Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

Americans seem to be getting more comfortable in public discussions of nudity or partial nudity, and many could be ready to accept more of it in public places.  It is a serious topic, especially when it involves constitutional demands to treat the sexes equally when government writes laws to control how much public nudity will… Read More

In a move that might postpone the day when the federal government moves in to try to stop abuses of America’s social media, Facebook’s internal review board ruled on Wednesday that its management properly blacked out President Trump, but the board said that the ban should not have been made indefinite. The decision, a historic… Read More

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hold the final hearing of the current term.  After that, the next scheduled hearing will be on October 4, on opening day of a new term.  The case on Tuesday could fit into the tense debate America is now having with itself over racial inequality in the criminal justice… Read More

Today, the Supreme Court ends its last two-week hearing session of the current term.  There are two cases set for today; this dispatch deals with the second one, possibly leading to an examination of states’ rights under the Constitution’s Eleventh Amendment.  The first case, on the free-speech rights of public school students, was discussed in… Read More

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will finish its current round of hearings with a provocative case on the rights of public school students, and a second case involving a rare examination of the meaning of the Constitution’s Eleventh Amendment. This dispatch will deal with the school case; another dispatch will appear early Wednesday on the… Read More

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court’s hearings-by-telephone will be on two cases that appear to be narrow as well as technical in scope. Rather than spend considerable effort on explaining them, this essay will use them as a basis for exploring the Court’s case-selection process – that is, what makes a case qualify for the rarity… Read More

Continuing its remote, hearings-by-telephone, the Supreme Court on Monday will be focusing on the privacy of people who support advocacy groups, and, separately, on who must pay to clean up toxic waste dumps. The audio portions (but not the video) of the hearings will be broadcast on cspan.org/supremecourt First case, starting at 10 a.m.: Americans… Read More

“But is it fair?” Part 1 Today’s hearings in the Supreme Court bring back the memory of Chief Justice Earl Warren. As lawyers before him moved along, confident in the refined legal points they were making, Warren from time to time would interrupt and ask, with emphasis: “But is it fair?” That perhaps was not… Read More

Tomorrow, as it does frequently, the Supreme Court turns again to questions about enforcing America’s gun laws.  In back-to-back hearings, the Justices will seek to define how federal courts are to handle appeals by an individual who has been convicted of having a gun illegally. How such appeals turn out, of course, can affect future… Read More

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court begins a two-week series of hearings, again doing so remotely and by telephone for reasons of health safety.  The audio portion of all of the hearings will be broadcast on c-span.org/supreme court   There will be no video broadcasts.  Except for a single case to be heard in May, these will be… Read More