Last month President Donald Trump blasted a ruling by a federal judge in San Francisco that blocked the government from enforcing a rule that would prohibit immigrants who enter the country illegally from requesting asylum. Trump criticized U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar, who issued the order, as an “Obama judge” and predicted that the government… Read More

The Supreme Court kicked off its December sitting last week, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the bench after fracturing her ribs in a fall at her office. Hear more about last week at the court, including the oral arguments in a dispute over Apple’s sale of apps to iPhone users and the second… Read More

It is rare to ask the Supreme Court to hear a case before a federal appeals court has had an opportunity to weigh in. But yesterday the Trump administration made its second such request in less than 20 days, this time urging the justices to take up three cases (here, here and here) challenging the… Read More

In my latest podcast, I look back at some of the events of the week of November 5 at the Supreme Court, including the first opinion of the term, the formal investiture of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and the announcement that 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had broken three ribs in a fall at her office.

The Supreme Court was not in session last week, but there was still sad news: Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced that she has been diagnosed with dementia and will no longer participate in public life. I cover O’Connor’s announcement and other news from the court in my latest podcast.

The Supreme Court gave the federal government a partial victory tonight in a dispute over discovery in the challenge to the government’s decision to reinstate a question about citizenship on the 2020 census. Without any publicly recorded objections, the justices kept on hold plans to depose Wilbur Ross, the Secretary of Commerce, about the decision…. Read More

During the week of October 15, things were fairly quiet at the Supreme Court, where the justices issued orders but did not take the bench. But Chief Justice John Roberts gave a speech in Minnesota, seeking to assuage concerns that the court is a political institution. I cover the Roberts speech and the rest of… Read More

On October 9, Justice Brett Kavanaugh took the bench for the first time to hear oral arguments. In this podcast, I discuss the week’s orders, oral arguments, and — perhaps most importantly — emergency appeals.

Tennessee had planned to execute Edmund Zagorski, who is on death row for the 1984 murders of John Dale Dotson and Jimmy Porter, tonight. The Supreme Court would have allowed the execution to go forward, but the state’s governor gave Zagorski a brief reprieve to provide the state with enough time to prepare the electric… Read More

Tonight Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg granted the federal government’s request to put off the depositions of two high-level Trump administration officials, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and John Gore, the acting head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Gore’s deposition had been scheduled for tomorrow morning, and Ross’ for Thursday, in a challenge… Read More