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

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stop the execution of Robert Roberson, who was scheduled to be killed by lethal injection in Texas Thursday night for the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki. Prosecutors had argued that Nikki suffered from shaken baby syndrome, a diagnosis for certain brain injuries that has since been… Read More

The Supreme Court on Wednesday left in place a rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in May to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by power plants. In a brief order, the justices turned down a request from states, energy companies, and other industry groups to put the rule on hold while their challenge in… Read More

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sent a challenge to a Pennsylvania law barring people 18- to 20-years-old from carrying guns back to the lower courts for another look in light of last term’s decision in United States v. Rahimi, in which the justices attempted to provide guidance for courts reviewing Second Amendment challenges to restrictions… Read More

Last year’s order putting Richard Glossip’s execution on hold to give the Supreme Court more time to consider his appeals would have required the votes of at least five justices, though which justices voted to take up the case was not made public. Glossip will need five votes again to prevail on his request to… Read More

The justices on Tuesday were divided over a dispute regarding attorney’s fees for plaintiffs in civil rights cases. A federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., ruled that a group of drivers challenging a state motor vehicle law was entitled to reimbursement of their attorney’s fees because a federal district court had issued an order that… Read More

The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared ready to uphold a 2022 federal rule regulating so-called “ghost guns” – untraceable weapons without serial numbers, assembled from components or kits that can be bought online. Defending the rule, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar described an “explosion in crimes committed with ghost guns.” She told the justices that… Read More

After granting 15 cases from the justices’ “long conference” last week, the Supreme Court on Monday denied more than a thousand more petitions for review. Among the noteworthy actions on the 50-page list of orders released on Monday morning was the rejection of a request from the Biden administration to send a dispute over emergency… Read More

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday in a dispute over whether and when plaintiffs who obtain temporary relief in a civil rights case can later be reimbursed for their attorney’s fees. Although the issue in Lackey v. Stinnie may sound like a technical one, it has drawn considerable attention, with lawyers on… Read More

Twice in the past decade the Supreme Court has blocked Oklahoma from executing Richard Glossip. Now the state has joined Glossip to argue that newly uncovered evidence shows prosecutors violated his rights at trial. But even with the Oklahoma’s rare confession of error, both the state’s highest court for criminal cases and the state’s pardon… Read More

The Supreme Court on Friday turned down a request from Republican-led states and industry groups to block a rule from the Environmental Protection Agency that imposes more stringent standards on emissions of hazardous air pollutants from coal-fired power plants. At the same time, the justices turned down a similar request from Oklahoma and industry groups… Read More