September 2025 Archive
Showing 1–50 of 82 items published in September 2025, most recent first.
The state of the death penalty
As the justices make their final preparations this week for the start of the 2025-26 term, they’ll also address the latest request for a stay of execution.
SCOTUStoday for Tuesday, September 30
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s investiture ceremony took place on this day in 2022, but she actually had been serving on the court for three months by that point after taking the Constitutional Oath and Judicial Oath on June 30.
Venezuelans ask Supreme Court not to allow Trump administration to end their protected status
Lawyers representing Venezuelan citizens living in the United States under a program that provides them with a safe harbor here urged the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon to leave in place an order by a federal judge in San Francisco that temporarily bars the Trump administration from ending their protected status under that program.
How birthright citizenship made it back to the Supreme Court
On Friday, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of its birthright citizenship order. Although the administration’s decision to do so was not a great surprise, the issue has taken a somewhat meandering path to get to the court.
SCOTUStoday for Monday, September 29
The leaves are changing, pumpkin bars are baking, and the justices are back at the Supreme Court. They’ll gather today for the annual “long conference,” the unofficial end of their three-month summer break (though, to be fair, they’ve been kept plenty busy with emergency applications).
Trump urges Supreme Court to decide whether to end birthright citizenship
The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the legality of President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end the guarantee of citizenship to virtually everyone born in the United States.
Supreme Court allows Trump administration to withhold billions in foreign-aid funding
The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to withhold nearly $4 billion in foreign-aid funding. Over a dissent by the court’s three Democratic appointees, the justices paused a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that would have required the government to commit to spending the funds by Sept. 30, the end of the government’s fiscal year.
SCOTUStoday for Friday, September 26
Today marks five years since President Donald Trump formally nominated Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Justice Barrett made an appearance yesterday at the inaugural SCOTUSblog Summit.
Justice Barrett reflects on public scrutiny, swing votes, and recusals at SCOTUSblog Summit
Justice Amy Coney Barrett is not on social media to see critics calling her too conservative when she sides with her fellow Republican-appointed justices and too liberal when she doesn’t, but she’s well aware that not all court watchers are fans of her work.
Federal Reserve governor asks Supreme Court to prevent Trump from removing her
Lawyers for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook urged the Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon to allow Cook to remain in office while her challenge to President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her continues.
SCOTUStoday for Thursday, September 25
Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in on Sept. 25, 1981, becoming the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Five women have been sworn in since then; four of them are still on the court.
The strange case of the superfluous sentence
Some sentences reproach without a single accusatory word. “The captain was sober today” impugns by implication. The officer who logs this superfluous statement damns the captain further with the surrounding entries that omit it.
The funniest justice
JUSTICE GORSUCH: So you have a dog in the hunt on the scope of the discovery rule — MR. EARNHARDT: Well — JUSTICE GORSUCH: — but not on whether there is a discovery rule? MR. EARNHARDT: Well, no, I — JUSTICE GORSUCH: Is that what you’re saying?
SCOTUStoday for Wednesday, September 24
On this day in 1789, President George Washington signed the Federal Judiciary Act into law, establishing the federal court system. We suggest you celebrate by reading SCOTUSblog.
SCOTUStoday for Tuesday, September 23
Summer vacation is in the rear-view mirror for most of us, but the justices still have time for a trip or two before the “long conference” next Monday.
Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner
Updated on Oct. 17 at 7:52 p.m. On Monday, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter and agreed to decide on the president’s ability to fire the heads of independent agencies.
The dog sniff at the center of a Supreme Court petition
The traffic stop started with a dirty license plate. Logan Camp, a police officer in Winterset, Iowa, pulled over Ashlee Mumford on March 5, 2022, because he couldn’t make out two of the numbers on her plate.
SCOTUStoday for Monday, September 22
Welcome to SCOTUStoday, an expanded newsletter from SCOTUSblog that will deliver the most important information on the Supreme Court right to your inbox.
Trump administration urges Supreme Court to uphold tariffs
Updated on Sept. 20 at 9:31 a.m. The Trump administration on Friday urged the Supreme Court to uphold President Donald Trump’s power to impose sweeping tariffs on virtually all goods imported into the United States.
Trump again asks Supreme Court to let him end protected status for Venezuelans
Four months after the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to pause an order by a federal judge in San Francisco that had temporarily barred the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, from ending the protected status of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan citizens living in the United States, the Trump administration returned to the high court.
Trump administration urges Supreme Court to prevent transgender people from choosing sex markers on passports
The Trump administration came to the Supreme Court on Friday morning, asking the justices to temporarily pause a ruling by a federal judge in Massachusetts that would require the State Department to provide transgender and nonbinary people with passports reflecting the sex designation of their choosing.
The morning read for Friday, September 19
We’re very excited to announce that, on Monday, SCOTUSblog’s Morning Read will become a part of SCOTUStoday, a daily newsletter that will deliver the most important information on the court right to your inbox.
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow for firing of Fed governor
The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to pause a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that keeps Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, in office despite President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her in the wake of allegations that she committed mortgage fraud before joining the board.
Supreme Court announces it will hear challenges to Trump’s tariffs on Nov. 5
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Nov. 5 in the pair of challenges to President Donald Trump’s authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The morning read for Thursday, September 18
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read:
Group of Louisiana voters urges Supreme Court to strike down major provision of the Voting Rights Act
Lawyers representing a group of Louisiana voters challenging the creation of a second majority-Black congressional district in the state told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that a key provision of the Voting Rights Act is “inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution.” The filing came in a dispute that could lead to a major decision on voting rights and redistricting.
The morning read for Wednesday, September 17
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Wednesday morning read:
Justice Souter’s book list
David Souter was my first boss, during the 1987-88 term of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, where I was privileged to serve as one of his two law clerks shortly before he was elevated to the United States Supreme Court.
Is the emergency docket really for emergencies?
If you’re requesting emergency relief from the Supreme Court, how long should you expect to wait for a decision? In other words, does the court really treat emergency applications as emergencies? The answer, it turns out, depends on what kind of emergency you have.
The morning read for Tuesday, September 16
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Tuesday morning read:
Attorneys for FTC commissioner urge Supreme Court to prevent Trump’s firing of her
Lawyers for a Democratic appointee to the Federal Trade Commission on Monday urged the Supreme Court to allow her to continue to serve despite President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her. “If the President is to be given new powers Congress has expressly and repeatedly refused to give him,” Slaughter’s lawyers wrote in a 40-page filing, “that decision should come from the people’s elected representatives.
The morning read for Monday, September 15
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Monday morning read:
Groups urge Supreme Court to direct Trump administration to spend billions of withheld foreign aid funds
Lawyers for groups challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze billions of dollars in foreign-aid funding on Friday afternoon urged the Supreme Court to leave in place a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that requires the government to commit to spending $4 billion in funds by Sept. 30.
What currently remains on the emergency docket
The Supreme Court has been on summer recess for more than two months, but you wouldn’t know it if you’ve been following the emergency docket. Since late June, the justices have issued dozens of orders and opinions in response to emergency applications, many of which came from the Trump administration.
The morning read for Friday, September 12
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read: