California homeowner George Sheetz won a victory at the Supreme Court on Friday in his challenge to the constitutionality of a fee that he was required to pay the county to receive a permit to build his home. In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the justices agreed with Sheetz that conditions… Read More
Jan. 6 defendant asks Supreme Court to throw out obstruction charge
The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on April 16 in the case of a former police officer from Pennsylvania who entered the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks. Joseph Fischer, who was charged with (among other things) assaulting a police officer, disorderly conduct in the Capitol, and obstruction of a congressional proceeding, has… Read More
Supreme Court appears likely to allow abortion drug to remain available
The Supreme Court on Tuesday signaled that it was likely to allow mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions, to remain widely available in the United States. During roughly 90 minutes of oral arguments, a majority of the justices appeared ready to throw out the dispute over the FDA’s expansion of access to… Read More
Abortion access again before Supreme Court
Since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in 2022, 14 states have enforced total bans on abortion and seven have imposed previously unconstitutional restrictions. On Tuesday, the justices will hear arguments in a case seeking to roll back access to mifepristone, the drug used in medication abortions, which account for more… Read More
South Carolina Republicans ask justices to let district ruled a racial gerrymander go forward
Telling the justices that if they do not intervene they will create “confusion and uncertainty over this year’s elections,” a group of Republican lawmakers from South Carolina came to the Supreme Court this week, asking the justices to block a ruling by a federal court holding that one congressional district in the map adopted by… Read More
Court hears Texas city council member’s retaliatory arrest claim
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in the case of a Texas city council member who contends that she was arrested in retaliation for her criticism of the city’s manager. During just under 90 minutes of oral argument, the justices struggled to determine what kind of evidence plaintiffs in such cases need to… Read More
Supreme Court allows Texas to enforce state deportation law
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Texas to enforce a controversial law that would allow state law enforcement officials to arrest individuals suspected of entered the United States illegally. Although the court did not provide an explanation for its decision, Justice Amy Coney Barrett – in a concurring opinion joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh –… Read More
Texas city council member argues retaliatory arrest
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday in the case of a 76-year-old Texas woman, Sylvia Gonzalez, who was arrested on charges that she had violated a state law that prohibits tampering with government records. The charges against her were dropped, but Gonzalez brought a federal civil rights claim against three city officials,… Read More
Supreme Court rules No Fly List dispute can go forward
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a lawsuit filed by an Oregon man who was placed on the No Fly List can go forward even after the government has removed him from the list and pledged not to return him to it “based on the currently available information.” In a unanimous decision authored by… Read More
Court sympathetic to NRA’s free speech claim
The Supreme Court on Monday appeared sympathetic to the National Rifle Association’s claim that a New York official violated the group’s right to freedom of speech when she urged banks and insurance companies that worked with the NRA to cut ties with the group. During just over an hour of oral arguments, justices of all… Read More