Amy Howe

Dec 18 2017

Trump administration goes to justices over abortion for undocumented teen (UPDATED)

Two months ago, a 17-year-old pregnant teenager who had been caught trying to enter the United States won an order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit clearing the way for her to have an abortion. She obtained the abortion the next day, before the Trump administration could go to… Read More

Dec 18 2017

For the third time, justices take on union-fee issue: In Plain English

Like many employees, Mark Janus was upset about deductions from his paycheck – specifically, the roughly $45 per month that goes to the local branch of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the union that represents him. But unlike most employees, Janus – a child-support specialist at the state’s Department of Healthcare… Read More

Dec 11 2017

Justices take on First Amendment challenge to state abortion disclosure laws: In Plain English

In 2015, California lawmakers enacted the Reproductive Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency Act. The law, known as the Reproductive FACT Act, responded to concerns that crisis pregnancy centers – nonprofit organizations, often affiliated with Christian groups, that are opposed to abortion – were posing as full-service reproductive health clinics and providing pregnant women with… Read More

Dec 11 2017

No new grants today

After adding seven new cases to their merits docket on Friday, the justices issued additional orders from last week’s conference. They did not add any more new cases to their docket, but they did deny review in a high-profile case in which they had been asked to decide whether a federal civil rights law barring… Read More

Dec 8 2017

Court blocks DACA discovery orders – at least for now

Tonight a divided Supreme Court put on hold a set of lower-court orders that would require the federal government to turn over additional documents related to the Trump administration’s decision to end the policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – a Obama-administration program that allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the United States… Read More

Dec 8 2017

Court adds seven new cases to merits docket

The Supreme Court issued a preliminary set of orders from its conference today, adding seven new cases to its merits docket for the term. The new cases include a high-profile Maryland gerrymandering case, a dispute over federal sentencing laws and an effort to limit successive class actions. In October, the justices heard oral argument in… Read More

Dec 5 2017

Argument analysis: Conservative majority leaning toward ruling for Colorado baker (UPDATED)

[Note: This post was updated at 2:49 p.m. to provide expanded analysis of the argument.] Lines began forming outside the Supreme Court last week for one of the biggest oral arguments of the year, in the case of a Colorado man who says that requiring him to create custom cakes for same-sex weddings would violate… Read More

Dec 4 2017

Argument analysis: Subdued justices parse immunity law

These days, the Supreme Court is known as a “hot bench”: Lawyers who argue there usually have to respond to a barrage of questions from all sides. That fast and furious questioning can make it hard for advocates to advance their arguments, but it also makes it easier for both the attorneys and spectators to… Read More

Dec 4 2017

Justices allow full travel ban to go into effect while government appeals

This afternoon the Supreme Court granted the federal government’s request to allow it to enforce the full set of restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump’s September 24 proclamation, often known as the “travel ban.” The proclamation limits the entry into the United States of nationals from eight countries – Iran, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Syria… Read More

Dec 4 2017

Argument analysis: Justices seem to side with state on sports betting

The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in New Jersey’s challenge to a 1992 federal law that bars states from allowing sports gambling such as UFABET ฟุตบอลและกีฬา. New Jersey and members of the state’s horse-racing industry told the justices that the law violates the Constitution, which the Supreme Court has interpreted to prohibit the federal… 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.
Tweets by @AHoweBlogger
Recent ScotusBlog Posts from Amy
  • David Souter, retired Supreme Court justice, dies at 85
  • Venezuelan TPS recipients tell justices to let status stand
  • Government asks justices to allow DHS to revoke parole for a half-million noncitizens
More from Amy Howe

Recent Posts

  • Court appears to back legality of HHS preventative care task force
  • Justices take up Texas woman’s claim against USPS
  • Supreme Court considers parents’ efforts to exempt children from books with LGBTQ themes
  • Justices temporarily bar government from removing Venezuelan men under Alien Enemies Act
  • Court hears challenge to ACA preventative-care coverage
PREV 1 … 141 142 143 … 166 NEXT
Site built and optimized by Sound Strategies