Lyle Denniston

Feb 6 2017

New obstacle to Trump immigration limits?

After a Sunday rush of foreign travelers from the Mideast reaching U.S. shores under the protection of a federal judge’s temporary order, the Trump Administration’s effort to stop that migration may have run into a new legal obstacle. Three states opposed to President Trump’s January 27 order strictly limiting immigration as an anti-terrorism policy are… Read More

Feb 4 2017

Immigration rules put on hold; US to appeal

With Justice Department lawyers making bold claims that President Donald Trump has unchecked power to control who enters the country, the White House is moving swiftly to challenge a federal judge’s nationwide order barring enforcement of new rules strictly curbing immigration. U.S. District Judge James L. Robart of Seattle on Friday afternoon issued the most… Read More

Jan 24 2017

UK court: Only Parliament can start Brexit

Broadly restating the ancient principle that Parliament holds dominant power in Britain’s national government, even while vigorously exercising its own authority to declare what laws mean, the United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled in a divided decision on Tuesday that only Parliament can take the step of pulling out of the European Union. The 8-to-3 decision… Read More

Jan 23 2017

Court sets stage for Trump switch on voter ID

The Supreme Court on Monday morning cleared the way for the new Trump Administration to switch the government’s position – if it wishes to do so – to allow states to enforce strict photo ID requirements for America’s voters. The Justices did so, without any noted dissents, in refusing for now to hear an appeal… Read More

Jan 20 2017

Big change coming in Texas voter ID case?

One of the highest profile court cases on state laws requiring voters to have photo IDs — a case now awaiting the Supreme Court’s reaction — may be affected in a major way by the opening of the Trump Administration on Friday.  Within hours after President Trump was sworn in, the Justice Department asked for —… Read More

Jan 19 2017

Brexit decision due next Tuesday

Next Tuesday morning, as early-rising Americans on the East Coast start their day, they will learn how Britain’s highest court has decided to sort out its own role as a constitutional court in the face of a potential governing crisis with repercussions throughout the United Kingdom and across the Channel in Europe. On Wednesday, the… Read More

Dec 23 2016

Moving ahead without a ninth Justice

The Supreme Court on Thursday appeared to concede the practical reality that a ninth Justice will not be approved for the bench until several weeks into the new Trump administration.  It did so by releasing a schedule of hearings for the February session that, once again, omits three cases that have been on hold since last… Read More

Dec 21 2016

Trump team gets early constitutional task

The new Trump administration will be in office only 11 days when it must take its first position on a constitutional issue, arising in a major Supreme Court case on prolonged detention of immigrants in prison-like conditions. At the request of both sides in that controversy, the Court has added time to the schedule for… Read More

Dec 19 2016

Garland vote plea denied — maybe the last time

The effort by a New Mexico lawyer to force a Senate vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland may have reached its final point on Monday  morning, as Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., refused the request.  The Chief Justice acted without giving any reason, without sharing the issue with his colleagues,… Read More

Dec 15 2016

Final plea for Senate vote on Court nominee

Taking his last chance at trying to force the Senate to vote on Judge Merrick B. Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court, a New Mexico lawyer on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to order the Senate to act, one way or the other.  In an emergency request, Santa Fe attorney Steven S. Michel (representing himself and… 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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