A deadlocked Supreme Court on Monday let stand a lower-court ruling that requires Pennsylvania election officials to count absentee ballots received within three days after Election Day, Nov. 3, even if they are not postmarked. In two brief orders issued shortly after 7 p.m., the justices denied, without explanation, a request by Republicans to put… Read More
Supreme Court leaves in place order requiring Pennsylvania to count absentee ballots after Election Day
Justices take up Fourth Amendment case
The Supreme Court issued more orders on Monday from the justices’ private conference last week, adding three new cases to their merits docket for the term. In addition to cases involving the census (added on Friday) and two cases involving the Trump administration’s efforts to stem immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border, the justices announced that… Read More
Justices take up border-wall, “remain in Mexico” cases
The Supreme Court announced on Monday morning that it would take up two cases arising out of the Trump administration’s effort to stem immigration through the United States’ border with Mexico. The justices granted review to weigh in on the long-running dispute over the funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall, as well as the… Read More
Court fast-tracks census appeal
The Supreme Court announced on Friday afternoon that it would expedite an appeal by the Trump administration in a dispute over the administration’s plan to exclude people who are in the country illegally from the state-by-state breakdown of the population for use in the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives. The justices will… Read More
Barrett’s record suggests willingness to uphold abortion restrictions
As a presidential candidate in 2016, Donald Trump pledged to appoint “pro-life” justices. As a result, he told Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, the Supreme Court would “automatically” overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision establishing the right to obtain an abortion. At this ongoing week’s confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s… Read More
Wisconsin voters ask Supreme Court to reinstate COVID-19 accommodations for upcoming elections (updated)
Two different groups of Wisconsin voters came to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking the justices to reinstate three modifications to election rules that a federal district judge had ordered for the upcoming election because of the coronavirus pandemic. The groups want the justices to block a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for… Read More
Supreme Court will consider constitutional status of administrative patent judges
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a trio of petitions seeking review of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit holding that administrative patent judges of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office must be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate…. Read More
Trump asks justices to block New York grand jury subpoena
President Donald Trump returned to the Supreme Court on Tuesday in the dispute over efforts by a Manhattan district attorney to obtain access to the president’s financial records. Telling the justices that a federal trial judge had “stacked the deck against the President,” Trump asked the justices to freeze a ruling by the U.S. Court… Read More
Justices to continue remote arguments through the end of the year
The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would continue to hear oral argument by telephone for the rest of the calendar year. In a press release from the court’s Public Information Office, the court indicated that, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the justices and lawyers will participate in the arguments scheduled for the… Read More
Justices delay action on FDA request to reinstate abortion-pill restrictions
The Supreme Court on Friday put off action on a request from the Food and Drug Administration to reinstate a federal requirement that a pill used to induce abortion in the early stages of pregnancy be picked up in person from a health care provider. A federal district court in Maryland had suspended the requirement… Read More