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

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. government created a “No Fly List” – a list of people whom the government believes pose enough of a risk to national security that they should not be allowed to board a commercial flight through U.S. airspace. On Jan. 8, in FBI v. Fikre,… Read More

The Biden administration came to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking the justices to block an order by a federal appeals court that generally bars federal Border Patrol agents from cutting or moving razor wire installed by Texas along a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. Representing the federal government, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told… Read More

In his annual report, Chief Justice John Roberts on Sunday addressed the future of artificial intelligence in the judiciary. Roberts predicted that “human judges will be around for a while,” but he also suggested that “judicial work—particularly at the trial level—will be significantly affected by AI,” and he assured members of the public that committees… Read More

Lawyers for Colorado’s Republican Party came to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, asking the justices to overturn a ruling by that state’s highest court that would leave former President Donald Trump off Colorado’s primary ballot in 2024 because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Lawyer Jay Sekulow told… Read More

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith to decide, without waiting for a federal appeals court to weigh in, whether former President Donald Trump can be tried on criminal charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Smith had asked the justices to act quickly… Read More

Special Counsel Jack Smith rejected as “misguided” the suggestion by lawyers for former President Donald Trump that the Supreme Court should wait to decide whether Trump can be tried on charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Emphasizing that the charges against Trump “are of the utmost gravity,” Smith contended… Read More

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon to turn down a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith to decide now whether Trump can be tried on criminal charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Lawyer D. John Sauer acknowledged that an “erroneous denial of… Read More

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in February on whether to freeze a plan created by the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce ozone levels across the United States while litigation over the plan continues in a federal appeals court. The EPA maintains that the plan “provides important public benefits.” But the challengers, which include… Read More

The Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon declined to temporarily block an Illinois law that bans the purchase, sale, possession, and manufacture of assault-style weapons. In a brief unsigned order, without any explanation, the justices denied a request to intervene after two lower courts rejected requests to put the law on hold. There were no recorded… Read More

Two days after Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the justices to decide quickly whether former President Donald Trump can face criminal charges for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 elections, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could affect the charges against Trump even if the court ultimately rules that he… Read More