Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

While still insisting that state governments do not have to follow exactly all of the medical community’s standards for defining intellectual disability of criminal suspects, a divided Supreme Court on Tuesday narrowed even further states’ option to create their own standards when deciding who is eligible to be executed for murder. At a minimum, the… Read More

A federal appeals court getting set to review a Maryland judge’s order against President Trump’s immigration restrictions is considering bypassing a three-judge panel and to hear the case before all 15 active judges.  The process, rarely used in that court, could speed up the process considerably. In a brief order issued Monday afternoon, the U.S…. Read More

Accepting the Trump Administration’s argument that its revised order limiting immigration has cured any legal defects in the original version, a federal trial judge in Virginia on Friday became the first in the nation to reject a challenge to the order as it now stands. U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga of Alexandria, VA, ruled… Read More

The first federal appeals court’s review of President Trump’s revised order limiting immigration from six Mideast nations will go forward on an expedited schedule, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided Thursday. The appeals court gave itself the option of ruling even more swiftly on the Trump Administration’s plea to begin enforcing… Read More

Spelling out the grim details of years of extreme torture, a high-profile detainee at Guantanamo Bay is asking the Supreme Court to block his war crimes trial until he can contest its legality in a civilian court – a challenge based heavily on the impact on his physical and mental health of his treatment in… Read More

UPDATED Thursday: The challengers told the Fourth Circuit Court that they see no need for a simultaneous ruling on both the postponement issue and the legality of the Trump order, but agreed to a rapid schedule of briefing. TThe Trump Administration asked a federal appeals court on Wednesday afternoon to order a rapid review of… Read More

Students with disabilities have a legal right to educational support at school that will enable each one to make measureable progress, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday. It is not enough that progress is simply more than a bare minimum, the court said in an opinion written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr…. Read More

A Maryland federal judge who last week blocked one key part of President Trump’s new immigration restrictions will talk with lawyers on Tuesday about broadening that bar to enforcement.  At the telephone conference, lawyers for two refugee rights groups will ask the judge to go even further. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang of Greenbelt,… Read More

UPDATED SUNDAY: Without writing an opinion, Judge Watson denied the government’s request to narrow the scope of his order against enforcement. He did not wait for a government reply.  The judge’s brief new order said “there is nothing unclear about the scope” of his enforcement ban.  He told both sides to advise on next steps… Read More

(This post has been updated and expanded.) The Trump Administration notified a federal judge in Maryland on Friday afternoon that it is appealing his order blocking enforcement of revised restrictions on immigration from Mideast nations.  The appeal, the notice said, will go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. At issue is… Read More