UPDATE: On Friday, October 19, Chief Justice John Roberts put discovery and the trial on hold until the plaintiffs respond to the government’s request and the justices can rule on that request. The plaintiffs’ response is due on Wednesday, October 24, at 3 p.m. In July, the Supreme Court declined to intervene in a lawsuit filed by… Read More
Court issues new circuit assignments
Thirteen days after Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as the Supreme Court’s newest associate justice, the court today issued a new set of circuit justice assignments, which take effect immediately. The new list was the second one in the past few months, replacing the assignment list issued after Justice Anthony Kennedy retired on July 31, leaving… Read More
Quiet day for orders
This morning the Supreme Court issued orders from the justices’ private conference last week – the first one in which the court’s newest justice, Brett Kavanaugh, participated. On Friday afternoon, the justices had announced that they had granted review in one new case, involving the application of the First Amendment to the private operator of… Read More
Justices take on one new case
The justices met today for their private conference – their first with the Supreme Court’s newest member, Justice Brett Kavanaugh. They announced only one new grant from that conference this afternoon, in a relatively low-profile but potentially significant case. In Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, the justices agreed to review a ruling by the… Read More
Court releases December calendar
Today the Supreme Court released the oral argument calendar for its December sitting, which begins on Monday, November 26. The December sitting contains some of the highest-profile cases granted (at least so far) for this term, including Apple v. Pepper, in which the justices will consider whether customers who purchased iPhone apps from Apple’s App… Read More
Court stays out of North Dakota voting dispute
The Supreme Court today declined to intervene in a challenge to a North Dakota law that requires voters to present identification that includes a current residential street address. Lawyers say that the ruling will prevent thousands of Native American voters (and tens of thousands of North Dakota residents who are not Native Americans) from casting… Read More
Today’s orders: No new grants, one CVSG
There was intense interest in today’s oral arguments, scheduled for 10 a.m., because newly confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh would take the bench for the first time. But before that, the justices issued orders from last week’s private conference. They did not add any new cases to their docket, and they did not act at all… Read More
Kavanaugh confirmed as 114th justice (Updated)
[UPDATE: The Supreme Court announced that Kavanaugh will be sworn in today by Chief Justice John Roberts and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom Kavanaugh clerked. The ceremony will take place at the court and will allow Kavanaugh to “begin to participate in the work of the Court immediately,” a press release stated. A formal… Read More
Kavanaugh nomination moves toward final vote, with confirmation seemingly guaranteed
The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy moved toward the final vote today, after a divided Senate voted in favor of cloture – a technical term for a procedure that limits debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination by creating a 30-hour window within which the Senate… Read More
Federal government asks justices to intervene in census dispute (Updated)
[UPDATE on Friday, October 5: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg turned down the government’s request this afternoon, but she left open the possibility that the government could return to the Supreme Court before the depositions, which are currently scheduled for October 10 and 11, go forward. Ginsburg indicated that the application to block the depositions was… Read More