Everything published in August 2019, most recent first.
This week we highlight petitions pending before the Supreme Court that address, among other things, preliminary injunctions granting immediate possession of property to a pipeline company in a condemnation proceeding under the Natural Gas Act and whether a conviction for involuntary manslaughter violated the free speech clause of the First Amendment or the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.
The Supreme Court’s announcement regarding Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recent successful cancer treatment has initiated a wave of conversation.
Briefly: At ABA Journal, Mark Walsh previews contentious cases set for the upcoming Supreme Court term on Title VII, DACA, and the Second Amendment, cases that “most legal observers agree that the justices worked hard to block or push down the road … from last term’s docket.” At The Economist,
Mootness is not often the stuff of headlines. But a current dispute over Second Amendment rights and a New York City gun regulation has put mootness in the spotlight.
Briefly: At E&E News, Ellen Gilmer reports that a California fishing group has filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking the justices to overturn a lower court decision regarding the Clean Water Act “in a closely watched debate over states’ role in water permitting for dams, pipelines and other
Briefly: At Howe on the Court, Amy Howe reports that the Department of Justice filed an emergency filing at the Supreme Court yesterday, requesting “permission to enforce a new rule that would bar most migrants from seeking asylum in this country if they pass through another country before arriving
Three days after finishing radiation treatment for pancreatic cancer, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke in Buffalo, NY, yesterday. The 86-year-old justice received an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York, becoming the first Supreme Court justice to do so.
The Office of the Solicitor General on Friday filed an amicus brief in the consolidated cases Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia and Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, concerning sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The battle over immigration through the southern border of the United States came to the Supreme Court today. The federal government asked the justices for permission to enforce a new rule that would bar most migrants from seeking asylum in this country if they pass through another country before arriving in the United States.
Michael J. Nelson is Jeffrey L. Hyde and Sharon D. Hyde and Political Science Board of Visitors Early Career Professor in Political Science at Penn State University. Lee Epstein is Ethan A.H. Shepley Distinguished University Professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
The Supreme Court today rejected pleas by Florida death-row inmate Gary Bowles to block his execution. The execution was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT tonight, but – in the wake of two late filings – the justices did not act on Bowles’ requests until after 10 p.m. EDT.
Briefly: Amy Howe reports for this blog that last night, the Supreme Court declined to block the execution of Florida death-row inmate Gary Bowles, who had claimed, among other things, that he could not be executed because he was intellectually disabled; “[t]here was no indication that any justice
On August 26, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be presented with an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Law by the State University of New York Buffalo School of Law. Ginsburg will also spend part of the day in Buffalo teaching law students. More information here.
The Supreme Court announced today that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently finished radiation therapy to treat a tumor on her pancreas. It was the second time that the 86-year-old Ginsburg, who had surgery to remove cancerous growths from her lung in December, has been treated for cancer in less than nine months.
This week we highlight petitions pending before the Supreme Court that address the constitutionality of the federal criminal prohibition against encouraging or inducing illegal immigration for commercial advantage or private financial gain, the availability of a suit seeking monetary damages
Briefly: For The Washington Post, Robert Barnes writes that “[d]ifferences between the Trump administration and the Obama administration … will be front and center in the most important cases on the Supreme Court’s docket this fall.” At Rolling Stone, Andrew Cohen draws from recent Supreme Court
The Supreme Court this evening denied the application for stay of execution and petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Larry Swearingen in the capital case Swearingen v. Texas, 19-5640.
Briefly: Ariane de Vogue reports at CNN that “[t]he Justice Department told the Supreme Court late Monday night that the Trump administration acted lawfully when it decided in 2017 to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects undocumented immigrants who came to
This week on SCOTUStalk, Amy Howe of Howe on the Court continues her series interviewing Supreme Court advocates. In this episode, William M. Jay discusses his career arguing 17 cases before the court.
Briefly: At Bloomberg Law, Jordan Rubin reports that “[a] Maryland murder case that garnered nationwide attention after a hit podcast raised questions about its subject’s guilt landed on Monday at the U.S. Supreme Court.” Ariane de Vogue reports at CNN that “[t]he Trump administration reiterated to
Briefly: At The National Law Journal (subscription may be required), Marcia Coyle reports that “[t]he Trump administration’s Justice Department on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that a federal civil rights law does not bar discrimination against transgender employees, staking a
The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal takes issue with “a remarkable and threatening amicus brief” in which five Democratic senators “all but tell the Justices that they’ll retaliate politically if the Court doesn’t do what they say in a Second Amendment case,” New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York, New York.
The Constitution as originally drafted did not include certain specific rights and restrictions on the power of the government. These were instead later added as amendments to the Constitution in the form of the Bill of Rights.
The Supreme Court this evening denied the applications for stay of execution and the petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Stephen Michael West in the capital case West v. Parker, 19-5561.
Tucker Higgins reports at CNBC on friend-of-the-court briefs filed in support of the city in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York, New York, a challenge to New York City’s limits on transporting personal firearms, by groups of senators and representatives, including several Democratic presidential candidates.
This week we highlight petitions pending before the Supreme Court that address, among other things, the availability of joint and several forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C), whether the Lanham Act prohibits registering as a trademark an otherwise generic term when a generic top-level domain (“.com”) is added to it, and whether an ordinance prohibiting being topless in public classifies on the basis of gender.
For The National Law Journal (subscription or registration required), Marcia Coyle reports that “[t]he Trump administration’s U.S. Justice Department on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court for argument time to support a challenge to New York City gun restrictions,” New York State Rifle & Pistol
Briefly: At FiveThirtyEight, Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux looks at a recent study showing that “Americans’ views of the Supreme Court have grown somewhat less favorable over time, and in the past few months, an unusually large partisan gap has opened up”; she suggests that “an uptick in partisan rancor
This week at SCOTUStalk, Amy Howe of Howe on the Court begins a four-part series interviewing Supreme Court advocates. In this episode, Paul Smith discusses his notable career arguing 21 cases before the court.
For the Washington Examiner, Melissa Quinn reports that “[t]he U.S. Supreme Court will start its next term after a summer punctuated by mass shootings that left more than two dozen dead, heightening the impact of pending cases that focus on when civilians can carry weapons in public.” Robert Barnes
Briefly: At USA Today, Richard Wolf reports that “[a]fter 10 years on the Supreme Court, [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor, 65, is not only its most outspoken questioner – succeeding the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who inspired today’s ‘hot bench’ – but its most frequent public speaker and most prolific
Briefly: At the Pew Research Center’s Fact Tank blog, Claire Brockway and Bradley Jones discuss a new Pew survey showing that “a majority of Americans (62%) say they have a favorable view of the Supreme Court,” but that “Democrats and Republicans are increasingly divided in their assessments of the
Michael Dreeben served in the Office of the Solicitor General from 1988 until 2019 and has argued over 100 cases before the Supreme Court. The chance to serve in the Office of the Solicitor General is the professional honor of a lifetime.
This week we highlight petitions pending before the Supreme Court that address a district court’s discretion to deny a request for a writ of habeas corpus to compel a nonparty inmate to appear as a trial witness and whether solicitation can constitute an “attempt” under the Controlled Substances Act.
Briefly: Greg Stohr reports at Bloomberg that, “[a]s mass shootings revive the U.S. debate over gun policy, the Supreme Court is weighing whether to go forward with a Second Amendment showdown for the first time in a decade.” At Politico Magazine, Renato Mariotti notes that “an important strand of
Kevin Daley reports at The Daily Caller that “[t]he Supreme Court will confront a range of gun rights cases in the coming months”: “Matters now pending before the justices include a dispute over New York City’s gun transportation regulations, challenges to permitting laws in Massachusetts and New
Supreme Court decisions tend to impact more than just the individuals named in a lawsuit. Supreme Court Rule 10, the one official written description of factors that may lead to a higher likelihood of a cert grant, focuses primarily on areas with inconsistent court decisions across the country.
As the federal constitutional convention drew to a close, the delegates appointed the Committee of Style and Arrangement to prepare a final Constitution from the textual provisions that the convention had previously adopted.
Briefly: For The New York Times, Adam Liptak describes how self-described “jailhouse lawyer” Calvin Duncan shepherded Ramos v. Louisiana, in which the justices will decide next term whether the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a unanimous jury applies to the states, to the Supreme Court.
Leondra Kruger is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California. She served in the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States from 2007 to 2013.
Donald Verrilli is a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson. He served as Solicitor General of the United States from 2011 to 2016. If I had to choose one word to sum up Michael Dreeben, that word would be devotion.
This week we highlight petitions pending before the Supreme Court that address, among other things, the ability of the Securities and Exchange Commission to seek and obtain disgorgement as “equitable relief”; how to assess whether a state-law test for determining employment classification is
Jess Bravin reports for The Wall Street Journal that a “judicial-conduct panel on Thursday dismissed ethics complaints filed against Justice Brett Kavanaugh over his behavior at confirmation hearings, concluding that members of the Supreme Court were exempt from review.” At Bloomberg Law, Kimberly
Nicole Saharsky is co-head of Mayer Brown’s Supreme Court & Appellate Practice. She served for 10 years as an Assistant to the Solicitor General in the U.S. Department of Justice. Look, I know I’m supposed to tell you about how Michael Dreeben is the world’s greatest lawyer.
Neal Katyal is a partner at Hogan Lovells, and Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States from May 2010 until June 2011.
For The New York Times, Adam Liptak reports that, “[s]aying the opioid crisis requires bold measures, the state of Arizona filed an audacious lawsuit in the Supreme Court on Wednesday asking the justices to order members of the Sackler family, which owns Purdue Pharma, to return what the state said
On August 9 at 3 p.m. PDT, as part of the American Bar Association’s 2019 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, the Honorable Haywood Gilliam Jr., Michael Dreeben and Mary McNamara will speak on the significant criminal law decisions issued by the Supreme Court in the past year.