WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Friday, Jan. 31
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court.
January 2025 Archive
Showing 1–50 of 67 items published in January 2025, most recent first.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Thursday, Jan. 30
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court.
SCOTUS NEWSMerits Cases
Outside attorneys appointed to argue in two cases
This article was updated on Feb. 7 at 3:24 p.m. The Supreme Court on Tuesday appointed two outside attorneys to defend the lower-court decisions in two cases in which the federal government has declined to do so.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Wednesday, Jan. 29
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Tuesday, Jan. 28
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Tuesday morning read: FBI SWAT team raided the wrong house. Can family sue? Supreme Court will decide.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Monday, Jan. 27
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court.
SCOTUS NEWSRelist Watch
Justices decline to reinstate Ohio man’s attempted murder conviction
The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a plea to reinstate an Ohio man’s conviction for attempted murder. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the court’s announcement that it would not intervene in the case, in an eight-page opinion joined by Justice Samuel Alito.
SCOTUS NEWSMerits Cases
Justices take up case on right to sue over mistaken SWAT raid
The Supreme Court will weigh in on whether a Georgia family whose home was mistakenly raided by an FBI SWAT team can sue the federal government for the error.
Petitions of the weekRelist Watch
Mississippi’s permanent felony voting ban returns to the court
The Petitions of the Week column highlights some of the cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Friday, Jan. 24
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court.
ARGUMENT ANALYSISMerits Cases
Supreme Court likely to let vape company’s FDA challenge proceed
At oral arguments earlier this week the Supreme Court was skeptical of the Food and Drug Administration’s effort to block a North Carolina-based company from challenging the denial of its application to market e-cigarettes in the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, based in Louisiana.
SCOTUS NEWSMerits Cases
Supreme Court will weigh in on effort to found nation’s first religious charter school
The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon added three more cases – two of which will be argued together – to its docket for the 2024-25 term. In a brief unsigned order, the justices agreed to review a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court that rejected an effort by a Catholic online school to become the nation’s first religious charter school.
SCOTUS NEWSMerits Cases
Trump asks justices for pause in four cases to reconsider Biden policies
The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to pause the briefing in four cases slated for argument during the 2024-25 term.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Thursday, Jan. 23
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court.
SCOTUS NEWSRelist Watch
Supreme Court sends capital case back for reconsideration over focus on sex
The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave Brenda Evers Andrew another chance to challenge her death sentence and conviction for the murder of her estranged husband.
EMERGENCY DOCKETEmergency appeals and applications
Justices allow enforcement of corporate transparency law to go forward
The Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon granted the federal government’s request to be allowed to enforce a federal anti-money-laundering law while the government’s appeal moves forward in the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
RELIST WATCHRelist Watch
Red states urge Supreme Court to block suits against big oil
The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here. So at the last conference, the Supreme Court acted on a ton of relists.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Wednesday, Jan. 22
The justices will hear oral arguments in Barnes v. Felix and Cunningham v. Cornell University this morning. Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Wednesday morning read: Cop kills driver in routine stop.
CASE PREVIEWMerits Cases
Menthol vapes and forum shopping, FDA tobacco control comes before justices
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday in a clash over whether a North Carolina-based company can challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s denial of its application to market e-cigarettes in the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, based in Louisiana.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Tuesday, Jan. 21
The Supreme Court is meeting for oral arguments this morning in Food and Drug Administration v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson Corporation. Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Friday, Jan. 17
We are expecting one or more opinions from the court this morning at 10 a.m. EST. Join us for our live blog. Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court.
OPINION ANALYSISMerits Cases
Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban
This article was updated on Jan. 17 at 12:45 p.m. The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld a federal law that will require TikTok to shut down in the United States unless its Chinese parent company can sell off the U.S. company by Jan. 19.
SCOTUS NEWSMerits Cases
Justices take up Maryland parents’ challenge to LGBTQ books in schools
The Supreme Court will decide whether a group of Maryland parents can opt to have their children exempted from LGBTQ-themed storybooks.
Announcement of opinions for Friday, Jan. 17 (complete)
On Friday, Jan. 17, we live blogged as the court ruled in TikTok v. Garland. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Thursday, Jan. 16
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court.
RELIST WATCHRelist Watch
In a slew of new cases, the justices take in closer look
The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here.
ARGUMENT ANALYSISMerits Cases
Justices debate right to renew lawsuit after voluntary dismissal
Tuesday’s argument in Waetzig v. Halliburton Energy Services was brief and relaxed. The issue in the case is the standard for allowing a claimant to reopen a case that he voluntarily dismissed a few years earlier, and the justices did not seem to find the matter contentious.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Wednesday, Jan. 15
We are expecting one or more opinions from the court this morning at 10 a.m. EST. Join us for the live blog or follow along with Katie Barlow on TikTok.
ARGUMENT ANALYSISMerits Cases
Supreme Court divided on Texas age-verification law for porn sites
The Supreme Court on Wednesday was divided over a challenge to a Texas law that requires pornography sites to verify the age of their users before providing access.
Announcement of opinions for Wednesday, Jan. 15 (complete)
On Wednesday, Jan. 15, we were live as the court released opinions in E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera and Royal Canin U. S. A. v. Wullschleger. Click here for a list of FAQs about […]
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Tuesday, Jan. 14
The justices will start off oral arguments this morning with Thompson v. U.S., a member of Chicago’s most famous political dynasty’s challenge to his conviction on charges that he made “false statements,” about loans he hadn’t paid, to influence a financial institution.
ARGUMENT ANALYSISMerits Cases
Supreme Court considers Chicago alderman’s “false statement” charges
The Supreme Court on Tuesday grappled with the case of Patrick Daley Thompson, a former Chicago alderman and member of Chicago’s most storied political dynasty. Thompson served four months in a federal prison for making false statements to bank regulators about loans he took out and did not repay.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Monday, Jan. 13
The court will hear oral arguments this morning in Hewitt v. United States, on the First Step Act’s sentencing reduction provisions, and Stanley v. City of Sanford, Florida, the case of a retired Florida firefighter looking to sue her former employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act alleging discrimination in how retirement benefits are provided.
CASE PREVIEWMerits Cases
Challenge to Texas age-verification on porn sites comes to Supreme Court
A trade group for the adult entertainment industry will appear at the Supreme Court on Wednesday in its challenge to a Texas law that requires pornography sites to verify the age of their users before providing access – for example, by requiring a government-issued identification.
ARGUMENT ANALYSISMerits Cases
Justices appear supportive of retired firefighter’s discrimination suit
The Supreme Court on Monday appeared sympathetic to a retired Florida firefighter who is seeking to sue her former employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
SCOTUS NEWSRelist Watch
Supreme Court declines to step into Maryland gun licensing and Hawaii climate change suits
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to Maryland’s handgun licensing regime, as well as a pair of cases seeking to hold oil and gas companies responsible for damage caused by climate change.
SCOTUS NEWSMerits Cases
Court adds three new cases
The Supreme Court on Friday evening added three new cases to its docket for the 2024-25 term. The cases, which involve issues ranging from the constitutionality of appointments to an HHS task force to student loan forgiveness and mootness in tax cases, are likely to be among the final cases argued during the current term.
EMERGENCY DOCKETEmergency appeals and applications
Supreme Court allows Trump’s New York criminal sentencing to go forward
A divided Supreme Court on Thursday evening cleared the way for President-elect Donald Trump’s criminal sentencing to go forward on Friday morning.
WHAT WE'RE READING
The morning read for Friday, Jan. 10
Last night, the court turned down President-elect Donald Trump’s request to block sentencing in his New York hush money case. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh wrote that they would have granted his request.
ARGUMENT ANALYSISMerits Cases
Supreme Court skeptical of ban on TikTok
The Supreme Court on Friday was divided over the constitutionality of a federal law that would require social-media giant TikTok to shut down in the United States unless its Chinese parent company can sell it by Jan. 19.
Petitions of the weekRelist Watch
Justices meet to fill out 2024-25 docket
The Petitions of the Week column highlights some of the cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.
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