On Election Year Supreme Court Vacancies (Redux)
What I wrote in 2016 still applies today.
Supreme Court
Why Democrats Should Stop Worrying and Learn To Love the Filibuster
Progressives are promising to get rid of this long-standing check on the power of raw majorities in the Senate just when it would help them the most.
Amy Coney Barrett and the Problem of Conservative Judicial Deference
Reviewing the record of the SCOTUS shortlister.
Amy Coney Barrett Thinks the Second Amendment Prohibits Blanket Bans on Gun Possession by People With Felony Records
The SCOTUS contender's 2019 dissent will alarm gun control supporters but reassure people who want judges to take this constitutional provision as seriously as others.
Two Cheers for Supreme Court Term Limits
The idea has a lot of merit. But it will be hard to enact, and probably won't do much to end partisan conflict over Supreme Court appointments.
Amy Coney Barrett Demolishes the Qualified Immunity Claim of a Detective Accused of Framing a Man for Murder
The case is an encouraging sign that the SCOTUS contender is not the sort of judge who bends over backward to shield cops from liability for outrageous misconduct.
Calabresi Urges Supreme Court Term Limits
Limiting justices to a single 18-year term would de-escalate judicial confirmation fights.
Partisan Poppycock Does Not Trump the Constitution on SCOTUS Picks
The restrictions imagined by Republicans in 2016 or by Democrats now are nothing but self-serving nonsense.
How a Deal to Prevent Court-Packing Can Still Happen
The prospects are far from ideal. But it is still potentially feasible.
Our SCOTUS Wars Were a Long Time Coming
The fight to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg reveals a long-degraded political culture.
SCOTUS Contender Amy Coney Barrett's Mixed Record in Criminal Cases
While the 7th Circuit judge is often skeptical of the government's position, some of her conclusions will give pause to civil libertarians.
Half of Republicans Say New Justice Should Be Picked by Whoever Wins the Election
Plus: Trump wants to rob TikTok to pay for "patriotic education," the CDC can't confirm any cases of airplane spread, Virginia uses new "red flag" gun law, and more...
A Possible Deal on Ginsburg's Replacement That Could Prevent Court-Packing
Simply put: Republicans agree not to vote on a replacement for Ginsburg until January; Democrats agree not to pack the Court.
The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Future of the Supreme Court
What's next for SCOTUS?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RIP
The passing of a feminist heroine, and a giant of American jurisprudence.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Dead
Her death creates a vacancy on the Supreme Court just weeks before the presidential election and is likely to spark a major political fight.
Livestreamed Oral Arguments Will Continue at SCOTUS
October arguments will be over the phone again.
Contrary to What Ted Cruz Thinks, Prepubescent Twerking Does Not Make Cuties Illegal
The federal definition of child pornography does not encompass risqué dancing by clothed 11-year-olds.
The Cato Institute's 19th Annual Constitution Day Conference
This year's annual confab is remote, but will still feature the annual B. Kenneth Simon Lecture and release of the Cato Supreme Court Review.
A Nebraska County Took His $25,000 Property To Settle a $986 Tax Debt. Now the U.S. Supreme Court Could Get Involved.
Walter Barnette didn't know that his own land had been sold out from under him until it had already happened.
SCOTUS Contender James Ho Combines Respect for Free Speech and Gun Rights With a Troubling Deference to Cops
The 5th Circuit judge is a mixed bag from a libertarian perspective.
Josh Hawley Doesn't Want Trump's SCOTUS Endorsement (Thank Goodness). But Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton Do.
Plus: The case for paying plasma donors, Joe Arpaio welcomes furries, and more...
Abolish Qualified Immunity
This court-invented doctrine shields bad cops from civil liability.
Colorado Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal From Housing Activists Who Claimed Inaccurate Election Guidance Doomed Their Ballot Initiative
City officials repeatedly gave activists false information about the requirements for getting their initiative on the ballot.
3rd Circuit Federal Appeals Court Says Large-Capacity Magazine Bans Are OK
Last month, the 9th Circuit said the opposite. It's a question the Supreme Court might have to resolve.
UCLR Online Symposium on Seila Law v. CFPB
A collection of essays analyzing one of the more important administrative law decisions of the October 2019 term.
The Onerous Burdens of Sex Offender Registration Are Not Punishment, the 10th Circuit Rules. They Just Feel That Way.
According to the appeals court, the relevant question is what legislators were trying to accomplish.
SCOTUS Expands Texas ACA Case Oral Argument
Two sets of states, the House of Representatives and Solicitor General all get argument time.
Does the Democratic Platform Endorse Court-Packing?
When it comes to the Supreme Court, the answer is clearly "no." Things are less clear when it comes to the lower federal courts.
Joe Biden Does Not Understand the Second Amendment
The Democratic presidential candidate favors the same magazine limit that a federal appeals court just declared unconstitutional.
All the President's Papers
A preliminary assessment of Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Vance.
What to Expect From a Joe Biden Supreme Court Pick
What sort of judicial nominee can we expect from the Democratic candidate?
The Supreme Court, Livestreamed and Uncut
Just like millions of their fellow Americans, the justices would have to adjust to the strange new realities of social distancing and working from home.
Supreme Court's Growing Popularity Reduces the Risk of Court-Packing and Other Threats to Judicial Review
Its approval rating - 58 percent - is at its highest level since 2009, far outstripping the other two branches of government. That doesn't prove the justices are doing a good job, but will make it harder to pursue court-packing or other attacks on the Court.
Supreme Court Refuses to Allow District Court to Halt Border Wall Construction
Yet again, the Chief Justice shows his distaste for preliminary injunctions.
When Joe Biden Tried To Paint Clarence Thomas as a Crazy Libertarian
The episode reflects poorly on Biden.
Linda Greenhouse Thinks COVID-19 Rules That Favor Casinos Over Churches Raise No Constitutional Issues Worth Considering
The former New York Times SCOTUS reporter does not seem to understand the arguments she is criticizing.
Chief Justice Roberts and Injunctive Relief
The Chief Justice's votes against injunctive relief for churches, voters, and those on death row are of a piece.
Should Congress Take Down Its Statue of Racist Chief Justice Roger Taney?
A bust of the Dred Scott author stands in the old Supreme Court chambers in the capitol.
Is Congress Entitled to the Supreme Court's Deference?
SCOTUS is the least democratic branch. Is that a bad thing?
Discussing the Supreme Court on "Supreme Myths" with Eric Segall
A surprisingly agreeable chat on originalism, the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts and other things.
Supreme Court Won't Lift Freeze In Florida Felon Voting Rights Case
The state has barred hundreds of thousands of residents with felony records from voting without first paying off their court fines and fees.
Betraying Trump, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch Stay Loyal to the Law
Two centuries of precedents say the president is not immune from judicial process.
Justice Department Executes First Federal Prisoner in Nearly 2 Decades
A quick scramble to end a man’s life, despite objections by attorneys and even the relatives of his victims
Is John Roberts a Judicial Minimalist, a Coward, or a Strategic Maximizer?
None of these theories fully account for the Chief Justice's decisions, though the strategic maximizer view may come closest.
John Roberts Just Annoyed Everybody. Is He the New Anthony Kennedy?
The chief justice has managed to infuriate every major political faction.