A bureaucracy-empowering judicial doctrine that critics blame for the explosive growth of the U.S. government in recent decades should be overturned, the Supreme Court heard on Jan. 17. The court may overturn the so-called Chevron deference doctrine that the Supreme Court enunciated in 1984, or narrow its application. “Chevron deference,” as lawyers call it, holds […]
The Supreme Court failed on Dec. 11 to take up or reject a much-anticipated, heavily-litigated challenge to the government’s decision in 2000 to approve mifepristone, a pill used for abortions, putting off the court’s decision for the time being. Although a lower court had blocked the sale of mifepristone, the Supreme Court countermanded that order […]
The Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee canceled for the third time a scheduled vote on issuing subpoenas against two private citizens connected to conservative Supreme Court justices. The scuttling of the committee’s business meeting on Nov. 16 came after the Supreme Court unexpectedly unveiled a code of conduct (pdf) for the nine justices on Nov. 13. […]
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed a challenge by an Alabama death row inmate who sued months before surviving a botched execution claiming that the state’s troubled lethal injection process would violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. In an unusual case that has returned to the justices because the execution of convicted […]
The Supreme Court has invited the Biden administration to give input on laws in Florida and Texas that allow users to sue large social media companies over censorship. NetChoice, a coalition of trade associations representing Twitter, Facebook, Google, and other social media and e-commerce companies, brought the case to challenge the states’ laws. Both state laws […]
The Supreme Court took the unusual step Dec. 20 of granting bail on an emergency basis to a multimillionaire pharmaceutical executive previously convicted of manslaughter in the death of her young son. In 2014, Gigi Jordan was convicted of administering a fatal dose of drugs to Jude Mirra, her 8-year-old autistic child, in 2010 and […]
The Supreme Court decided Dec. 12 to allow a lawsuit to continue against Michigan State University that claims the school violated the Title IX anti-discrimination law by mothballing its swim teams. By refusing to take up the university’s appeal, some observers say the Supreme Court missed an opportunity to reassess how to measure compliance with […]
The Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which is attempting to transfer lawsuits filed against it in the courts to arbitration panels. Although many investors are unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies, which are famously volatile investments, they’ve been growing in popularity. There are reportedly more than 19,000 different cryptocurrencies in […]
A coalition of Republican-led states petitioned the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject President Joe Biden’s bid to reinstate his student loan forgiveness scheme and instead keep it frozen until litigation around it is resolved, while accusing the administration of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to hide the president’s “true goal” of erasing student debt. In […]
Former President Donald Trump accused the U.S. Supreme Court of being politically motivated after it denied his request to block access to his tax returns on Tuesday. The high court’s order Tuesday culminates a years-long legal battle led by Democrats to obtain the 45th president’s taxes. An emergency petition submitted by Trump attempted to block […]
The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on Oct. 31, leaving in place a federal appeals court ruling that allowed the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to require the wearing of masks on airplanes, trains, and buses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the TSA abandoned its mask mandate in April, the decision allows a Dec. […]
The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 1 temporarily blocked Congress from obtaining former President Donald Trump’s tax returns. Chief Justice John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, stayed an appeals court order that had ruled a congressional panel could gain access to the documents. The appeals court order was set to take effect on Nov. […]
A Nevada county’s hand count of mail-in ballots was put on pause on Thursday after the state’s Supreme Court ruled the process was illegal, after previously giving it the green light. Nye County began counting mail-in ballots on Wednesday after the state supreme court last week ruled that it be conducted in a way that prevents the public release […]
The Biden administration has urged the Supreme Court to reject a Republican bid to re-empower state legislatures to regulate congressional and presidential elections as they say the U.S. Constitution requires, including removing the judiciary’s power to weigh in on redistricting and other disputes. The legal filing came in a high-stakes case, Moore v. Harper, court […]
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said the leak earlier this year of a draft opinion reversing Roe v. Wade made conservative justices “targets for assassination” and changed the atmosphere at the court. Alito’s comments came during a moderated conversation at the Heritage Foundation in the nation’s capital on Oct. 25. At the end of the […]
The Supreme Court on Oct. 11 turned down a request from a detective to block New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for municipal workers. Anthony Marciano, a New York Police Department detective, sued the city over the mandate, which applies to all city employees. A New York Supreme Court judge blocked the mandate in late […]
The Supreme Court on Tuesday vacated an appeals court decision that required Pennsylvania to count mail-in ballots even if there is no date on the envelope. “The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit with instructions to dismiss the case as moot,” wrote Justices Sonia […]
The Supreme Court’s chief justice has appointed a new chief of staff. Justice John Roberts, 67, chose U.S. District Judge Robert Dow Jr., 57, for the position, the Supreme Court said in a statement. Roberts and Dow were both appointed to their current positions by former President George W. Bush. Dow will become Roberts’ chief […]
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said Sept. 9 that the court should focus on its role of interpreting the U.S. Constitution when mentioning how some critics have questioned the court’s legitimacy after recent decisions. “If the court doesn’t retain its legitimate function of interpreting the constitution, I’m not sure who would take up that […]
A report on the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion is coming, Justice Neil Gorsuch said on Sept. 8. “The chief justice appointed an internal committee to oversee the investigation,” Gorsuch said, the Wall Street Journal reported. “That committee has been busy and we’re looking forward to their report, I hope soon.” The justice […]
