court’s more… Read More
No pause from Supreme Court for “public charge” rule during COVID-19 pandemic
Earlier this year, a divided Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the green light to enforce the “public charge” rule, which governs the admission of immigrants into the United States, while the government appeals orders by district courts in New York and Illinois that blocked it from doing so. Tonight the justices turned down pleas… Read More
“There’s got to be a better way to do this”
For many people, the Appalachian Trail, a 2,180-mile public footpath through the Appalachian Mountains, is a valued resource for exercise and recreation. But at the Supreme Court last February, it was serious business – so much so that Maury Johnson, Katherine Wilkin and many others spent a cold night on the sidewalk, waiting in line… Read More
Government responds to request for temporary hold on “public charge” rule due to pandemic
Last week a group of state and local governments, led by New York, asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block the government from implementing the “public charge” rule governing the admission of immigrants to the United States. The motion followed a January ruling by a divided Supreme Court that granted a request by the Trump… Read More
Justices add computer fraud case to merits docket
This morning the Supreme Court issued orders from the justices’ private conference last week. The justices added one new case to their merits docket for next term, a case involving the interpretation of federal computer fraud laws. In Van Buren v. United States, the justices agreed to decide whether it is a federal crime for… Read More
Broad consensus on a narrow win for business in Superfund dispute
In December the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a dispute arising out of the Anaconda Smelter, which refined copper ore in southwestern Montana but also became a major polluter and, eventually, a “Superfund” site whose cleanup was supervised by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The case pits Atlantic Richfield Co., which owned the smelter… Read More
With debate over adherence to precedent, justices scrap nonunanimous jury rule
In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment guarantees a right to a unanimous jury – but that defendants in state trials do not have such a right. Today, by a vote of 6-3, the justices reversed course, holding that the Sixth Amendment establishes a right to a unanimous jury that applies in… Read More
Faced with a pandemic, the Supreme Court pivots
It has been one month since the Supreme Court announced on March 16 that, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, it would cancel its March argument session, which was slated to include the disputes over access to President Donald Trump’s financial records. On April 3, the justices announced that their April argument session, which had… Read More