February 2022 Archive
Showing 1–50 of 65 items published in February 2022, most recent first.
Amid overdose crisis, court will weigh physician intent in “pill mill” prosecutions and more under the Controlled Substances Act
In the midst of a national opioid crisis that claimed more than 100,000 lives in this country over the past year, the Supreme Court will hear a case on Tuesday about the relevance of doctors’ subjective intentions in criminal prosecutions for unlawful distribution of controlled substances.
The morning read for Monday, Feb. 28
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
In climate-change case, justices grapple with EPA’s role, congressional intent, and their own jurisdiction
For two hours on Monday, the justices probed the extent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases in a case with high stakes for the Biden administration’s plans to slow climate change.
Greenhouse gases and “major questions”: Justices to hear argument on EPA’s power to tackle climate change
Three days after President Joe Biden named Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to succeed the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, Breyer and his colleagues will return to the bench on Monday morning to hear oral argument in a case involving the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases.
What senators are saying: Tracking reactions to Jackson’s nomination
After President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, attention now turns to the Senate’s advice-and-consent process. It takes a simple majority in the Senate to confirm a nominee to the court.
A relatively subdued setting for a groundbreaking nomination
Word began to trickle out late on Thursday that President Joe Biden had selected a replacement for retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Signs pointed to the longtime frontrunner, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Reservist pay and conspiracy elements
This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether approximately 200,000 reservists who are federal employees are entitled to differential pay when voluntarily mobilized and whether the merely hypothetical existence of the elements of a conspiracy is enough to convict defendants under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Justices require actual knowledge that application was erroneous to invalidate copyright filing
Thursday’s opinion in Unicolors v. H&M resolves a narrow question of copyright law: when an error in an application for copyright registration is sufficiently serious to invalidate the subsequent registration.
The morning read for Friday, Feb. 25
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
Justices to consider yet another Medicare-reimbursement dispute
Every term brings the court a hot topic. This term one of the recurring topics is health-care reimbursement. November brought Becerra v. Empire Health Foundation and American Hospital Association v. Becerra. January brought Gallardo v. Marstiller.
In historic first, Biden nominates Jackson to Supreme Court
President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to be a Supreme Court justice. Biden’s announcement fulfilled his campaign pledge to nominate the first Black woman to serve on the court.
Justices probe states’ effort to defend Trump immigration rule after Biden stopped defending it in court
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Wednesday in a case involving whether a group of states can defend a contentious Trump-era immigration policy known as the “public charge” rule after the Biden administration refused to do so.
The morning read for Thursday, Feb. 24
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
Argument in double-jeopardy case shines spotlight on prosecutorial issues faced by Native tribes
The Supreme Court heard argument on Tuesday in Denezpi v. United States, which examines whether the federal government can bring criminal charges in federal court against a defendant previously found guilty in a Court of Indian Offenses for an offense stemming from the same act.
Announcement of opinions for Thursday, Feb. 24 (complete)
We live blogged as the court released the opinion in Unicolors, Inc v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, LP. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements.
Justices will hear dispute from GOP-led states over Biden’s refusal to defend legality of Trump-era immigration rule
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a dispute over whether a group of states, led by Arizona, can defend a contentious Trump-era immigration policy known as the “public charge” rule after the Biden administration declined to do so.
Next term’s docket will include cases on veterans’ benefits, unclaimed MoneyGram checks
The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning issued more orders from the justices’ private conference last week.
Just say “Bingo!” Or “Dingo!”
A View from the Courtroom is an inside look at oral arguments and opinion announcements unfolding in real time. As some Supreme Court podcasters have noted, Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement in late January pushed the so-called Maskgate controversy out of the spotlight.
The morning read for Wednesday, Feb. 23
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
How long do prisoners have to seek DNA evidence?
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. A lot has happened since our last installment, just ahead of the Jan. 21 conference.
Meandering argument showcases differing views about gambling on tribal lands in Texas
Tuesday’s argument in Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas was another instance of a common jurisprudential problem for the justices: how should a modern court, largely devoted to textualism in its statutory interpretation, deal with cases about Native American tribes, which traditionally have depended on historical and contextual understandings only weakly linked to the text of the statute.
The morning read for Tuesday, Feb. 22
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
Midterm Review
Amy Howe is joined by David Savage, longtime Supreme Court reporter for the Los Angeles Times, to discuss the term so far and how it compares to previous blockbuster years. SCOTUStalk is launching a new Q&A feature.
Justices will hear free-speech claim from website designer who opposes same-sex marriage
Nearly four years after the Supreme Court declined to decide whether compelling a Colorado baker to bake a cake for same-sex couples would violate his right to freedom of speech, the justices agreed to take up a similar question in another case from Colorado, this time involving a website designer.
Justices to review long-simmering dispute over gambling on tribal lands in Texas
Tuesday’s argument in Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas presents yet another installment in the decades-long conflict between state gambling regulators and Native American tribes.
Court will assess double-jeopardy claim with implications for tribal sovereignty
Crimes against indigenous women are the subject of increasing public concern and awareness. Government officials – tribal, federal, and state – have established initiatives to address the disturbingly disproportionate rates of violent crimes perpetrated against indigenous women.
Breyer speaks about his approach to judging and the value of diverse experience
Sitting at the edge of his seat on stage at the Law Library of Congress Thursday afternoon, soon-to-be-retired Justice Stephen Breyer was exuberant and humble as ever about his work on the court.
The morning read for Friday, Feb. 18
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
Justices agree to review Biden’s attempt to unwind Trump-era asylum policy
The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to decide whether the Biden administration must continue to enforce the Trump-era program known as the “remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they wait for a hearing in U.S. immigration court.
Sovereign immunity and defective indictments
This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether Turkey is immune from suit from protesters injured by security forces at its ambassador’s residence, and whether a defective indictment for a federal gun crime was harmless or structural error.
The morning read for Thursday, Feb. 17
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
Justice Breyer: A formidable defender of reproductive rights
This article is part of a symposium on the jurisprudence of Justice Stephen Breyer. Michele Goodwin is a chancellor’s professor at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood.
Tributes to Walter Dellinger, a scholar, Supreme Court advocate, and “luminary in law and in life”
Walter Dellinger, a constitutional scholar and skilled advocate who argued 24 cases at the Supreme Court, died on Wednesday at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was 80. Dellinger served as head of the Office of Legal Counsel and as acting solicitor general under President Bill Clinton.
The morning read for Wednesday, Feb. 16
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
The morning read for Tuesday, Feb. 15
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
The morning read for Monday, Feb. 14
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
The morning read for Friday, Feb. 11
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
Big banks and raisin referenda
This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether Washington state’s surtax on banks violates the dormant commerce clause when 150 of 153 affected institutions are out of state and whether “one person, one vote” means that California’s statutory scheme allowing raisin cooperatives to vote as a bloc in referenda violates the Constitution.
Alabama’s redistricting on the shadow docket
Amy Howe is joined by Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, of Stetson Law, to discuss the court’s decision earlier this week to reinstate Alabama’s voting map, which a lower court ruled dilutes Black votes. SCOTUStalk is launching a new Q&A feature.
The morning read for Thursday, Feb. 10
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
Justice Breyer as administrative law pragmatist
This article is part of a symposium on the jurisprudence of Justice Stephen Breyer. Ronald Levin is the William R. Orthwein distinguished professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. He is coauthor of a casebook on administrative law and has written many articles on that subject.
The morning read for Wednesday, Feb. 9
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at [email protected].
In 5-4 vote, justices reinstate Alabama voting map despite lower court’s ruling that it dilutes Black votes
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Alabama to implement a redistricting plan that is being challenged as illegal racial gerrymandering. A lower court ruled last month that the state’s new congressional map likely violates the Voting Rights Act, and it ordered the state to draw a new map.