The Supreme Court on Monday morning issued orders from the justices’ private conference last week. The court did not add any new cases to its docket for the 2022-23 term, nor did it seek the views of the federal government on any pending petitions. But the justices denied review in the case of an Arizona… Read More
Justices grant no new cases; Breyer reiterates doubts about constitutionality of capital punishment
Justices add new cases on bankruptcy, overtime pay, and federal civil rights claims
The Supreme Court on Monday added three new merits cases to its docket for the 2022-23 term. On a list of ordersfrom the justices’ private conference last week, the justices also called for the views of the U.S. solicitor general in two cases, and they declined to take up a pair of cases involving the… Read More
Boston violated First Amendment when it rejected Christian flag, court unanimously rules
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that the city of Boston violated the Constitution when it rejected an application to fly a Christian flag on one of the three flagpoles in front of city hall. Because the city program that allowed other private groups to raise and fly their own flags was not speech… Read More
In Austin sign spat, court declines to strike down billboard regulation under First Amendment
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a city ordinance that treats signs differently depending on whether they have a connection to the site where they are located is content-neutral – that is, it does not regulate speech based on content – and therefore not subject to strict scrutiny, the most stringent constitutional test. By… Read More
Court declines to hear death-row inmate’s claim of juror’s racial bias, prompting dissent from liberal justices
The Supreme Court on Monday morning issued orders from the justices’ private conference last Thursday. The justices did not add any new cases to their docket, and over the dissent of the three liberals, the court denied review in the case of a death-row inmate who argued that he was deprived of his right to… Read More
Justices add three new cases, including challenge to animal-welfare law and Warhol copyright dispute
The Supreme Court on Monday issued orders from the justices’ private conference last week, adding three new cases to next term’s docket. The new cases involve a challenge to an animal-welfare law in California, a death-penalty issue in Arizona, and a copyright dispute over an Andy Warhol work. The justices also turned down a request… Read More
Justices mull purpose of Hague Convention in international dispute over child custody
On Tuesday the justices considered what obligations, if any, U.S. courts have to consider measures that might reduce the risk of harm if a child who has been abducted is returned to the country where she lives. The oral argument in Golan v. Saada was the latest case asking the justices to interpret the Hague… Read More
Thomas is discharged from hospital; court gives no details on diagnosis or treatment
After nearly a week in the hospital, Justice Clarence Thomas was released on Friday morning, the Supreme Court announced. The court’s public information office did not provide any additional information about the health of the 73-year-old jurist. Thomas was hospitalized on the evening of Friday, March 18, with what the Supreme Court described as “flu-like… Read More
Court bars Texas from executing inmate unless it allows pastor’s touch and audible prayer
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a man on death row in Texas can have his pastor touch him and pray out loud while he is being executed. The decision in Ramirez v. Collier was the latest chapter in the nearly three-year-long dispute over the presence of spiritual advisers at executions, and the justices… Read More
College board’s censure of one of its members didn’t violate First Amendment, justices rule
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a community college board did not violate the First Amendment when it censured one of its trustees. The unanimous ruling was the latest episode in a long-running drama that pitted the Houston Community College System against David Wilson, a trustee and outspoken critic of the board. Wilson was… Read More