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

On Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Biden v. Texas, in which the justices will decide whether the Biden administration must continue to enforce a Trump-era program known as the “remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they wait for a hearing in U.S. immigration… Read More

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request to temporarily block a school board in the Washington, D.C., suburbs from using its new admissions policy to select students for a STEM magnet school widely regarded as one of the best in the country. The school board says the policy is aimed at increasing socioeconomic diversity…. Read More

Joseph Kennedy had never coached football when Bremerton High School, a public school near Seattle, Washington, hired him in 2008. He was too small to play in high school, and his football experience was limited to playing for two years while he was in Hawaii serving in the Marines. Kennedy describes the school district’s decision… Read More

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block the execution of Tennessee inmate Oscar Smith, who had been scheduled to die at 8 p.m. EDT. However, shortly after the justices turned down Smith’s appeal, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called off the execution, citing an “oversight” in the preparations for the lethal injection. Smith was convicted… Read More

The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down a request from a 78-year-old Texas inmate to block his execution. Justice Stephen Breyer, who has previously questioned the constitutionality of the death penalty and criticized lengthy delays in how it is carried out, wrote a one-paragraph statement in which he reiterated those concerns. But neither Breyer nor… Read More

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a city ordinance that treats signs differently depending on whether they have a connection to the site where they are located is content-neutral – that is, it does not regulate speech based on content – and therefore not subject to strict scrutiny, the most stringent constitutional test. By… Read More

The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a plea from a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve to block the Air Force from disciplining him because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19. Three justices – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch – indicated that they would have granted the request and allowed him… Read More

The Supreme Court on Monday morning issued orders from the justices’ private conference last Thursday. The justices did not add any new cases to their docket, and over the dissent of the three liberals, the court denied review in the case of a death-row inmate who argued that he was deprived of his right to… Read More

By a vote of 53-47, the Senate on Thursday afternoon confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the 116th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Jackson will become the first Black woman to serve on the court, fulfilling a campaign promise by then-candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. By the time the Senate met… Read More

The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked 11-11 along party lines on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, who plans to retire from the Supreme Court this summer. Despite the tie vote on Monday, Jackson’s nomination can still go to the Senate floor using a procedure known as a discharge petition… Read More