Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

Taking his last chance at trying to force the Senate to vote on Judge Merrick B. Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court, a New Mexico lawyer on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to order the Senate to act, one way or the other.  In an emergency request, Santa Fe attorney Steven S. Michel (representing himself and… Read More

Using an unusual power, the Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon suddenly turned an important case on government detention of foreign nationals from a review of federal statutes into a full-blown constitutional controversy.  Two weeks after hearing argument on the government’s appeal in the case of Jennings v. Rodriguez, the Court ordered lawyers on both sides to file new written… Read More

The Supreme Court, moving to fill out further a thin docket for decisions this Term, on Wednesday added three new controversies, including a pair of appeals growing out of a gruesome murder  in the nation’s capital more than three decades ago, when all but one of those found guilty were teenagers.  Their two appeals, combined… Read More

The Supreme Court refused on Monday to hear complaints that the settlement of a multitude of lawsuits by former pro football players over head injuries did not provide adequately for one of the most serious forms of brain trauma. The Justices offered no explanation as they turned aside appeals by two groups of retired players,… Read More

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stretched out the schedule for filing written briefs in the new test case on transgender rights.  Among other effects of the change will be that the new government of President-elect Donald Trump will get time to decide whether to get involved — and, if it wishes — to change federal… Read More

With little time left for Senate action on the long-stalled Supreme Court nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland, a New Mexico lawyer’s attempt to force a vote in the chamber was rebuffed again on Thursday, this time by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Santa Fe lawyer Steven S. Michel,… Read More

The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave federal prosecutors a significant legal victory when they pursue criminal cases against investors who use inside corporate tips they got through a chain of tipping. If the original tipper passed on valuable inside data but got no benefit from it other than the satisfaction of making a gift to… Read More

The Supreme Court on Monday issued its calendar of cases to be heard in the fourth sitting of the Term, starting January 9, and three cases in limbo for a year are not yet on the schedule. The Court probably is holding the cases, each involving an issue likely to divide the Court, until a… Read More

One of the most significant court battles over the Constitution and the Affordable Care Act may just fade away, in the wake of an order Monday by a federal appeals court. The dispute over funding for the health care law’s payments to insurance companies to keep their premiums and deductibles lower for people with lower… Read More

Only one thing was really clear after the Supreme Court spent two hours on Monday trying anew to craft a workable constitutional standard for judging when redistricting maps are based too heavily upon the race of voters. It was that the Justices are growing increasingly frustrated that they have to face repeatedly a renewal of… Read More