Ten years ago, in AT&T v. Concepcion, the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act requires courts to put arbitration agreements “on an equal footing with other contracts.” Concepcion involved a state law that treated arbitration clauses unfavorably. On Monday, the court agreed to hear a lawsuit from a fast-food worker who alleges that… Read More

The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared divided over a Texas inmate’s plea to have his pastor touch him and pray out loud while he is being executed. The justices have wrestled with the question of spiritual advisers at executions for two and a half years, but Tuesday’s oral argument in Ramirez v. Collier was the… Read More

On Oct. 21, when Willie Smith III was executed in Alabama for the 1991 murder of Sharma Ruth Johnson, his pastor was at his side. Witnesses reported that the pastor, Robert Wiley, put his hand on Smith’s leg and appeared to pray with him. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a… Read More

This post was updated on Nov. 1 at 5:45 p.m. The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Monday in two challenges to S.B. 8, the Texas law that bans almost all abortions in the state. After nearly three hours of argument by four different lawyers, the justices appeared likely to allow the case brought by… Read More

Monday marked the 125th running of the Boston Marathon, moved from April to October this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear the United States’ effort to reinstate the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted for his role in the 2013 bombings at the finish line of… Read More

The justices on Wednesday were skeptical of efforts by a Guantanamo Bay detainee to obtain testimony and documents about his treatment under the U.S. government’s torture program at CIA “black sites” in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. The government has contended that the information is protected by the “state secrets” privilege, a doctrine that… Read More

It has been just over 20 years since the Sept. 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in the worst terrorist attack in modern history. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in yet another legal battle arising from the government’s response to the attacks – specifically, the government’s efforts to block the disclosure… Read More

When the justices of the Supreme Court returned to the courtroom on Monday for the first time since March of 2020, the atmosphere was simultaneously familiar and yet very different. The justices heard oral arguments in a pair of cases that epitomize the bread and butter of the court’s docket: a long-running water-rights dispute and… Read More

The Supreme Court on Friday held an investiture ceremony for Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Although Barrett was sworn in as a justice shortly after her confirmation nearly a year ago, the investiture – a brief ceremony at which the court officially receives a new justice’s commission – was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And… Read More

Three days before the justices are scheduled to return to the courtroom for the first time since March 2020, the Supreme Court announced on Friday morning that Justice Brett Kavanaugh has tested positive for COVID-19. The 56-year-old justice has no symptoms and has been fully vaccinated since January, the press release from the court’s Public… Read More