June 2023 Archive

The morning read for Friday, June 30

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court strikes down Biden student-loan forgiveness program

This article was updated on June 30 at 4:00 p.m. By a vote of 6-3, the justices ruled that the Biden administration overstepped its authority last year when it announced that it would cancel up to $400 billion in student loans.

Justices take up major Second Amendment dispute

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument next fall in a major gun-rights case challenging the constitutionality of a federal ban on the possession of guns by individuals who are subject to domestic violence restraining orders.

Supreme Court rules website designer can decline to create same-sex wedding websites

The court handed a major victory to business owners who oppose same-sex marriage for religious reasons on Friday. A six-justice majority agreed that Colorado cannot enforce a state anti-discrimination law against a Christian website designer who does not want to create wedding websites for same-sex couples because doing so would violate her First Amendment right to free speech.

Court agrees to hear Title VII employer discrimination case

The Supreme Court agreed to decide what protections Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides to employees who contend they were the victim of a discriminatory transfer.

Announcement of opinions for Friday, June 30 (complete)

On Friday, June 30, we will be live blogging as the court releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about […]

Harvard Loses Affirmative Action Case

The morning read for Thursday, June 29

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action programs in college admissions

This article was updated on June 29 at 4:09 p.m. In a historic decision, the Supreme Court severely limited, if not effectively ended, the use of affirmative action in college admissions on Thursday.

Justices rule in favor of evangelical Christian postal worker

Federal law bars employers from discriminating against workers for practicing their religion unless the employer can show that the worker’s religious practice cannot “reasonably” be accommodated without “undue hardship.” The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a trivial burden is not the kind of “undue hardship” that will justify an employer’s failure to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs.

The last grants of October Term 2022?

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.

Announcement of opinions for Thursday, June 29 (complete)

On Thursday, June 29, we will be live blogging as the court releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about […]

Nuking the Independent Legislature Doctrine

The morning read for Wednesday, June 28

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court narrowly interprets ban on “encouraging or inducing” immigrants to remain unlawfully in the United States

On Friday the Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Hansen. The question before the justices was whether a federal law that criminalizes “encouraging or inducing” an immigrant to come or remain in the United States unlawfully violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of the freedom of speech.

The morning read for Tuesday, June 27

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court rules against North Carolina Republicans over election law theory

In a major election-law decision, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that although the Constitution gives state legislatures the power to regulate federal elections, state courts can supervise the legislature’s exercise of that power.

Justices throw out Colorado man’s stalking conviction in First Amendment dispute

The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out the conviction of Billy Raymond Counterman, a Colorado man who was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for stalking based on his Facebook messages.

Court upholds state corporate registration law in major personal jurisdiction case

The justices narrowly rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania law that allows any company doing business in the state to be sued there – even if the corporation is not headquartered in Pennsylvania and the conduct at the center of the lawsuit occurred somewhere else.

Announcement of opinions for Tuesday, June 27 (complete)

On Tuesday, June 27, we will be live blogging as the court releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about […]

The morning read for Monday, June 26

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Monday morning read: The Supreme Court’s biggest decisions are coming.

Justices take up cases on veterans’ education benefits and 16th Amendment

The Supreme Court on Monday added two new cases to its docket for the 2023-24 term, involving educational benefits for veterans and a rare appearance by the 16th Amendment. At the same time, the justices took two cases in which they had granted review off their docket.

North Carolina seeks to enforce undercover workplace-recording ban against PETA

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.

Court expands government’s ability to deport noncitizens for offenses related to obstruction of justice

Federal immigration law requires the deportation of noncitizens who are convicted of an aggravated felony, which includes offenses “relating to obstruction of justice.” By a vote of 6-3, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in Pugin v. Garland that an offense can relate to the obstruction of justice even if an investigation or proceeding is not pending.

Alito’s Preemptive Strike (Against ProPublica)

Court blocks pathway for federal prisoners to raise legal innocence claims

On Thursday, the Supreme Court held that a federal prisoner cannot raise a claim of legal innocence if he has already challenged his conviction – even if that claim was unavailable at the time he filed his challenge.

The morning read for Friday, June 23

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

The constitutionality of wealth taxes; plus, educational benefits for veterans

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 be considering a whopping 191 petitions and applications at this week’s conference.

Texas and Louisiana lack right to challenge Biden immigration policy, court rules

This article was updated on June 23 at 2:19 p.m. In a major victory for the Biden administration, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Texas and Louisiana do not have a legal right, known as standing, to challenge a Biden administration policy that prioritizes certain groups of unauthorized immigrants for arrest and deportation.

Justices rule Russian citizen alleged domestic injury in international racketeering dispute

The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday in Yegiazaryan v. Smagin adopts a “context-specific inquiry” to determine whether a plaintiff in a private lawsuit brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act has alleged “a domestic injury to its business or property” sufficient to state a civil claim for damages under Section 1964(c) of the federal RICO statute.

Justices rule lower courts must put trial proceedings on hold during arbitration appeal

Friday’s decision in Coinbase v. Bielski has a familiar ring to it: A narrow majority of the justices reversed a ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in California that had rejected a party’s efforts to force a putative class action out of court and into arbitration.

Divided court finds generic redactions sufficient to admit confessions of non-testifying codefendants

The Supreme Court on Friday decided Samia v. United States, making it easier for the government to introduce confessions in criminal trials involving multiple defendants. In civil and criminal trials involving multiple defendants, evidence is often admissible against one defendant but not another.

Announcement of opinions for Friday, June 23 (complete)

On Friday, June 23, we will be live blogging as the court releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about […]

The morning read for Thursday, June 22

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read: Justice Alito Defends Private Jet Travel to Luxury Fishing Trip (Adam Liptak, The New York Times) What Justice John Paul Stevens’s Papers Reveal About Affirmative Action (Jeannie Suk Gersen, The New Yorker) America is purple.

Supreme Court rules 5-4 against Navajo Nation in water rights dispute

Under a historic water crisis in the desert southwest, the Navajo Nation asked for a court order requiring the federal government to determine the Nation’s water needs and to devise a plan to meet those needs.

Announcement of opinions for Thursday, June 22 (complete)

On Thursday, June 22, we will be live blogging as the court releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about […]

The morning read for Wednesday, June 21

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Did Hunter Biden Get A Sweetheart Deal…?

The morning read for Tuesday, June 20

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Justices take up Fair Credit Reporting Act case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to decide whether Congress waived the United States’ sovereign immunity from lawsuits for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Court strikes a blow for sentencing discretion under provision in federal firearm statute

People given consecutive sentences under the federal law that imposes penalties for the use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking may now be entitled to a new sentencing hearing, thanks to the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling Friday in Lora v. United States.

Former Marine challenges power of courts-martial to try military retirees

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. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, military courts-martial retain jurisdiction over retired servicemembers.

The People’s Justice

The morning read for Friday, June 16

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court gives government broad authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Department of Justice has broad, but not unfettered, authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision even when the government initially elected to allow the whistleblower to proceed with the action.

Announcement of opinions for Friday, June 16 (complete)

On Friday, June 16, we will be live blogging as the court releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about […]

The morning read for Thursday, June 15

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court upholds Indian Child Welfare Act

In a major ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, a 1978 federal law that seeks to keep Native American children with Native American families.

Justices reject tribal immunity from bankruptcy stay

On Thursday in Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin, the Supreme Court held that Native American tribes are not immune from the automatic stay of the Bankruptcy Code.

Does the Americans with Disabilities Act cover gender dysphoria?

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 be considering 117 petitions and applications at this week’s conference.