Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

Today, the Supreme Court takes a new look at a decades-old idea: private individuals may not be forced to give up constitutional rights in order to get a government benefit.  That kind of quid-pro-quo has been outlawed since the late 1900s.  The Justices will hold a second hearing today, to examine a technical dispute about… Read More

Much of the nation may now be following the Supreme Court as it explores the historic constitutional and political consequences of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol – especially the consequences for former President Donald Trump. But there is “another” Court, so to speak – one not focused on Trump – and… Read More

The images of savage violence at the nation’s Capitol remain as vivid today, three years after that January 6.  Those were scenes of an attempt, unprecedented in American history, to prevent a new President from taking office.  Now, 2024 begins to unfold, possibly the year of reckoning, legal and political, for that assault on the… Read More

In a move without parallel in American history, the Supreme Court agreed on Friday evening to examine Donald Trump’s claim that the Constitution does not bar him from again seeking the Presidency. While the Court’s one-page order gave no reliable hint of how the case would come out in the end, two things stood out… Read More

In a ruling likely to be challenged in state courts, Maine’s secretary of state decided on Thursday that Donald Trump is constitutionally disqualified from seeking the Presidency.  This is the first decision against his candidacy by a state official in charge of elections. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, using powers given to her office by… Read More

Predicting a “national disaster” in politics next year if Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy is barred, Colorado’s Republican leaders on Wednesday night asked the Supreme Court to rule speedily on the historic constitutional controversy. The nation, the new appeal argued, could wind up with 51 different state approaches to Trump’s eligibility unless the Justices overturn the… Read More

Adding a few weeks of delay to federal courts’ decision on ex-President Donald Trump’s attempt to avoid a criminal trial for the January 6 2021 violence at the Capitol, the Supreme Court on Friday opted to stay on the sidelines of that controversy, at least for now. In a one-sentence order issued in early afternoon,… Read More

For the first time in history, a court has barred a major presidential candidate from the ballot for failing to meet the Constitution’s requirements.  Former President Donald Trump was disqualified today by the highest state court in Colorado. The decision came this evening in the Colorado Supreme Court, by a vote of 4-to-3.  The order… Read More

UPDATE: Later Monday, the Court agreed to expedite a decision on whether to grant review of the immunity issues, and gave Trump’s team nine days to file a response.  It could even act on the next step before Christmas. Without waiting for a lower court to rule, the special January 6 prosecutor asked the Supreme… Read More

(Note:  Information on how to listen to today’s case is at the end of this report.) The Supreme Court finishes today the current round of hearings by examining the rights of workers to be treated equally when their employer transfers them to a different job, or refuses a transfer request.  That may be a fairly… Read More