February 2023 Archive
Showing 1–50 of 58 items published in February 2023, most recent first.
From the shores of New York Harbor, a scuffle over port security and state sovereignty
Seventy years ago, New York and New Jersey teamed up to fight corruption at the docks serving New York Harbor. Using an interstate compact, they created a waterfront commission with police power.
The morning read for Tuesday, Feb. 28
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Tuesday morning read: What to watch for as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Biden’s student loan debt relief plan (Ariane de Vogue, CNN) Student loan debt and the Court (Lyle Denniston, Lyle Denniston Law News) When Can States Sue the Federal Government?
Biden’s student-loan forgiveness plan gets cold reception from conservative justices
The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared skeptical of the Biden administration’s student-loan debt-relief program. During nearly three and a half hours of oral arguments, a majority of the justices appeared unconvinced that Congress intended to give the secretary of education the power to adopt the program, which has an estimated price tag of $400 billion.
Strange lineup of justices limits penalties for failure to file reports about foreign bank accounts
Tuesday’s 5-4 ruling in Bittner v. United States sharply divided the justices, with an odd lineup supporting Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Section 230 and the internet
In the first week of the February session, the justices heard oral arguments in two cases about the scoop of liability tech companies may face for user content.
Announcement of opinions for Tuesday, Feb. 28 (complete)
On Tuesday, Feb. 28, we live blogged as the court released opinions in Delaware v. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and Bittner v. United States. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements.
The morning read for Monday, Feb. 27
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
Court will review constitutionality of consumer-watchdog agency’s funding
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a major case involving funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was formed in response to the 2008 financial crisis.
In the South Carolina countryside, a dispute over “citizen suits” under the Clean Water Act
The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here. The Clean Water Act allows private actors to sue someone for polluting a water system.
The morning read for Friday, Feb. 24
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
Literalism vs. lenity in a case on the scope of federal identity theft
The federal aggravated identity theft statute imposes a two-year sentence for any person who, “during and in relation to” certain enumerated felonies, “knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person.” On Monday, the Supreme Court will consider the reach of this statute in Dubin v. United States.
From precarious to dire: The financial state of student-loan borrowers following the COVID-19 pandemic
This article is part of a symposium on the upcoming arguments in Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown. A preview of the cases is here. Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.
When the president takes lawmaking matters into his own hands, the court must step in
This article is part of a symposium on the upcoming arguments in Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown. A preview of the cases is here.
The morning read for Thursday, Feb. 23
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
Another separation-of-powers case, press access to trials, and maritime insurance
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. There were no new cert grants from our last installment of relisted cases.
Justices narrow bankruptcy relief from debts incurred by fraud
Wednesday’s unanimous decision in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley took a straightforward and matter-of-fact approach, holding that the text of the Bankruptcy Code bars a discharge of Kate Bartenwerfer’s obligation to pay a debt incurred by the fraud of another.
In rare win for people on death row, justices chide Arizona for ignoring Supreme Court precedent
In what was only the second opinion day of the 2022-23 term, the Supreme Court delivered a rare win for a criminally convicted petitioner and offered a clarifying example of when it is appropriate for a federal court to intervene when a state court fails to apply federal law.
Justices decide a day-rate is not a salary
The basic rule is simple: If you earn an hourly wage and you work more than 40 hours in a week, you are probably entitled to “time and a half” overtime pay.
Court declines to stay execution of Florida man whose jury did not unanimously vote for death penalty
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the execution of Donald David Dillbeck to move forward in Florida, denying his request for a stay in a brief, unsigned order. There were no recorded dissents.
The morning read for Wednesday, Feb. 22
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
In lawsuit against tech companies, justices debate what it means to “aid and abet” terrorism
The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared wary of a lawsuit seeking to hold Twitter, Facebook, and Google liable for aiding and abetting international terrorism based on ISIS’s use of the companies’ platforms.
Announcement of opinions for Wednesday, Feb. 22 (complete)
On Wednesday, Feb. 22, we live blogged as the court released opinions in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, and Cruz v. Arizona. Click here for a list […]
Don’t let the executive abuse emergency powers to raid the Treasury
This article is part of a symposium on the upcoming arguments in Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown. A preview of the cases is here. Ilya Somin is a professor of law at George Mason University, and author of Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration and Political Freedom.
Partisan priorities and institutional legitimacy in the flawed challenges to student-debt relief
This article is part of a symposium on the upcoming arguments in Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown. A preview of the cases is here. Jonathan D. Glater is a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
The morning read for Tuesday, Feb. 21
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
“Not, like, the nine greatest experts on the internet”: Justices seem leery of broad ruling on Section 230
The Supreme Court on Tuesday debated the scope of a 27-year-old federal law that shields social-media companies from liability for content published by others.
Court declines to hear case on whether defense attorneys are obligated to seek favorable plea deals
Over a dissent from two of the court’s liberal justices, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal asking them to decide whether a criminal-defense attorney is required to initiate negotiations with prosecutors when his client is likely to get a better result from a plea deal.
Justices will consider whether tech giants can be sued for allegedly aiding ISIS terrorism
In 2015, ISIS conducted a series of coordinated attacks around Paris that killed 130 people and wounded nearly 500 more. Two years later, 39 people were killed in an ISIS attack on an Istanbul nightclub during the early hours of New Year’s Day.
The morning read for Friday, Feb. 17
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
Illinois man challenges nearly three-year denial of exercise in solitary confinement
The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here. In most state and federal prisons, a person held in solitary confinement is allowed regular access to physical activity.
The morning read for Thursday, Feb. 16
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
The morning read for Wednesday, Feb. 15
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Wednesday morning read: Why Is Affirmative Action in Peril? One Man’s Decision.
Plea bargaining and a high-profile separation-of-powers case
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. The Supreme Court will meet this Friday for the first time in nearly a month to consider whether to grant review in new cases.
The morning read for Tuesday, Feb. 14
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
SCOTUS Spotlight: Daniel Geyser
In another edition of our series of interviews with Supreme Court advocates, Amy sits down with Daniel Geyser, head of the Supreme Court practice at Haynes Boone. Geyser has argued 15 cases before the court, including two this term.
The morning read for Monday, Feb. 13
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
In a pair of challenges to student-debt relief, big questions about agency authority and the right to sue
While campaigning for president in 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden pledged to cancel at least $10,000 in federal student-loan debt for each borrower. More than two years later, Biden announced a debt-relief program that would forgive up to $20,000 in loans for borrowers who qualify.
The morning read for Friday, Feb. 10
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
Justices asked to weigh in again on “mixed” questions in immigration appeals
The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.
Supreme Court declines to halt execution of Texas man who said juror and attorneys were racist
After a Texas court reinstated his execution Wednesday, John Lezell Balentine took his final appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that his death sentence should be reassessed in light of new evidence of juror misconduct and racial bias.
The morning read for Thursday, Feb. 9
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
Justices decline to stop execution of Missouri man who said he was innocent
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to block the execution of Missouri inmate Leonard Taylor, who was sentenced to death for the 2004 murder of his live-in girlfriend and her three children.
The morning read for Wednesday, Feb. 8
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.
The morning read for Tuesday, Feb. 7
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.