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

The Supreme Court will take up a case from North Carolina next term that could upend federal elections by eliminating virtually all oversight of those elections by state courts. On Thursday, the justices granted review in Moore v. Harper, a dispute arising from the state’s efforts to draw new congressional maps in response to the… Read More

The justices enter the final day of June with just two opinions remaining. It’s a big day at the court for other reasons as well: Justice Stephen Breyer will officially retire at noon on Thursday, and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in at the court in a ceremony that will be live-streamed on… Read More

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in as the newest Supreme Court justice at noon on Thursday, June 30. She will become the first Black woman ever to serve on the court. Jackson will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced Wednesday in a letter to President Joe Biden that he will make his retirement… Read More

A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a district court’s order that would have required the Louisiana legislature to draw new congressional maps, including a second majority-Black district. The three liberal justices dissented from the brief, unsigned order, which effectively clears the way for Louisiana to use its original map, which the district court found… Read More

With the announcement of three decisions on Monday, the justices still have four more cases left to release before they leave for their summer recess, involving important issues such as the “major questions” doctrine and whether the Biden administration must continue to enforce the “remain in Mexico” program. The justices are scheduled to release opinions… Read More

At last Thursday’s conference, the justices considered several high-profile petitions for review, involving issues like New York’s vaccine mandate for health-care workers, whether to overrule the court’s landmark decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, and whether to take up a redistricting case from North Carolina that could upend federal elections. But on Monday, the… Read More

This article was updated on June 27 at 1:59 p.m. The Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor of a high school football coach who lost his job because of his post-game prayers at the 50-yard line. By a vote of 6-3, the justices ruled that Joseph Kennedy’s conduct was protected by the First Amendment…. Read More

The Supreme Court issued two decisions on Friday, including its landmark decision overruling Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. But the justices still have seven more cases left to release before they leave for their summer recess, involving important issues such as religion, the “major questions” doctrine and whether the Biden administration must… Read More

This post was undated on June 24 at 3:09 p.m. The Supreme Court on Friday eliminated the constitutional right to obtain an abortion, casting aside 49 years of precedent that began with Roe v. Wade. The decision by Justice Samuel Alito will set off a seismic shift in reproductive rights across the United States. It will allow states… Read More

With the release of four more decisions on Thursday, June 23, the justices now have nine cases left to release before they leave for their summer recess. Some of those as-yet-undecided cases are high-profile ones involving issues like abortion and religion, but the justices are also tackling important issues such as the “major questions” doctrine… Read More