October 2021 Archive

In New York State Rifle, the court should look to text, history, and tradition

This article is part of a symposium on the upcoming argument in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. A preview of the case is here. Stephen P. Halbrook, a senior fellow with the Independent Institute, is the author of The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class?

The court must consider the national security and public safety threats posed by concealable weapons

This article is part of a symposium on the upcoming argument in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. A preview of the case is here. Mary B. McCord is executive director and Annie L. Owens is senior counsel at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center.

Court turns away religious challenge to Maine’s vaccine mandate for health care workers

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed a vaccine mandate for Maine health care workers to remain in effect, rejecting an emergency request from workers who argued that they should receive religious exemptions.

Defendants’ Native American status and more abortion petitions

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether federal prosecutors or defendants have the burden of proving their status as a Native American or not for purposes of criminal jurisdiction, and three conditional cross-petitions over Texas’ abortion ban.

Oklahoma man is put to death after court, in 5-3 vote, reinstates his execution

The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted Oklahoma to carry out its first execution in six years, reversing a lower court that had halted the execution over concerns that the state’s lethal-injection procedure may cause cruel and unusual punishment.

The morning read for Friday, Oct. 29

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].

Supreme Court set to hear arguments in two challenges to Texas law that bans most abortions

Two months ago, Texas put in place the most restrictive abortion law since the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. The law, which prohibits almost all abortions in the state, has dramatically reduced access to the procedure.

Justices agree to review EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases

In a term already defined by abortion and guns, the justices on Friday agreed to hear two more politically divisive disputes, involving the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases and the ability of states to defend a Trump-era immigration rule that the Biden administration has declined to defend.

Parental Rights in Public Schools

The morning read for Thursday, Oct. 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].

We are public defenders. New York’s gun laws eviscerate our clients’ Second Amendment rights.

This article is part of a symposium on the upcoming argument in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. A preview of the case is here. The authors are public defenders in New York City.

Senate confirms Prelogar as Biden’s solicitor general

By a vote of 53-36 on Thursday, the Senate confirmed Elizabeth Prelogar to serve as the solicitor general of the United States. The vote was along mostly partisan lines, with only six Republicans joining Democrats in voting to confirm her.

To help stop domestic violence, uphold concealed-carry regulations that utilize local knowledge

This article is part of a symposium on the upcoming argument in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. A preview of the case is here. Rachel Graber is the director of public policy at the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The morning read for Wednesday, Oct. 27

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 major Second Amendment case, court will review limits on carrying a concealed gun in public

The Second Amendment guarantees “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” On Nov. 3, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument on how that guarantee applies to carrying guns in public.

No new relists, but you should read anyway

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. All the action on the relist front after the Oct. 15 conference was on the “output” side.

Texas Abortion Law Gets Supreme Court Date

The morning read for Tuesday, Oct. 26

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, Oct. 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]. Here’s the Monday morning read: There is no middle ground in the Mississippi abortion case.

Supreme speed: The court puts abortion on the rocket docket

Mary Ziegler is a law professor at Florida State University and the author of Abortion and the Law in America: Roe v. Wade to the Present. The litigation surrounding S.B. 8, the Texas law that bans abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, has been many things, but never ordinary.

Court declines to halt lethal injection of Alabama man who asked for alternate method of execution

The Supreme Court on Thursday night declined to postpone the execution of Willie Smith III, who argued that Alabama prison officials deprived him of a meaningful ability to select his method of execution under state law.

The morning read for Friday, Oct. 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].

Court won’t block Texas abortion ban but fast-tracks cases for argument on Nov. 1

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on Nov. 1 in a pair of cases challenging the Texas law that bans nearly all abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy.

Texting in the car, surveillance of a home, and Section 1983 for Miranda

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether officers who observe a driver using a cellphone have reasonable suspicion to pull the driver over for texting, whether agents’ around-the-clock video surveillance of a home for 18 months is a “search,” and whether a plaintiff may sue a police officer for questioning without giving Miranda warnings.

Biden’s Supreme Court Commission Part II

The morning read for Thursday, Oct. 21

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]. Here’s the Thursday morning read: Why Did the Supreme Court Stop This Execution?

Texas tells justices to leave abortion plan in place, but suggests overruling Roe and Casey

Lawyers for the state of Texas urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to leave a Texas law that imposes a near-total ban on abortions in place. “Neither the federal government nor abortion providers are entitled to demand Texas write its laws to permit them to be challenged” in federal court before they are enforced, the state told the justices.

The morning read for Wednesday, Oct. 20

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, Oct. 19

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].

Biden’s Supreme Court Commission Said What?

The morning read for Monday, Oct. 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].

Court adds two cases on Native American law and issues two opinions granting police officers qualified immunity

The Supreme Court on Monday morning added two new cases, both involving Native Americans, to its docket for this term. The justices also issued two unsigned decisions holding, without oral argument, that police officers are entitled to qualified immunity from lawsuits accusing them of using excessive force.

Biden administration asks justices to block enforcement of Texas abortion law

This article was updated on Oct. 18 at 5:26 p.m. The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to do what the justices declined to do last month when asked by a group of Texas abortion providers: block the enforcement of a Texas law that imposes a near-total ban on abortions performed after the sixth week of pregnancy.

A top 10 list for the justices’ return to the courtroom

At the conclusion of the October argument sitting, longtime SCOTUSblog contributor Mark Walsh joins Amy Howe to select 10 big themes from the court’s first in-person arguments since the start of the pandemic. Listen now on Acast.

Detainee can testify about his treatment at CIA black site, government tells justices

The Biden administration told the Supreme Court on Friday that a Palestinian man who has been in U.S. custody for nearly 20 years could provide testimony for use in a Polish criminal investigation into the man’s torture at a CIA “black site” in that country.

Biden court-reform commissioners remain divided

Disjunction and disagreement dominated the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court’s day-long public meeting Friday. The commission, formed by executive order in April, is tasked with writing a report by mid-November on the contemporary debate over the role and operation of the Supreme Court.

The Curious Case of Jailing Children

The morning read for Friday, Oct. 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].

Justices debate Social Security benefits for National Guard workers

Wednesday’s argument in Babcock v Kijakazi displayed a bench still uncertain about how to resolve a problem about the Social Security benefits available to a small group of National Guard workers.

Blocked beachgoers and bankruptcy bills

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether tribal immunity bars beachgoers from asserting a right of way to public beaches over a Native American tribe’s private property and whether the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act’s fee schedule violates the Constitution.

The morning read for Thursday, Oct. 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].

Foreign intelligence surveillance and immigration

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 morning read for Wednesday, Oct. 13

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 appear to favor reinstating death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Wednesday in the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, which killed three people and badly injured hundreds more.

Centaurs, Jean Valjean, and a proposed three-sentence ruling on the meaning of favorable termination

Mythological creatures and French literary heroes appeared during argument in Thompson v. Clark Tuesday, as the justices sought to define “favorable termination” in certain Fourth Amendment claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

The morning read for Tuesday, Oct. 12

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 government’s appeal to reinstate death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber

Monday marked the 125th running of the Boston Marathon, moved from April to October this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear the United States’ effort to reinstate the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted for his role in the 2013 bombings at the finish line of the marathon.

Justices to consider Social Security benefits of National Guard workers

Wednesday’s argument in Babcock v Kijakazi will take the justices deep into the intersection of the Social Security Act and a host of statutes defining the obligations and compensation of National Guard workers.

Justices appear inclined to allow Kentucky attorney general to intervene in abortion dispute

Anyone looking to the oral argument in Cameron v. EMW Women’s Surgical Center as a potential preview of the upcoming battle over abortion rights was likely disappointed on Monday.

In mostly humdrum order list, court adds no new cases to its docket

The Supreme Court issued orders on Tuesday morning from the justices’ private conference last week. The list of orders was largely uneventful, as the court did not add any new cases to its merits docket for the term.