Amy Howe

Nov 13 2023

Justices take up expert testimony question in “blind mule” drug-trafficking case

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether prosecutors in a drug-trafficking case can call a government witness to provide expert testimony to rebut the defendant’s assertion that she did not know that she was carrying drugs, a so-called “blind mule.” The announcement came on a list of orders released from the justices’ private… Read More

Nov 7 2023

Justices clear the way for Louisiana wetlands trial against oil companies to go forward

The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning declined to put a Louisiana trial seeking compensation for the “existential threat” posed by coastal land loss on hold while the defendants in the case, a group of oil companies, seek review of a state court decision rejecting their request to transfer the case. The oil companies had argued… Read More

Nov 7 2023

Justices appear wary of striking down domestic-violence gun restriction

The Supreme Court appeared ready to uphold a federal law that bars anyone subject to a domestic-violence restraining order from possessing a gun. During just over 90 minutes of oral argument on Tuesday, a majority of the justices seemed wary of the consequences of allowing a ruling by a federal appeals court that struck down… Read More

Nov 6 2023

Court to hear major gun-rights dispute over domestic-violence restrictions

A Texas man’s challenge to the constitutionality of a federal law that bars anyone subject to a domestic-violence restraining order from possessing a gun will come before the justices in oral argument on Tuesday. A federal appeals court in Louisiana agreed with Texan Zackey Rahimi, that the law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), violates the Second… Read More

Nov 3 2023

Justices take up bump stock dispute

Less than a week before the justices are scheduled to hear argument in a high-profile gun-rights case, the court added another dispute involving firearms to its docket for the 2023-24 term. In Garland v. Cargill, the justices will decide whether a “bump stock” – an attachment that transforms a semiautomatic rifle into a fully automatic,… Read More

Oct 26 2023

Major Second and First Amendment cases headline November sitting

With just over a year to go until the 2024 presidential elections, the shadow of former President Donald Trump – who is once again the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination – hovers over three of the seven cases in the court’s November argument session, which begins on Oct. 30. Trump once asked the justices… Read More

Oct 25 2023

Court lets Florida tribe continue with online sports betting

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to block a ruling by a federal appeals court that would allow a Native American tribe in Florida to take online sports bets. In a brief unsigned order, the justices turned down a request by two casinos located in Florida to put a decision by the U.S. Court of… Read More

Oct 20 2023

Justices allow federal government continued communication over social media content moderation

The Supreme Court on Friday granted a request from the Biden administration to temporarily block a lower court’s order that would limit the ability of government officials to communicate with social media companies about their content moderation policies. The Biden administration contends that it has sought only to “mitigate the hazards of online misinformation” by… Read More

Oct 20 2023

Supreme Court refuses to reinstate Missouri Second Amendment law

The Supreme Court on Friday refused a request by Missouri to reinstate a state law that bars police officers from enforcing federal restrictions on the sale and ownership of firearms that the state believes violate the Second Amendment. A federal judge ruled earlier this year that the state law is itself unconstitutional and blocked the… Read More

Oct 19 2023

Justices decline to intervene in Louisiana’s Republican-drawn voting map dispute

The Supreme Court on Thursday left in place an order by a federal appeals court canceling a hearing intended to draw a new congressional map for Louisiana. The order by the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit was the latest chapter in the ongoing battle over the map – and the third… Read More

Amy L Howe
Until September 2016, Amy served as the editor and reporter for SCOTUSblog, a blog devoted to coverage of the Supreme Court of the United States; she continues to serve as an independent contractor and reporter for SCOTUSblog. Before turning to full-time blogging, she served as counsel in over two dozen merits cases at the Supreme Court and argued two cases there. From 2004 until 2011, she co-taught Supreme Court litigation at Stanford Law School; from 2005 until 2013, she co-taught a similar class at Harvard Law School. She has also served as an adjunct professor at American University’s Washington College of Law and Vanderbilt Law School. Amy is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a master’s degree in Arab Studies and a law degree from Georgetown University.
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