December 2023 Archive

AI won’t displace human judges, but will affect judiciary, Roberts says in annual report

In his annual report, Chief Justice John Roberts on Sunday addressed the future of artificial intelligence in the judiciary.

The morning read for Friday, December 29

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read: US Supreme Court officially asked to take up Trump’s 14th Amendment issue (Zach Montellaro, Politico) She lost her gun rights for passing a bad check.

2023 Year In Review And 2024 Predictions (With David Lat)

The morning read for Thursday, December 28

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

Colorado G.O.P. asks justices to review Trump ballot eligibility

Lawyers for Colorado’s Republican Party came to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, asking the justices to overturn a ruling by that state’s highest court that would leave former President Donald Trump off Colorado’s primary ballot in 2024 because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

When do legal observers at protests get First Amendment protection?

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. Pure speech, words that are spoken or written, is broadly protected by the First Amendment.

The morning read for Wednesday, December 27

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

Court won’t hear Trump immunity dispute now

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith to decide, without waiting for a federal appeals court to weigh in, whether former President Donald Trump can be tried on criminal charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The morning read for Friday, December 22

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

Smith urges “immediate review” of Trump’s immunity claims

Special Counsel Jack Smith rejected as “misguided” the suggestion by lawyers for former President Donald Trump that the Supreme Court should wait to decide whether Trump can be tried on charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Colorado Court Blocks Trump from ’24 Ballot. Now What?

February oral argument scheduled for “good neighbor” pollution rule challenges

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in February on whether to freeze a plan created by the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce ozone levels across the United States while litigation over the plan continues in a federal appeals court.

The morning read for Wednesday, December 20

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: Will the U.S. Supreme Court Keep Trump Off the Ballot?

“Haste makes waste,” Trump lawyer tells justices in opposing review of immunity issue now

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon to turn down a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith to decide now whether Trump can be tried on criminal charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Another Dobbs Leak!

The morning read for Tuesday, December 19

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

A Washington send-off for Sandra Day O’Connor

The late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was celebrated at a memorial service Tuesday as an American pioneer whose mantra when facing legal decisions and life challenges was “get it done.” “Sandra Day O’Connor, the daughter of the American west, was a pioneer in her own right, breaking down the

The morning read for Monday, December 18

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

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, lauded as “a human being, extraordinary,” lies in repose at the court

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor returned to Washington to lie in repose in the Great Hall of the U.S. Supreme Court building on Monday, as Justice Sonia Sotomayor lauded O’Connor as “her life role model” and one who was “was devoted to making a better world, and that’s what she did.” “For many years,

Justices won’t block Illinois ban on assault-style weapons

The Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon declined to temporarily block an Illinois law that bans the purchase, sale, possession, and manufacture of assault-style weapons.

The morning read for Friday, December 15

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read: Inside the exclusive world of Supreme Court clerks driving America’s legal controversies (Joan Biskupic, CNN) What Sandra Day O’Connor Got Wrong (Linda Greenhouse, The New York Times) Is Compelled Decryption Heading to the Supreme Court?

Is Donald Trump ‘Absolutely Immune’?

The morning read for Thursday, December 14

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, December 13

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

Justices will review lower-court ruling on access to abortion pill

The Supreme Court on Wednesday morning agreed to review a ruling by a federal appeals court that would significantly restrict (but not eliminate altogether) access to a drug used in medication abortions, which account for over half of all abortions performed in the United States.

Court to weigh in on scope of law used in Jan. 6 prosecutions

Two days after Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the justices to decide quickly whether former President Donald Trump can face criminal charges for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 elections, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could affect the charges against Trump even if the court ultimately rules that he is not immune from prosecution.

Clients Don’t Always Listen

A justice stewarding a Constitution

This tribute is part of a series on the life and work of the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Sambhav Sankar clerked for O’Connor during the 2003-04 term. He is now the Senior Vice President for Programs at Earthjustice. All views are his own.

The morning read for Tuesday, December 12

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

Supreme Court won’t block new maps for Galveston County

The Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon declined to block a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that leaves in place a new map for Galveston County, Tex.

The morning read for Monday, December 11

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: Supreme Court Eyeing Fifth Circuit, But Too Early To Decipher Why (Adam Feldman, Bloomberg Law) Speech police?

Justices won’t hear “conversion therapy” case

A divided Supreme Court declined on Monday to decide whether a Washington state law that prohibits licensed therapists from practicing conversion therapy on children violates the First Amendment. The announcement was part of a list of orders released from the justices’ private conference on Friday.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor protected us from the extremes

This tribute is part of a series on the life and work of the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Marci A. Hamilton is Professor of Practice in Political Science and Fox Pavilion Leadership Senior Non-Resident Fellow in the Program for Research on Religion, University of Pennsylvania.

Special counsel asks justices to weigh in now on Trump’s immunity

UPDATE (5:35 p.m.): On Monday afternoon, the Supreme Court granted Smith’s motion to fast-track consideration of his petition, and it directed Trump to respond to Smith’s petition by 4 p.m. on Dec. 20.

The morning read for Friday, December 8

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

Court grants review in federal employee’s filing deadlines case

The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to take up another case exploring the distinction between deadlines that are jurisdictional – so that courts cannot hear a case if they are not met – and those that are instead simply a limitations period that can be waived or extended.

Students Call for Genocide, Presidents Smirk

The morning read for Thursday, December 7

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

The opioid crisis and bankruptcy law with Carl Cecere

In this installment of our new video series on advocates in merits cases at the court, Nate Mowry interviews Carl Cecere, who represents a group of Canadian municipalities and First Nations in the bankruptcy case Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, in which the justices heard oral argument on Monday.

The limits of Title VII protection with Madeline Meth

In this video, Nate Mowry interviews Madeline Meth of Boston University School of Law, one of the lawyers representing a police sergeant in her employment discrimination case against the city of St. Louis.

The morning read for Wednesday, December 6

The justices will hear oral argument in the last case of the December session this morning: Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Missouri. Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

What is going on with the relists?

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. Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor – the first woman ever appointed to the Supreme Court – died at age 93 on Dec. 1.

Bionic Judges

The morning read for Tuesday, December 5

At 10 a.m. EST, the court expects to issue one or more opinions in argued cases from the current term. The justices will then hear oral argument in Moore v. U.S. Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Oral argument suggests narrow ruling to uphold disputed tax

The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared likely to reject a challenge to the constitutionality of a provision of a 2017 corporate tax reform law that taxes the undistributed profits from U.S. shares of foreign corporations that are majority American owned.

Justices dismiss “civil rights tester” case

In its first opinion of the 2023-24 term in an argued case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning threw out a dispute over whether a self-appointed “civil rights tester” has a legal right to file a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act alleging that a hotel had failed to provide information about its accessibility on its website.

Justice O’Connor to lie in repose at court Dec. 18

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who died last week at the age of 93, will lie in repose at the Supreme Court on Dec. 18, the court’s public information office announced on Tuesday. Members of the public will be able to pay their respects that day from 10:30 a.m. until 8 p.m.

The morning read for Monday, December 4

The court will hear oral argument in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. this morning, the bankruptcy case of OxyContin maker Purdue. Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

The chief justice’s courtroom tribute to O’Connor

Chief Justice John Roberts opened Monday’s argument session with a heartfelt tribute to the late retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who died Friday at age 93. “I note that memorial drapery has been placed on the door of our courtroom to signify mourning for” O’Connor, the chief justice told a packed courtroom present for oral arguments in the bankruptcy case Harrington v. Purdue Pharma.

Court conflicted over Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan that shields Sacklers from liability

It has been 27 years since the prescription opioid OxyContin first came on the market. The manufacturer of the drug, Purdue Pharma, promoted the drug as less susceptible to abuse, but OxyContin proved instead to be highly addictive.