In their orders from last week’s private conference, the justices on Monday vacated the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Mckesson v. Doe, a case arising out of the Black Lives Matter movement, and sent the case back for another look – and with more information from state courts… Read More
Court won’t block extended deadline for North Carolina mail-in ballots (updated)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday night rejected a request by the Trump campaign and North Carolina Republicans to intervene in a dispute over the deadline for mail-in ballots in North Carolina. With three justices dissenting, the justices left in place an extension of the deadline for the receipt of mail-in ballots to nine days after… Read More
Court will not weigh in on Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot deadline before election
The Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon rejected a request by Pennsylvania Republicans to fast-track their challenge to a ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that requires election officials to count mail-in ballots received within three days after Election Day. Republican legislators and the Pennsylvania Republican Party had asked the justices on Friday to expedite consideration… Read More
Court will tackle dispute involving religious foster-care agency, LGBTQ rights
In the past five years, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage and that federal employment discrimination laws protect LGBTQ employees. On Nov. 4, the justices will hear oral argument in a clash between religious freedom and laws and policies that protect LGBTQ rights. The court’s decision in… Read More
Barrett confirmed as 115th justice
The Senate on Monday night confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett as the 115th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the fifth woman to serve on the court. The 48-year-old Barrett fills the seat previously held by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Sept. 18 of complications from pancreatic cancer. The 52-48 vote capped… Read More
Court declines to reinstate COVID-19 accommodations for elections in Wisconsin
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected requests from two groups of Wisconsin voters and the Democratic National Committee to reinstate modifications to election rules that a federal judge had ordered for the November election because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 5-3 ruling means that the the election will go forward without the accommodations, which included… Read More
Pennsylvania Republicans return to Supreme Court to challenge extended deadline for mail-in ballots
Four days after the justices left in place a ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that requires election officials in that state to count mail-in ballots received within three days after Election Day, Nov. 3, Pennsylvania Republicans returned to the Supreme Court. This time, rather than asking the court to put the state supreme court’s… Read More
Trump campaign, North Carolina Republicans ask justices to stop extension of absentee-ballot deadline (updated)
Two days after three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit urged them to “take this case up to the Supreme Court immediately,” the Trump campaign and North Carolina Republicans did exactly that, asking the justices to block an extension of the deadline for absentee ballots in that state to nine… Read More
Barrett nomination moves to Senate floor
Judge Amy Coney Barrett moved one step closer to becoming Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday. In a hearing that Democratic senators boycotted, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to send Barrett’s nomination to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the floor. The full Senate, where Republicans hold… Read More
Justices allow Alabama to restore ban on curbside voting
The Supreme Court on Wednesday night granted a request by Alabama election officials to allow them to ban curbside voting. The justices put on hold an order by a federal district judge that would have allowed counties to adopt curbside voting while the state appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit… Read More