Supreme Court's Sidestep Leaves Native Kids Without Answers
While intended to keep Native families together, the ICWA subjects American Indian children to a lower level of protection than is enjoyed by non-Native kids.
Supreme Court
A Year Post-Dobbs, Major Shifts in Abortion Access and Politics
Plus: Court rules against judge who threw child stars in jail during parents' custody dispute, inside the FTC's attempt to stop Microsoft from acquiring Call of Duty, and more...
A Troubling Supreme Court Habeas Decision
The Supreme Court was wrong to deny relief to a man imprisoned for activity that Court's own rulings indicate was not illegal - one who never had an opportunity to challenge his incarceration on that basis.
Why Is It So Hard for Victims of Police Abuse To Get Justice?
Joanna Schwartz on how law enforcement "became untouchable"
Justice Thomas Had No Majority Opinion from October Sitting, But Still Wrote More Than Any Other Justice
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson may speak the most at oral argument, but Justice Thomas is writing more pages.
Supreme Court Sides With Jack Daniel's Against Doggy Chew Toy Company
It's not a broad attack on free expression, but Thursday's ruling is certainly a victory for brands that can't take a joke.
Supreme Court Reaffirms Strong Presumption of Statutory Stare Decisis
It did so in today's Voting Rights Act ruling in Allen v. Milligan. This holding has implications for other cases where litigants attempt to overturn statutory precedents, especially longstanding ones.
Disarming a Man Based on a Nonviolent Misdemeanor Was Unconstitutional, the 3rd Circuit Rules
The decision highlights the injustice of a federal law that bans gun possession by broad categories of "prohibited persons."
The Biden Administration Still Insists That Cannabis Consumers Have No Right to Arms
As pot prohibition collapses across the country, that policy is increasingly untenable.
Is Encouraging Illegal Immigration Protected by the First Amendment?
Criticizing the law by calling for people to break it is an American tradition.
A Connecticut Couple Challenges Warrantless Surveillance of Their Property by Camera-Carrying Bears
The lawsuit looks iffy in light of the Supreme Court's "open fields" doctrine.
The Supreme Court Is Not in a 'War on Science'
The Supreme Court is agnostic on questions of science, but clear and resolute on questions of law.
Does a Footnote in Sackett II Indicate How SCOTUS Will Resolve the Affirmative Action Cases?
Could the Court treat Justice Powell's Bakke opinion the way it treated Justice Kennedy's Rapanos opinion?
The Source of Law in Tyler v. Hennepin County
a sub silentio invocation of the general law and positive law approaches
My New Brennan Center Article on Tyler v. Hennepin County and the Cross-Ideological Case for Stronger Judicial Protection for Constitutional Property Rights
The Tyler home equity theft case is just the tip of a much larger iceberg of property rights issues where stronger judicial protection can protect the interests of the poor and minorities, as well as promote the federalist values of localism and diversity.
Supreme Court Reins in EPA Overreach
Thanks to Sackett v. EPA, the feds can no longer treat a backyard puddle like it's a lake.
In Sackett v. EPA, the Supreme Court Cuts Back Federal Regulatory Authority Over Wetlands
The Clean Water Act decision was a unanimous win for the Sacketts, and a 5-4 victory for Justice Scalia's 2006 Rapanos v. United States plurality.
Major Unanimous Supreme Court Victory for Property Rights in Tyler v. Hennepin County
The Supreme Court ruled that home equity theft qualifies as a taking, and that state law is not the sole source for the definition of property rights. The ruling is imprecise on some points, but still sets an important and valuable precedent.
The County Sold Her Home Over Unpaid Taxes and Kept the Profit. SCOTUS Wasn't Having It.
"The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but no more," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts.
The Perils of 'Rule by Indefinite Emergency Edict'
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch highlights a vital lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Border Patrol Shoots and Kills Arizona Man Who Called Them for Help
The FBI is investigating the shooting, but Supreme Court precedent from last year's Egbert v. Boule will make it nearly impossible for Raymond Mattia's family to find justice through civil courts.
Summary Reversal of Sixth Circuit in Calcutt v. FDIC Reaffirms the Importance of Chenery I
A welcome reminder that reviewing courts must judge the propriety of agency actions solely by the grounds invoked by the agency.
Supreme Court: Andy Warhol's Prince Prints Not 'Transformative' Enough for Fair Use
The case could have long-term implications for how broadly fair use can be applied.
Gorsuch Condemns 'Breathtaking' COVID Emergency Powers That Crushed Civil Liberties
"Since March 2020, we may have experienced the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country," Gorsuch wrote. That might be an exaggeration, but it isn't far off.
Section 230 Is Safe (for Now) After Supreme Court Rules on Google and Twitter Terrorism Cases
Plus: A new lawsuit in Montana over the state's TikTok ban, the economic realities of online content creation, the rights of private companies, and more...
Supreme Court Swats Down Attempts To Hold Twitter, Google Financially Liable for Terrorism
The narrow rulings concluded the platforms aren’t responsible for bad people using their communication services.
Alabama Botched His Execution. Now He Wants To Die Differently.
On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with an Alabama death-row inmate who, after surviving a botched lethal injection attempt last year, says he wants to die by gas chamber instead.
New Jersey's Restrictions on Public Gun Possession Are 'Plainly Unconstitutional,' a Federal Judge Says
The state defied a Supreme Court ruling by banning guns from myriad "sensitive places."
Doctors Detail Dangerous Pregnancy Care in States With Abortion Restrictions
Plus: APA says social media not inherently harmful for kids, senators propose Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Agency, and more...
Ron DeSantis Confirms (Again) That His Attack on Disney Was Political Retribution
He either doesn't understand or won't admit why this violates the First Amendment.
Age Restrictions on Handgun Sales Are Unconstitutional, a Federal Judge Rules
U.S. District Judge Robert Payne concluded that 18-to-20-year-olds have the same Second Amendment rights as older adults.
Supreme Court to Consider Whether Members of Congress Have Article III Standing to Sue Federal Agencies
The Supreme Court has accepted certiorari in Carnahan v. Maloney to consider whether members of Congress can sue to force disclosure of information from the General Services Administration.
Justice Kavanaugh Still Wants to Hear More Cases (Revised)
Justice Kavanaugh continues to support granting certiorari in cases his colleagues do not wish to hear.
SCOTUS Chooses California Over Pork Producers and Bacon Consumers (and Issues Four Other Opinions Too)
The Supreme Court issues five merits opinions, but there are still forty more waiting.
Will Separation of Powers Doom Biden's Student Debt Plan?
Biden v. Nebraska has far-reaching implications for presidential power.
Our Amicus Brief Urging the Supreme Court to Hear and Reverse Egregious Fifth Circuit Decision that Creates a Catch-22 For Takings Claims Against State Governments
The decision is at odds with Supreme Court precedent, and endangers the constitutional rights of millions of people. This brief urging the court to reverse it was filed by the Cato Institute and myself.
Delegitimizing the Supreme Court
Plus: A look back at Rochelle Walensky's tenure as head of the CDC
The Supreme Court Has Halted Richard Glossip's Execution
The state's own attorney general has said Glossip deserves a new trial.
New Report on State Standing in Student Loan Case Comes Up A Few Dollars Short
A new report purporting to show that Missouri's arguments for standing in Nebraska v. Biden are based on a lie fails to deliver.
Has Moore v. Harper Become Moot?
The Supreme Court wants further briefing on whether it retains jurisdiction
Justice Scalia's Unpublished Dissent in Kelo v. City of New London
Its existence was revealed when Justice John Paul Stevens' papers were made public earlier this week.
What I Learned From Justice Stevens' Papers on Kelo v. City of New London
There are several interesting revelations, including an unpublished dissent by Justice Antonin Scalia.
What I Hope to Learn from Justice Stevens' Papers on Kelo v. City of New London
The author of one of the Supreme Court's most widely hated rulings left us extensive files on the case, which have just been made public. They could help shed light on key unanswered questions about.
'Assault Weapon' Bans Look More Legally Vulnerable Than Ever
A preliminary injunction in Illinois may signal the demise of a long-running public policy fraud.
Supreme Court Could Rein In Administrative State With New Case
Plus: Divides over misinformation, on free markets and social justice, and more…
Chevron Matters— But Not as Much as You Might Think
Overruling Chevron won't gut the administrative state or even severely constrain it. But it could help strengthen the rule of law.
Has the Supreme Court Put Chevron in the Crosshairs?
One of today's two cert grants comes in a case asking the justices to reconsider Chevron v. NRDC.
Where Are the SCOTUS Opinions?
This Supreme Court term is setting a record for not releasing opinions in argued cases.
