Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Fri, February 17th, 2012 6:05 pm With two Justices suggesting that the Supreme Court should now reconsider its controversial campaign finance ruling of two years ago, the Court on Friday put on hold a Montana Supreme Court decision which had upheld a law against heavy spending by corporations on politics. The postponement will [...]
Tom Goldstein Publisher Posted Sat, February 18th, 2012 8:49 pm Yesterday, the Supreme Court became a significant issue in the 2012 presidential election. The Court did not take center stage by deciding the constitutional challenges we are watching most closely: the cases involving the health care reform statute, Arizona’s S.B. 1070 immigration law, or the [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Sat, February 18th, 2012 12:02 am At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear one hour of oral argument on United States v. Alvarez (11-210), testing the constitutionality of a 2006 law making it a federal crime to lie intentionally about receiving a military medal or decoration. Arguing for the [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Fri, February 17th, 2012 10:20 am Complete video coverage of yesterday’s health care briefing presented by SCOTUSblog and Bloomberg Law is now available. The briefing includes appearances by the blog’s own Tom Goldstein and Lyle Denniston, as well as the panel discussion with Akhil Amar, Michael Carvin, Paul Clement, and Neal [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Thu, February 16th, 2012 9:21 am Today we are live blogging from the National Press Club where we are co-hosting a media briefing on the health care cases. Our pannelists today are: Paul Clement, counsel to the plaintiff States Michael Carvin, counsel to plaintiff National Federation of Independent Business Neal Katyal, [...]
Tom Goldstein Publisher Posted Tue, February 14th, 2012 2:04 pm A favorite topic of mine has always been potential nominations to the Court, both as to who might be picked and whether the nomination will or won’t succeed. But trying to prognosticate a few months ahead of a retirement is too simple; it is time [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Tue, February 14th, 2012 9:48 am At its February 24, 2012 Conference, the Court will consider such issues as appropriate relief in the effort to stop an Asian carp invasion, First Amendment protection for “official” speech in sworn statements, and compensation for time spent donning and doffing safety and sanitary gear. [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Fri, February 10th, 2012 1:56 pm UPDATE 3:15 p.m. Justice Kennedy has called for a response from the state of Montana by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15. ———— The lawyers who pursued the case that led to the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in 2010 freeing corporations to spend heavily on [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Fri, February 10th, 2012 1:56 pm UPDATE 3:15 p.m. Justice Kennedy has called for a response from the state of Montana by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15. ———— The lawyers who pursued the case that led to the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in 2010 freeing corporations to spend heavily on [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Fri, February 10th, 2012 2:27 pm A major civil rights case that the Supreme Court has had under review, testing minorities’ access to rental housing and cities’ power to enforce their codes on living quarters, is being dismissed by agreement of both sides. The case, Magner v. Gallagher (docket 10-1032), had [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Fri, February 10th, 2012 6:30 pm Analysis Three years and three months have now passed since California voters amended their state constitution with Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage throughout the state. The first legal challenge began the next day, and others followed — first in state court, then in federal court. [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Thu, February 9th, 2012 4:19 pm The 26 states and others that are making a sweeping challenge to the constitutionality of all parts of the new federal health care law have argued that they should be given at least equal time to argue when the Supreme Court reviews the key provisions [...]
Scott Dodson Guest Posted Wed, February 8th, 2012 11:35 am When Patrick Wood, a Colorado state prisoner, was too late in seeking federal habeas-corpus relief, the state told the federal district court that it neither challenged nor conceded the timeliness of Wood’s petition. The district court denied the petition without addressing its timeliness, and Wood [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Tue, February 7th, 2012 1:06 pm (FINAL UPDATE 3:34 p.m.) In the nation’s most closely watched gay rights case, the Ninth Circuit Court divided 2-1 on Tuesday and struck down “Proposition 8,” the ban on same-sex marriage adopted by California voters in November 2008. The panel majority did not uphold a broad right [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Fri, February 3rd, 2012 11:48 am At its February 17, 2012 Conference, the Court will consider such issues as the burden of persuasion for warrantless searches of residences, the use of a defendant’s pre-arrest silence, grandparent visitation, whether human genes are patentable, and exhaustion under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Fri, February 3rd, 2012 1:03 pm The Supreme Court will conclude its oral arguments for the current Term with the major case on a state’s power to pass laws to control undocumented immigrants living in the state — Arizona v. United States (docket 11-182) — on April 25. The Court on [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Fri, February 3rd, 2012 8:31 pm The Obama Administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to expand by a half-hour — to a total of six hours — the time allowed for oral arguments in late March on the constitutionality of the new federal health care law. In a ten-page motion, [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Wed, February 1st, 2012 9:19 pm The first ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court on California’s controversial ban on same-sex marriage — but not an ultimate ruling on the ban’s constitutionality — will be released Thursday morning, the Circuit Court announced Wednesday. Coming out at 1 p.m. Washington time (10 a.m. in San [...]
Amy Howe Editor Posted Wed, February 1st, 2012 10:34 am The Justices are now in their mid-term recess, setting us up for several weeks in which we will not get any new opinions or orders. But before starting their break, the Justices gave us a parting gift: three opinions in argued cases. And the debate [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Tue, January 31st, 2012 10:12 am SCOTUSblog is now accepting applications from current law students interested in interning with us. Details about the position’s qualifications and responsibilities, as well as how to apply, are below the jump. The principal focus of the internship will be assisting Tom with the “Petition of [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Wed, January 25th, 2012 10:36 am The Georgetown University Law Center’s Supreme Court Institute will host two events relating to the Court in February, both of which are free and open to the public. On February 1 at 3:30 pm, the Institute will host a “Mock Moot Court” of Department of [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Wed, January 25th, 2012 10:36 am The Georgetown University Law Center’s Supreme Court Institute will host two events relating to the Court in February, both of which are free and open to the public. On February 1 at 3:30 pm, the Institute will host a “Mock Moot Court” of Department of [...]
Tom Goldstein Publisher Posted Wed, January 25th, 2012 11:30 am In this post on Monday, I summarized my understanding of the issues that the Court decided in the Jones GPS tracking decision and the other issues it left open. The case involves a mildly complicated area of the law. The alignment of the Justices also [...]
Steven Schwinn Guest Posted Wed, January 25th, 2012 3:50 pm If Court-watchers are looking for some clue on the constitutional issues around the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), they’ll have to wait. The Court’s ruling this week on SORNA marks the third time in as many years that the Act has reached [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Wed, January 25th, 2012 7:51 pm The petitions of the day are: Posted in Cases in the Pipeline Recommended Citation: Kali Borkoski, Petitions of the Day, SCOTUSblog (Jan. 25, 2012, 7:51 PM), http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/01/petitions-of-the-day-4/
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Tue, January 24th, 2012 12:11 am The military policies of detention and interrogation worked out by the Bush Administration and continued at least in part by the Obama Administration cannot be challenged in damage lawsuits in federal courts, the Fourth Circuit Court in Richmond, Va., ruled on Monday. The Constitution assigns the [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Mon, January 23rd, 2012 9:56 am With the help of our reporter, Lyle Denniston, we will be live blogging as orders and opinions in argued cases are issued today. The Live Blog window is below the jump. Once you see the window and our initial welcome, we ask that you do [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Sat, January 21st, 2012 6:00 am Today’s petitions of the day are: Posted in Media General Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission, Tribune Company v. Federal Communcations Commission, National Association of Broadcasters v. Federal Communications Commission, Cases in the Pipeline Recommended Citation: Kali Borkoski, Petitions of the day, SCOTUSblog (Jan. 21, 2012, [...]
Tejinder Singh . Posted Thu, January 19th, 2012 7:59 am We continue our Community discussion of Justice O’Connor’s legacy by asking you for your thoughts on the ways in which Justices O’Connor and Kennedy have occupied the role of the Court’s “swing vote.” As the ideological centers of their respective Courts, these two Justices have [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Wed, January 18th, 2012 9:59 am With the help of our reporter, Lyle Denniston, we will be live blogging as opinions in argued cases are issued today. In the interest of minimizing technical problems, we’ve moved the Live Blog window below the jump. Once you see the Live Blog window and [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Tue, January 17th, 2012 10:14 am Avoiding a handful of new constitutional controversies, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear pleas by government and public school officials for a right to say prayers or invocations before their public meetings, new cases on the power of public school districts to punish [...]
Jack Martone Guest Posted Sat, January 14th, 2012 2:00 pm On January 11, the Court heard oral arguments in Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, a workers’ compensation case arising under the provisions of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. At issue in the case is how to calculate the maximum weekly rate that applies to [...]
Kevin Johnson Immigration Posted Sun, January 15th, 2012 9:00 am The Supreme Court soon will again turn its gaze to a complex immigration case involving a long-term lawful permanent resident of the United States facing deportation. Just last December, the Court in Judulang v. Holder rejected as arbitrary and capricious the ruling of the Board [...]
Kevin Russell Contributor Posted Sat, January 14th, 2012 9:00 am Sometimes, oral argument can be misleading. An advocate can spent much of her time being battered by one or two Justices, leaving an uncareful observer to walk away thinking that the advocate’s chances are slimmer than they are, when one takes into account that there [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Fri, January 13th, 2012 9:47 am This week we have been considering “fleeting indecency” and the extent to which the Constitution allows the government to regulate broadcast media. Today in the Community we ask for your thoughts on how FCC v. Fox should (as opposed to will) be decided. As always, [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Thu, January 12th, 2012 9:39 am Today in the Community we continue our discussion of FCC v. Fox, which was argued on Tuesday. Our subtopic for today is whether – putting to the side the enormous amount of media attention that the case has received – the regulation of “fleeting indecency” [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Wed, January 11th, 2012 9:49 am With the help of our reporter, Lyle Denniston, we will be live blogging as opinions in argued cases are issued today. Once you see the Live Blog window and our initial welcome, we ask that you do not refresh your browser. Updates will appear without [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Tue, January 10th, 2012 9:58 am With the help of our reporter, Lyle Denniston, we will be live blogging as opinions in argued cases are issued today. Once you see the Live Blog window and our initial welcome, we ask that you do not refresh your browser. Updates will appear without [...]
Kali Borkoski Manager Posted Mon, January 9th, 2012 9:59 am With the help of our reporter, Lyle Denniston, we will be live blogging the rest of the orders from the January 6 Conference. (Lyle covered the Court’s initial orders from that list on Friday.) Once you see the Live Blog window and our initial welcome, we [...]
Stephen Wermiel Law Students Posted Sat, January 7th, 2012 4:01 pm Few things are more challenging for the Supreme Court than applying old rules to new technology. The question of whether and under what circumstances public schools may punish Internet communications by students outside of school may soon present that challenge to the Justices. At [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Sat, January 7th, 2012 12:02 am At 1 p.m. on Monday, the Supreme Court will hold 70 minutes of argument in three cases — being heard on an expedited schedule — on the new election districts that Texas will use in 2012 balloting for the state legislature and for its expanded [...]
Aaron Tang . Posted Fri, January 6th, 2012 9:50 am For our final discussion topic of the week, we ask you to look into your crystal ball and predict how you think the Court will rule in the Texas redistricting cases. The cases will be argued on Monday, and a quick turnaround is likely with [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Wed, January 4th, 2012 7:07 pm At 10 a.m. on Monday, the Supreme Court opens its first sitting of the new year with oral argument in an important environmental law case, Sackett, et al., v. Environmental Protection Agency (docket 10-1062). Arguing for the private property owners will be Damien M. Schiff, [...]
Ross Runkel Guest Posted Thu, January 5th, 2012 10:01 am On January 10, the Court will hear oral arguments in Knox v. Service Employees International Union (SEIU). At issue in the case is whether a public sector labor union that imposes a temporary mid-year fees increase to be used for political purposes must provide employees [...]
Lyle Denniston Reporter Posted Tue, January 3rd, 2012 6:33 pm Analysis A lively discussion that has gone on among those following the Texas redistricting cases — coming up for argument in the Supreme Court next Monday afternoon — has focused on whether the Justices might say something in those cases about the constitutionality of the [...]
Aaron Tang . Posted Tue, January 3rd, 2012 9:14 am Our topic for this week’s Community discussion is the Texas redistricting cases, which involve challenges to the state’s newly enacted legislative districting maps and the propriety of a federal district court’s interim order replacing those maps with maps of its own. The Court is scheduled [...]