Lyle Denniston

Sep 19 2023

Testing a Supreme Court footnote

Emboldened by its success in ending race-based admissions policies at civilian colleges, a conservative advocacy group moved on Tuesday to end a similar policy at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point – the 221-year-old institution founded by President George Washington and other early leaders. The lawsuit filed in federal court in White Plains, N.Y.,… Read More

Sep 12 2023

Challenges to Trump moving ahead

The campaign to use the U.S. Constitution to block Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy moved ahead briskly with new developments on Tuesday.  With the presidential primary season approaching rapidly across the nation, there is wide interest in a final ruling – without delay — on Trump’s eligibility. In Minnesota, a liberal advocacy group, Free Speech for… Read More

Sep 9 2023

Mark Meadows loses first round

Raising higher the legal risk facing ex-White House Chief of Staff Mark R. Meadows, a federal judge on Friday probably weakened the chances that Meadows will be able to fight off state criminal charges in Georgia. In a 49-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones of Atlanta blocked Meadows’ attempt to shift his case… Read More

Sep 7 2023

New challenge to Trump’s candidacy

The widening effort to block Donald Trump from the Presidency took a significant turn this week in a new, carefully crafted lawsuit filed in a state court in Colorado. The lawsuit was filed by a government reform group based on the same constitutional theory that the organization had already used successfully to oust a county… Read More

Aug 17 2023

Mark Meadows’ legal maneuver: explained

Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, in a legal maneuver that is expected to be imitated by former President Donald Trump, has asked a federal court to clear him of criminal charges in the new case in Georgia state court over the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The tactic is based… Read More

Aug 11 2023

Is Trump barred from office?

Donald Trump is now barred from the Presidency or any other government office – even if not yet convicted of any crime, two law professors conclude in a new constitutional and historical study.  What is already known about his role in trying to stay in power is enough, the paper argues. The analysis, to be… Read More

Jul 4 2023

New challenge to Harvard’s entry rules

Moving quickly to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s historic new ban on the use of race in admitting students to colleges, three minority rights groups asked the federal government on Monday to stop Harvard from giving special treatment to children of alumni and donors. Those preferences go to applicants about 70 percent of whom… Read More

Jun 30 2023

Court blocks student loan relief

Robustly applying its newly created constitutional tool for nullifying sweeping new federal programs, a divided Supreme Court on Friday ordered an end to President Biden’s plan to cancel more than $430 billion of college student loan debt. In doing so, the Court applied that mechanism for the first time to stop a program designed to… Read More

Jun 29 2023

The end of “affirmative action”?

Striding boldly into the midst of America’s fierce modern debate over racial equality, a divided Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the use of race as a factor in deciding government benefits and privately-run programs that use federal funds. The 6-to-3 decision, applying explicitly to policies for deciding which students get admitted to colleges and… Read More

Jun 27 2023

Court ends sweeping election theory

In a historic ruling with major impact on future elections to the U.S. House of Representatives and to the Presidency, the Supreme Court on Tuesday firmly rejected a sweeping and deeply controversial theory that would have given state legislatures unchecked power to displace voters’ choices for those offices. The 6-to-3 decision may also bolster the… Read More

Lyle Denniston continues to write about the U.S. Supreme Court, although he “retired” at the end of 2019 following more than six decades on that news beat. He was there for three revolutions – civil rights, women’s rights, and gay rights – and the start of a fourth, on transgender rights. His career of following the law began at the Otoe County Courthouse in his hometown, Nebraska City, Nebraska, in the fall of 1948. His online, eight-week, college-level course – “The Supreme Court and American Politics” – is available from the University of Baltimore Law School, and it is free.

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