[UPDATE: The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association responded to the city’s letter, calling it “both premature and procedurally improper.” On July 8, the Supreme Court’s electronic docket indicated that the letter had not been accepted for filing.] In January, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to New York City’s ban on… Read More
2020 census questionnaires go to printer without citizenship question– but government says it will continue to look for “path forward” (UPDATED)
UPDATE: In the wake of tweets from President Donald Trump branding as “fake” the news that the federal government was dropping its quest to include a question about citizenship on the 2020 census, U.S. District Judge George Hazel called for a telephone conference call in the proceedings in Maryland on Wednesday, July 3. During the… Read More
Court releases October calendar
With all the decisions from October Term 2018 now released, the Supreme Court began to look ahead to the fall today, releasing its oral argument calendar for October. The justices will tackle one of the highest-profile issues of the term almost immediately, when they hear oral argument in a trio of cases involving whether federal… Read More
Justices will weigh in on DACA termination
This morning the Supreme Court added another blockbuster to its docket for next term, with the announcement that it will take up the challenge to the Trump administration’s decision to end the program known as “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,” or “DACA.” Established by the Obama administration in 2012, DACA allowed undocumented immigrants who had… Read More
No role for courts in partisan gerrymandering
The Supreme Court issued a decision today that could have a significant and long-term effect on elections and legislatures across the country. By a vote of 5-4, the justices ruled that courts should stay out of disputes over partisan gerrymandering – that is, allegations that redistricting maps were drawn to favor one political party at… Read More
Court orders do-over on citizenship question in census case
The fate of a question about citizenship on the 2020 census remains up in the air today. Although the Trump administration had hoped that the Supreme Court would clear the way for it to include such a question, the justices instead sent the issue back to the Department of Commerce. In a deeply fractured opinion,… Read More
Divided court throws out additional jail time for sex offender
In 2010, Andre Haymond was convicted of possessing child pornography and sentenced to 38 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was also required to register as a sex offender. In 2015, a federal district court sent Haymond back to prison for five more years because he had violated the terms… Read More
Challengers urge justices not to decide racial-discrimination claim in census case
With less than 24 hours before the justices are expected to issue their final decisions of the term, yet another filing in the dispute over the decision to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census arrived at the Supreme Court. This one came from the challengers in the case, who urged the justices… Read More
Opinion analysis: Justices leave agency deference doctrine in place – with limits (Updated)
A divided Supreme Court issued a major opinion on administrative law today. The justices declined to overrule a longstanding line of cases instructing courts to defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own regulation – a doctrine sometimes known as “Auer deference.” But in an opinion by Justice Elena Kagan, the court made clear that… Read More
Government responds in census case; 4th Circuit remands Maryland case for more fact-finding (Updated)
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the challenge to the Trump administration’s decision to include a question about citizenship on the 2020 census by the end of the week. But even as the justices presumably push to finalize their opinion in the case, new developments – both at the Supreme Court and elsewhere… Read More