Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

As future historians look back at the Trump years, they likely will conclude that a dominant feature was a massive growth in presidential power, only imperfectly checked by the other branches of government.  And they could find a very good illustration of that in the story of Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn. That tangled political… Read More

If the Supreme Court’s “live” audio hearings this month have done nothing else, they have definitely revived the debate over the issue of the Court’s transparency – that is, its openness (or lack of openness) to public examination as it does its work. Having once allowed itself to be observed directly (even if only the… Read More

No matter how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the current constitutional controversy over voting by electors in the Electoral College, members of that body will meet in their own states next December to cast crucial votes for the presidency.  The Court has not been asked to strike down the College. Only in a fairly… Read More

As the Supreme Court takes on more cases involving President Trump, it is becoming clearer that he is often benefiting from the Justices’ customary respect for the other two branches of government. Even as the Justices review further the legality of actions by the sitting President, the Court is predictably reluctant to inquire about motives… Read More

Over the next two weeks, the Supreme Court will be heard “live” doing its work for the first time in history, but the television audience will not actually see the Justices, their courtroom, or the lawyers appearing to present arguments.  This will be an audio presentation only, of six days of hearings, some involving highly… Read More

The long-running dispute over the constitutionality of the massive federal health insurance law – the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare” – headed into a new, and even more uncertain, phase on Wednesday after a federal appeals court issued a eagerly-awaited ruling.   Dividing 2-to-1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found unconstitutional a… Read More

Setting itself a constitutional task that could have a huge impact on presidential politics in 2020, the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to rule on three appeals by President Trump seeking to deny access by congressional and state investigators to his personal and business records, including tax returns. The decisions in the three cases… Read More

Two new court decisions – both historic, but both leaving a good deal of uncertainty – emerged Monday in constitutional controversies arising out of Congress’s investigations of President Trump and his senior White House aides.  It will take months for the full impact of both rulings to become clear, so these disputes will still be… Read More

UPDATE Monday morning, 11/25/19:  The Supreme Court took no action, among its regular orders list, on either of the cases involving President Trump’s tax returns.  That does not rule out an order or orders at any time, later Monday or later in the week. ——————— The historic, months-long constitutional battle growing out of official investigations… Read More

President Trump’s lawyers plan, within the next ten days, to go to the Supreme Court with a plea to rule – before the Justices’ current term ends this summer – that no court has power to order that his personal and business tax returns be handed over to a state criminal investigation. That appeal follows… Read More