Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

Just one year after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority rolled out a new constitutional way to narrow the power of federal government agencies, the Court voted on Monday to consider endorsing another. At issue in a new case that will be reviewed in the Court’s new term starting in October is whether the Justices will… Read More

North Carolina’s state Supreme Court, with two new Justices making the difference, ruled on Friday that courts in the state have no power to strike down partisan “gerrymanders” – the two-centuries-old practice of giving one political party an advantage in elections. While a major setback for Democrats in the state, the ruling has national significance… Read More

The Supreme Court on Wednesday closes its regular schedule of hearings for its current term with a single case.  The hearing in a consumer rights case involves government power to take private property as a method of collecting back taxes. The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no video) of the hearing on its homepage,… Read More

A single hearing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday arises out of a long line of prior rulings, back as far as 1804 and the case of a schooner named the Charming Betsy and her famous role in the young United States’ efforts to stay neutral in a European war, between France and Britain.  Those… Read More

On Monday, the Supreme Court begins its final week of planned hearings in the current term.  The first hearing will examine the right to appeal in a case about prison inmates’ rights. A second hearing is a test of the independent legal status of Indian tribes. The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no video)… Read More

With only two noted dissents, the Supreme Court on Friday evening cleared the way for the abortion drug mifepristone to remain available throughout the country but settled nothing about its legality in the face of broad new challenges. In a one-paragraph order, containing no explanation, the Court put on hold an April 7 decision by… Read More

The Supreme Court on Wednesday got more time to think about what it wants to do on women’s access to a widely used abortion drug, with no action probably until Friday. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., acting in his own name but very likely after consulting with other Justices, delayed until just before midnight this… Read More

The Supreme Court finishes this week’s hearings tomorrow with a Colorado case testing the meaning of the word “threat.”  The case will require the Court to probe again a question that has lingered in the law for well over a century: how would a “reasonable person” behave? The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no… Read More

The Supreme Court begins its day Tuesday with a hearing on one of the current conservative majority’s favorite subjects – religious freedom.  A second hearing will explore the proof needed to show that someone knew they had broken a law. The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no video) of the hearings on its homepage,… Read More

Unless something special turns up, the Supreme Court tomorrow opens the last round of scheduled hearings for its current term.  A two-week sitting begins Monday with cases on deportation of individuals who commit crimes and on the rights of investors to reliable information in the financial markets.  (If the Court agrees soon to step into… Read More