Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

President Donald Trump’s public pleas for a ban on Muslims entering the United States could turn out to be a threat to the legality of his executive order imposing immigration restrictions, or so it appeared after a federal appeals court held a historic hearing Tuesday afternoon on that order. Although the order in specific terms… Read More

After a Sunday rush of foreign travelers from the Mideast reaching U.S. shores under the protection of a federal judge’s temporary order, the Trump Administration’s effort to stop that migration may have run into a new legal obstacle. Three states opposed to President Trump’s January 27 order strictly limiting immigration as an anti-terrorism policy are… Read More

With Justice Department lawyers making bold claims that President Donald Trump has unchecked power to control who enters the country, the White House is moving swiftly to challenge a federal judge’s nationwide order barring enforcement of new rules strictly curbing immigration. U.S. District Judge James L. Robart of Seattle on Friday afternoon issued the most… Read More

Broadly restating the ancient principle that Parliament holds dominant power in Britain’s national government, even while vigorously exercising its own authority to declare what laws mean, the United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled in a divided decision on Tuesday that only Parliament can take the step of pulling out of the European Union. The 8-to-3 decision… Read More

The Supreme Court on Monday morning cleared the way for the new Trump Administration to switch the government’s position – if it wishes to do so – to allow states to enforce strict photo ID requirements for America’s voters. The Justices did so, without any noted dissents, in refusing for now to hear an appeal… Read More

One of the highest profile court cases on state laws requiring voters to have photo IDs — a case now awaiting the Supreme Court’s reaction — may be affected in a major way by the opening of the Trump Administration on Friday.  Within hours after President Trump was sworn in, the Justice Department asked for —… Read More

Next Tuesday morning, as early-rising Americans on the East Coast start their day, they will learn how Britain’s highest court has decided to sort out its own role as a constitutional court in the face of a potential governing crisis with repercussions throughout the United Kingdom and across the Channel in Europe. On Wednesday, the… Read More

The Supreme Court on Thursday appeared to concede the practical reality that a ninth Justice will not be approved for the bench until several weeks into the new Trump administration.  It did so by releasing a schedule of hearings for the February session that, once again, omits three cases that have been on hold since last… Read More

The new Trump administration will be in office only 11 days when it must take its first position on a constitutional issue, arising in a major Supreme Court case on prolonged detention of immigrants in prison-like conditions. At the request of both sides in that controversy, the Court has added time to the schedule for… Read More

The effort by a New Mexico lawyer to force a Senate vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland may have reached its final point on Monday  morning, as Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., refused the request.  The Chief Justice acted without giving any reason, without sharing the issue with his colleagues,… Read More