Covering the Supreme Court and the Judiciary in (mostly) Plain English

The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in the case of Robert McCoy, a Louisiana death-row inmate who says that he should get a new trial because his own lawyer told jurors that he was guilty – over McCoy’s express objection. After just over an hour of spirited debate, the justices seemed sympathetic to McCoy’s… Read More

The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in the case of several members of the armed forces, who were convicted by military courts-martial of offenses ranging from the relatively minor (wrongful use of a controlled substance) to the serious (sexual misconduct). They appealed to the military courts of criminal appeals (CCAs), where their convictions were… Read More

The Supreme Court issued additional orders this morning from last Friday’s conference. The justices added 12 new cases, for a total of 11 hours of argument, to their calendar for this term last week, but they did not add any new cases today. After announcing on Friday that they would review a pair of appeals… Read More

(Note: This post was updated to add additional discussion of today’s order list, beginning after the discussion of Animal Sciences Products.) With time running out to add new cases to its merits docket for this term (at least without expedited briefing schedules), the Supreme Court announced this afternoon that it would take on 12 new… Read More

In 2011, Robert McCoy was tried on three counts of first-degree murder for the 2008 shooting deaths of Christine and Willie Young – the mother and stepfather of McCoy’s estranged wife, Yolanda – and Gregory Colston, Yolanda’s son, in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. Although McCoy steadfastly maintained that he was innocent, his attorney took a different… Read More

The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in a challenge to a practice that Ohio uses to maintain its voter-registration lists. Under Ohio law, a voter who does not vote for two years is sent a notice, which asks him to confirm that he is still eligible to vote. If the voter does not return… Read More

The Supreme Court spent the first hour of oral arguments yesterday debating the Fourth Amendment, privacy rights and rental cars. The Fourth Amendment was also the focus of the second hour, when the justices heard oral argument in Collins v. Virginia. In Collins, the question before the court was the scope of the “automobile exception”… Read More

The Fourth Amendment and vehicle searches dominated oral arguments at the Supreme Court today. First up was Byrd v. United States, in which the justices are considering whether the driver of a rental car who was not included as an authorized driver on the rental agreement, but had the renter’s permission to use the car,… Read More

In 2006, Congress – relying on its power under Article I of the Constitution to regulate the armed forces – created the United States Court of Military Commission Review. That court, known as the CMCR, hears appeals from military commissions, such as the one created at Guantanamo to try enemy combatants. Federal law outlines two… Read More

This morning the Supreme Court issued orders from last Friday’s conference. The justices did not add any new cases to their merits docket, but they did issue a summary ruling in the case of a Georgia death-row inmate and called for the views of the U.S. solicitor general in three cases. The summary decision came… Read More