A version of this post appears on scotusblog.com From time to time, at least since 1898, the people in America’s states have decided to take government into their own hands, withdrawing it from elected politicians when the voters think they have done the job badly, or not at all. “Direct democracy” has cycles of popularity,… Read More

This post also appears on scotusblog.com If it is true that lawyers can make a simple proposition into something bewilderingly complex, it may also be true that judges sometimes prefer the simple, and go with that instead. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., proved the latter point in an argument on Wednesday, and the Supreme Court… Read More

The federal judge in Texas who put the Obama administration’s new immigration policy on hold last week decided not to rush on the government request to move swiftly. On Tuesday, he gave the challenging states a full week to reply. The government on Monday had asked that he decide the issue in only two days. Justice… Read More

This post also appears on scotusblog.com If two states have already split payment of fees and costs running well into six figures to keep a case going before the Supreme Court, but it could be resolved now for a final five-figure amount, is it worth continuing? And if, as interstate river disputes go, this one… Read More

UPDATED 6:15 p.m.  The 26 states that challenged the new immigration policy urged the judge in Texas not to act quickly on the government request.  They argued that they should have at least a week to respond. Urging a federal trial judge in Texas to act within two days, the Obama administration on Monday filed… Read More

The Supreme Court issued new orders Monday morning after a four-week recess, but it granted no new cases for review. There also were no cases referred to the federal government for its views. Among the more significant denials came in the Court’s refusal to hear a case by a young Illinois man accused of a… Read More

UPDATE 5:51 p.m.  The Supreme Court will now issue opinions next week on Wednesday at 10 a.m., as well as on Tuesday. ———— Coming back on Monday from a four-week recess, the Supreme Court will issue orders on new cases — perhaps including some grants of review — at 9:30 a.m. On Tuesday at 10… Read More

This post appeared originally on scotusblog.com The Supreme Court on Thursday evening cleared the way for Texas to execute death-row inmate Robert Charles Ladd, a new indication that the Justices will leave states with wide leeway to carry out the death penalty.  With no noted dissents, the Court turned down two pleas for delay of… Read More