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

When the justices return to the bench today, they will hear oral arguments in the case of Texas death-row inmate Duane Buck. Buck’s challenge to his sentence stems from testimony at his sentencing hearing, where a psychologist hired by his own lawyers told jurors that blacks are statistically more likely to be dangerous. The issue… Read More

After slightly less than an hour of oral arguments in the case of Lawrence Shaw, who was convicted on bank fraud charges after he stole over $300,000 from Stanley Hsu’s checking account, it seemed clear that, although Shaw and other similarly situated defendants would lose the war, Shaw could at least win the battle. The… Read More

The official start to the Supreme Court’s new term will come on Monday, when the eight justices will convene for a non-argument session at 10 a.m. But the unofficial start came at 9:30 a.m. this morning, when the justices released an initial round of orders from their September 26 conference, which was the first conference… Read More

Last term I repeatedly lamented the dearth of female advocates arguing at the court — and, in particular, the infrequency with which women from private law firms appeared. The October hearing list has been released, and things are already off to a much better start. Three different women from private law firms will argue: Lisa… Read More

It’s the 1980s all over again – shoulder pads, synthesizers, bomber jackets and insider trading. But in 2016, the defendant in the biggest insider trading case of the year isn’t a high-profile Wall Street denizen like Ivan Boesky or “junk bond king” Michael Milken: The main character in this story is a Chicago grocery wholesaler… Read More

The justices of the Supreme Court normally return to the bench to hear the first oral arguments of the new term on the first Monday in October. But this year “First Monday” coincides with Rosh Hashanah, so oral arguments in the October Term 2016 won’t actually begin until Tuesday. In the second case that day,… Read More

Last week a Virginia transgender student who identifies as a boy and wants to be allowed to use the boys’ bathroom at his local high school filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to stay out of the dispute. The brief was filed just fifteen days – half of the thirty days available to him… Read More

When early voting starts in Ohio next month, it will not include “Golden Week” – a window at the start of the early voting period in which voters can both register to vote and vote on the same day. The state implemented Golden Week in the wake of the 2004 presidential election, when many Ohio… Read More

Ten days after the Supreme Court rejected North Carolina’s request to enforce the state’s new voter identification requirement for the November presidential elections, today the Justices also declined to step into a battle between Michigan and a group of non-profits and individuals challenging the state’s elimination of “straight-ticket voting” – which allows voters to cast… Read More

[UPDATE: On Monday, September 12, Ohio Democrats filed their reply to the state’s brief opposing the Democrats’ request to halt the Sixth Circuit’s ruling and preserve “Golden Week.”] Emphasizing that Ohio actually offers its citizens a longer window in which to vote than most states, today state officials urged the Justices to turn down a… Read More