Lyle Denniston

Apr 25 2021

In Court Monday: donor privacy, and toxic waste

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

Apr 21 2021

A thought experiment — in two parts

“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

Apr 19 2021

The Court and the “gun culture”

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

Apr 18 2021

Supreme Court hearings resume

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

Apr 9 2021

Biden sets study of Supreme Court

In a move of potentially profound historic importance, President Biden on Friday set up a 36-member commission to study the U.S. Supreme Court’s past and its potential future.  The key function assigned to the new body will be to discuss the pros and cons of changes now being discussed in public and academic debate –… Read More

Mar 30 2021

College athletes and the pay question

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court finishes its current set of hearings with a close look at how the law governs college sports – specifically, whether it is illegal to deny compensation of almost any kind to student athletes. The Court has combined two appeals for one hour of hearing; the Chief Justice has the authority… Read More

Mar 28 2021

“Class action”: What’s it about?

It is a basic assumption of the posts on this site that any case before the Supreme Court can be made interesting, in some way, to non-lawyer readers. Sometimes, if the core issue is highly technical, it is harder to find that way. That’s the premise of this report on the cases being heard by… Read More

Mar 26 2021

The “shadow docket”: Why it’s a problem

Among the circle of people outside the Supreme Court but closest to it – the lawyers who practice there and the professors who study it – there is much talk and a lot of criticism these days of the problem of what they call the “shadow docket.”  That is the Court’s choice, increasing in frequency… Read More

Mar 23 2021

The police and domestic disputes

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will once again turn to the question of privacy of the home, this time examining the role of police in dealing with domestic violence.  The hearing will be remote, via telephone.  As usual, the audio portion will be broadcast on c-span.org/supreme court Hearing scheduled for one hour, to start at… Read More

Mar 22 2021

How sovereign are Indian tribes?

Continuing its remote hearings, via telephone, the Supreme Court tomorrow looks into the power of Indian tribes to make arrests of non-Indian suspects on roads or streets within the reservation.  As usual, the audio portion of the hearing (but not the video) will be broadcast on c-span.org/supreme court Hearing starts at 10 a.m., and will… 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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