The Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated a lawsuit by the National Rifle Association, alleging that a New York official violated the group’s First Amendment rights when she urged banks and insurance companies not to do business with it in the wake of the 2018 shooting at a Florida high school. In a unanimous decision by… Read More
Alito reject calls to recuse from Trump, Jan. 6 cases in light of flag controversies
Two weeks after the New York Times first reported that an upside-down American flag – popular among the “Stop the Steal” movement – flew outside the Virginia home of Justice Samuel Alito in the days following the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol, Alito rebuffed requests from Democratic lawmakers to recuse himself from… Read More
Supreme Court takes Clean Water Act case
The justices agreed to take up a Clean Water Act case brought by San Francisco against the Environmental Protection Agency in a scheduled list of orders on Tuesday. The case was the only addition to the justices’ docket for their 2024-25 term. And over a dissent by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the justices declined to decide… Read More
Court rules for South Carolina Republicans in dispute over congressional map
The Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a ruling by a federal district court holding that a congressional district on the South Carolina coast was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander – that is, it sorted voters based primarily on their race. In an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, the justices cleared the way for the state… Read More
Justices turn down parents’ challenge to school support plans for trans students
The Supreme Court did not add any new cases to its merits docket for the 2024-25 term in a scheduled list of written orders on Monday morning. The justices denied review in over 60 cases, including a challenge to a Maryland county’s guidelines to provide support for transgender students. In John and Jane Parents 1… Read More
Supreme Court lets CFPB funding stand
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the structure used to fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the federal agency tasked with enforcing consumer finance laws. By a vote of 7-2, the justices reversed a decision by a federal appeals court in Louisiana, which had ruled that the agency’s funding… Read More
Court allows Louisiana to move forward with two majority-Black districts
The Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for Louisiana to use a new congressional map, containing two majority-Black districts, in the 2024 elections. In a brief unsigned order the justices blocked a ruling by a federal court that had barred the state from using the new map on the ground that legislators had relied… Read More
Court declines death penalty case on jury selection
Over a written dissent by two justices, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a death penalty case asking them to weigh in on when jury selection begins and the defendant has a right to be present. The order in Sandoval v. Texas came as part of a list of orders from the… Read More
Court allows Texas to enforce age verification for online porn sites
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to temporarily block a Texas law that requires pornographic websites to verify their users’ ages. In a brief unsigned order, the justices turned down a request from a group of challengers that included an adult industry trade association to put the law on hold to give them time to… Read More
Supreme Court takes up RICO and veterans “benefit of the doubt” cases
In a list of orders released from the justices’ private conference last week, the justices granted review in four cases – adding those cases to the lone four cases that they have agreed to take up for the 2024-25 term since early January. Monday’s grants involve (among others) the interpretation of federal racketeering laws and… Read More