Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

The Supreme Court, in a single hearing on Wednesday, will make a new effort to sort out when state legislatures may rely on race in drawing new election districts for the U.S. House of Representatives.  This case from South Carolina could affect Democrats’ chances of controlling the House in 2025. Tomorrow’s hearing:  Alexander v. South… Read More

After a legal holiday on Monday, the Supreme Court returns to the bench tomorrow for two complex but fascinating hearings.  The first will examine the ancient tradition of “whistleblowing,” in a case testing the rights of employees who get fired after exposing misdeeds by companies in the securities industry.  The second involves a decades-long conflict… Read More

The Supreme Court on Wednesday takes up, again, an issue as old as the Constitution: who is allowed to file a lawsuit in federal courts?  There are limits, and they are not always easy to satisfy. Tomorrow’s hearing: Acheson Hotels v. Laufer  Beginning at 10 a.m., the hearing is scheduled for one hour. The Court… Read More

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court takes up a rare constitutional test of one of Congress’s most basic powers: its control over government spending.  Only once before in the nation’s history has the Court faced a case like this one; the outcome this time could affect much of the federal budget. Tomorrow’s hearing: :  Consumer Financial… Read More

On Monday, the Supreme Court begins a new term; it almost certainly will be a momentous one.  But opening day will seem a lot like a game of legal trivia: the first hearing will focus on the meaning of the word “and.”  As always with the Court, there is a larger meaning in that case…. Read More

With no Justice filing a dissent, the Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for a lower federal court to draw a new election map that probably will assure Alabama’s black voters a chance to elect a second member of the U.S. House of Representatives next year. Since 1992, they have had only one House… Read More

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

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

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

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