Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

The opposing sides in the historic controversy over President Trump’s limits on foreign travelers’ entry into the U.S. handed the Supreme Court on Thursday a difficult new question: will the defeats the Administration already suffered in this fight in lower courts remain, or be wiped off the books? That is a question the Justices probably… Read More

With the Supreme Court taking a new look on Tuesday at a constitutional puzzle it could not solve 13 years ago, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy gave a fairly strong hint that he may now have the answer. The puzzle has been easier to describe than to solve: when is partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional?  Or, in other… Read More

Two legal advocacy groups asked a federal judge on Friday to  allow them to begin a new challenge to President Trump’s latest attempt to restrict entry into the U.S. by foreign nationals.  The groups will seek a court order to block enforcement of the new  approach, which is scheduled to go into effect on October 18…. Read More

Very often, the Supreme Court will speak through a very simple order, without explanation.  But it frequently will be true that such an order has deeper meaning, maybe even major consequences.  That is very likely what could follow a one-sentence order issued on Wednesday in a case with an obscure title, Benisek v. Lamone. That… Read More

A deeply-divided Supreme Court on Tuesday night stepped back into the long-running legal battle over whether the Texas legislature has unconstitutionally discriminated against minority voters in drawing new congressional and state legislative election districts. In two separate orders that split the Justices 5-to-4, two rulings by a three-judge federal trial court in San Antonio were… Read More

The Supreme Court on Tuesday evening gave the Trump Administration permission to continue – but perhaps only for the time being – to exclude some 24,000 refugees from entering the U.S.   With no indication of any dissent, the Justices granted the Administration request to put on hold a lower court ruling that would open U.S…. Read More

UPDATED  Tuesday 3:16 p.m.   The Trump legal team filed its reply brief Tuesday afternoon, renewing its plea to continue excluding the 24,000 refugees.  It argued that the Supreme Court is in the best position to interpret what its prior orders mean on that issue. This filing now sets the stage for the Justices to… Read More

UPDATED Monday 2:21 p.m.   Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on Monday afternoon blocked the lower court order on admission of refugees until the state of Hawaii files a response, due tomorrow at noon. Arguing that a federal appeals court is defying the Supreme Court on immigration, the Trump Administration asked the Justices on Monday to allow it to… Read More

Rejecting the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to curb immigration to the U.S. for Mideast nationals and for refugees from around the globe, a federal appeals court on Thursday gave a broad reading on who may enter despite the President’s executive order.  The Justice Department promptly vowed to take the issue back to the Supreme Court…. Read More

Lawyers for a Mexican-born college student who has taken part in the “DACA” program sparing young undocumented immigrants from deportation on Tuesday launched an attempt to overturn the Trump Administration’s plan to end those benefits.  The new maneuver seeks to convert an existing federal court lawsuit into a broad constitutional challenge aimed at saving the… Read More