The Supreme Court released its calendar today for the December sitting, which begins on November 27. During the six days of the sitting, the justices will hear 10 oral arguments: Four of the days will feature two oral arguments each, while two days have only one oral argument scheduled each day. Highlights of the sitting include… Read More
Divided court opens door for Alabama execution (UPDATED 7:39 p.m.)
In a brief order entered this afternoon, the Supreme Court allowed the execution of an Alabama inmate to go forward. The state had asked the court to intervene after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit put the execution on hold; the ruling means that the execution of Jeffrey Borden can proceed as… Read More
Argument analysis: The justices get personal in probable-cause argument
When the justices took the bench this morning to hear oral argument in District of Columbia v. Wesby, there were two young children, dressed in their Sunday best, seated in the front row of the public section. The issues before the court in Wesby seemed like fairly dry ones: whether D.C. police officers had probable… Read More
Argument analysis: Cautious optimism for challengers in Wisconsin redistricting case?
Today may have been only the second day of the Supreme Court’s new term, but it may also prove to be one of the biggest. The justices heard oral argument in Gill v. Whitford, a challenge to the redistricting plan passed by Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled legislature in 2011. A federal court struck down the plan last… Read More
Justices issue second order list from “long conference”
Last week the Supreme Court issued orders from the justices’ private conference on September 25 – often known as the “long conference” because the justices are returning from their summer recess and must review all of the petitions that have accrued in their absence. Today the justices issued a second set of orders from that… Read More
Argument analysis: An epic day for employers in arbitration case? (UPDATED)
In the first oral argument of the new term, a divided Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold employment agreements that require an employee to resolve a dispute with an employer through individual arbitration, waiving the possibility of proceeding collectively. The conflict among the justices could be captured by two exchanges this morning. The first came… Read More
Missouri responds in abortion case
The state of Missouri today urged the Supreme Court to stay out of the dispute over two of the state’s abortion requirements. Last week, Planned Parenthood asked the justices to reinstate a lower court’s order blocking the state from enforcing those requirements, arguing that the requirements are identical to two Texas regulations that the Supreme… Read More
Justices issue orders from “long conference” (UPDATED)
[This post was updated at 12:45 p.m. to include more thorough discussions of Byrd v. United States, McCoy v. Louisiana, Rosales-Mireles v. United States, Hall v. Hall and the trio of cases consolidated under Dalmazzi v. United States.] This morning the Supreme Court issued orders from its September 25 conference, adding 11 new cases (for… Read More
Argument preview: Parties, probable cause and the Fourth Amendment
When District of Columbia police officers Andre Parker and Anthony Campanale responded to reports of unauthorized goings-on at a supposedly vacant home nearly a decade ago, they probably didn’t expect the evening’s events to lead to all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. But that’s exactly what happened in District of Columbia v. Wesby,… Read More
Justices take travel ban cases off October argument calendar
Today the Supreme Court announced that it had removed the challenges to President Donald Trump’s March 6 executive order, sometimes known as the “travel ban,” from its argument calendar for October. In a one-paragraph order issued this afternoon, the justices also directed the parties to file briefs by October 5 addressing whether the challenges are… Read More