Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

The Supreme Court staff officer who ran the internal investigation of the leak of the draft abortion opinion moved on Friday to head off speculation that one or more of the Justices released that document. Gail A. Curley, who is the Court’s Marshal, said she spoke “with each of the Justices, several on multiple occasions,”… Read More

The most embarrassing, and probably most disruptive, “leak” in Supreme Court history – the unauthorized public disclosure last year of a draft of the historic Dobbs abortion decision – may have resulted from flawed internal secrecy procedures, but no individual leaker could be found, the Court said on Thursday. After an internal investigation that began… Read More

On Wednesday, in its final hearing this month, the Supreme Court will try to sort out several interacting federal laws that seek to protect the rights of disabled children to education in public schools. The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no video) of the hearing on its homepage, supremecourt.gov  To listen, click on “Live… Read More

Today is a legal holiday at the Supreme Court; hearings will resume on Tuesday.  The Court will turn then to the role of American courts in overseeing controls on people entering the U.S. from other countries and in enforcing sanctions against rogue behavior by foreign governments or their agencies. The Court will broadcast “live” the… Read More

On Wednesday, the single hearing at the Supreme Court will focus on a core constitutional question about government immunity to being sued.  The case involves a claim of legal immunity for an agency in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no video) of the hearing on its homepage, supremecourt.gov. … Read More

A single case will be heard by the Supreme Court Tuesday and, while it deals with a labor union strike, it will take the Justices back to constitutional origins and the tension between national and state government powers. The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no video) of the hearing on its homepage, supremecourt.gov  To… Read More

After a four-week holiday recess, the Supreme Court returns to the bench on Monday to begin two weeks of hearings.  Two cases to be heard tomorrow will deal with fundamental legal issues with deep roots in history: privacy protection for the advice given by lawyers, and regulating the affairs of the states’ militia – now,… Read More

Twice, in early 2020 and in early 2021, Congress had the option of driving Donald Trump, permanently, out of presidential politics.  Both attempts to convict him of impeachment charges failed.  Had he been convicted by the Senate of any of those charges, the Senate probably would also have barred him from seeking the Presidency, ever… Read More

Second of two articles.  The first article, appearing just below, described the details of the new Respect for Marriage Act, due to be signed today by President Biden. Across America, there are about 710,000 couples who have taken advantage personally of a historic Supreme Court decision: they are same-sex couples, and they are married, according… Read More

First of two articles With civil rights facing new risks in a deeply conservative Supreme Court, President Biden on Tuesday is scheduled to take a step to provide new – but limited – legal protection for same-sex marriage. Acting quickly in direct response to the possibility that the Court could put an end to the… Read More