Despite a suggestion by Justice Neil Gorsuch that there was “radical agreement” in a California man’s challenge to the constitutionality of the “traffic impact mitigation” fee that he was required to pay when building his home, the justices appeared divided at oral argument on Tuesday. There may have been something approaching a consensus that (contrary… Read More
Justices to hear cross-examination dispute over drug analyst’s testimony
Jason Smith claims that when an expert witness testified in Arizona’s drug possession case against him using drug analysis performed by a former state employee, it violated his constitutional rights. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on Wednesday in his case, Smith v. Arizona. The Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause provides that “in all criminal… Read More
Court likely to take middle ground in No Fly List dispute
The Supreme Court on Monday heard oral argument in a dispute over whether a lawsuit filed by an Oregon man who was placed on the No Fly List can go forward when the government has removed him from the list and pledged not to return him to it “based on the currently available information.” After… Read More
Justices take up abortion case pitting state against federal law
The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon granted a request from Idaho and the state’s Republican-controlled legislature to temporarily put on hold a ruling by a federal district court that would require emergency rooms in the state to provide abortions to pregnant women in an emergency. The justices agreed to weigh in on the question at… Read More
Supreme Court agrees to hear Trump plea to remain on Colorado ballot
The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to review a ruling by a Colorado court that barred former President Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s Republican primary ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. In a brief, unsigned order issued on Friday afternoon, the justices granted a… Read More
Court schedules February argument session
A pair of challenges to controversial social media laws in Texas and Florida and a dispute over whether to freeze the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to reduce ozone levels across the United States headline the Supreme Court’s February 2024 argument calendar, which was released on Friday morning. The justices will hear 10 hours of oral… Read More
Latest property rights fight comes before justices
When George Sheetz applied in 2016 to build a single-family home on property that he owned, the California county where he lived required him to pay a “traffic impact mitigation” fee, totaling more than $23,000, before it would issue the permit. The county issued the fee to cover costs that the new construction was likely… Read More
Trump asks Supreme Court to keep him on 2024 Colorado ballot
In a filing on Wednesday former President Donald Trump told the justices that the “Colorado Supreme Court has no authority to deny” him a place on the state’s ballot in the 2024 presidential election. Trump asked the justices to overturn a ruling by the state supreme court that would leave him off Colorado’s primary ballot… Read More
Supreme Court to consider whether Oregon man can sue FBI over No Fly List
In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. government created a “No Fly List” – a list of people whom the government believes pose enough of a risk to national security that they should not be allowed to board a commercial flight through U.S. airspace. On Jan. 8, in FBI v. Fikre,… Read More
Biden appeals to justices over Texas-Border Patrol dispute
The Biden administration came to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking the justices to block an order by a federal appeals court that generally bars federal Border Patrol agents from cutting or moving razor wire installed by Texas along a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. Representing the federal government, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told… Read More