DCCHS Oral History of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
A set of interviews with the late justice is now available
Supreme Court
Do Federal Judges Believe We Are in the Midst of a "Judicial Crisis"?
Thoughts on the New York Times' Selective Survey of District Court Judges
Amy Coney Barrett Is Right To Reject 'Common Good Constitutionalism'
Limits on government power are a venerable and beneficial feature of our system.
Justice Kennedy on Originalism and Bush v. Gore
Interesting tidbits in an interview with Adam Liptak
Supreme Court Declines To Address Section 230 in Two Cases for This Term
Weakening or removing Section 230 would not fix the problems of social media, and in fact it could make things worse.
Conversion Therapy at the Court
Plus: Air traffic controllers get mysteriously sick, California gubernatorial contenders can't answer basic questions, and more...
Licensing Boards Are Legalized Cartels
Industry insiders dominate the boards that control who can work, using government power to shut out competitors, protect profits, and block reform.
Warrantless Searches, Tariffs, and the Unitary Executive: 3 SCOTUS Cases To Watch This Fall
In a new Supreme Court term packed with big cases, these disputes stand out.
Justice Barrett Is "Not Afraid"
A revealing interview with the Supreme Court's "Steel Magnolia."
The Supreme Court Will Hear Another Home Equity Theft Takings Case
This one addresses the issue of whether the owner of a home foreclosed for nonpayment of debt is entitled to "fair market value" compensation, or only whatever the government gets from auctioning off the property, minus the debt owed.
SCOTUS Will Consider a Challenge to Hawaii's Default Rule Against Guns on Private Property Open to the Public
The law is one of several attempts to override the right to bear arms by making it impractical to exercise.
Defending the Summary Execution of Suspected Drug Smugglers, Trump Declares an 'Armed Conflict'
The president thinks he can transform murder into self-defense by executive fiat.
Justice Barrett on Common Good Constitutionalism (Updated)
The Justice discusses originalism, common good constitutionalism, and King v. Burwell in a recent interview.
The Roberts Court at 20: Looking Back and Looking Forward
A recent panel discussion on the current Supreme Court.
After 20 Years as Chief Justice, John Roberts Is Now Friend and Foe to Executive Power
Which version of the chief justice will emerge in the Supreme Court’s newest term?
Defend Speech Even When Your Side Hates It
Civil liberties attorney Jenin Younes recounts her role in Murthy v. Missouri, her opposition to pandemic mandates, and why she believes Trump poses an even greater threat to free speech than Biden.
After Repeatedly Losing in Lower Court, Trump Asks SCOTUS To Review His Birthright Citizenship Order
Plus: Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote a book.
The 9th Circuit Overturns a Man's Conviction for Holding a Shotgun on the Sidewalk in Front of His House
The decision, which hinges on an exception to the Gun-Free School Zones Act, does not say whether that law is consistent with the Second Amendment.
SCOTUS Is Now Poised To Overrule Humphrey's Executor, a 1935 Precedent Limiting Presidential Power
The Supreme Court will soon review the president’s authority to fire “independent” agency heads.
Trump's Latest Tariff Defense Asserts Uncheckable Executive Power
The president’s attempt to evade the major questions doctrine deserves to be rejected.
Courts are Checking Trump More Effectively than Many Think
Legal scholar Steve Vladeck explains how and why.
Brendan Carr Flagrantly Abused His Powers To Cancel Jimmy Kimmel
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," the FCC chairman said, threatening to punish broadcasters for airing the comedian's show.
Trump's 'Firing' of Lisa Cook Is Headed for SCOTUS
Plus: Pam Bondi flunks free speech 101.
Amy Coney Barrett's Case for Originalism Falls Short
The Supreme Court justice’s new book fails to practice the historical fidelity it preaches.
What Should We Call the "Shadow Docket"?
Should it be the interim docket? The emergency docket? The emergency orders docket? The short order docket? Something else?
Looking for Partisan Patterns in the Shadow Docket
The New York Times examines the "sharp partisan divides" on the Supreme Court's interim docket.
The Standard for 'Vicious' Speech Trump Laid Out After Kirk's Murder Would Implicate Trump Himself
Freedom of speech cannot reliably protect conservatives unless it also protects people they despise.
Florida's Ban on Openly Carrying Guns Is Unconstitutional, State Appeals Court Rules
A unanimous three-judge panel concluded that "no historical tradition supports" the 1987 law.
Kavanaugh Flouts the Fourth Amendment and Blesses Trump's Racial Profiling
The justice’s stance on immigration enforcement is undermined by the facts of the case before him.
The Trump Administration's Half-Baked Plan To Disarm Transgender People Is Legally Bankrupt
Such a gun ban is not authorized by statute or allowed by the Second Amendment.
Prison Guards Forcibly Cut a Rastafarian Inmate's Dreadlocks. SCOTUS Will Decide If They Can Be Sued Over It.
The Supreme Court will hear Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety this fall.
Supreme Court Issues Dubious "Shadow Docket" Ruling Staying Injunction Against Racial Profiling in Immigration Enforcement
There is no majority opinion, so the reasoning is unclear. But Justice Kavanaugh's concurring opinion undercuts principle that government must abjure racial discrimination.
Trump's Tariffs Face a Major 'Major Questions' Problem at the Supreme Court
The same legal theory that tripped up Joe Biden's student loan scheme could also sink Donald Trump's tariffs.
The Government's Cert Petition to the Supreme Court in Our Tariff Case - and Our Response
We agree the Court should take the case and resolve it as quickly as possible, to minimize the harm caused by the illegal tariffs.
Walz's Gun Plan Wouldn't Stop Shootings, but It Might Shred Civil Liberties
Minnesota's proposed firearm restrictions raise serious constitutional questions—and offer little in return.
Welcome to the "Interim Docket"
Justice Kavanaugh on what to call the "shadow docket" now that it is no longer in the shadows.
The Proposed Ban on Gun Possession by Transgender People Would Be Neither Legal Nor Constitutional
The Justice Department reportedly is considering a regulation aimed at disarming "mentally ill individuals suffering from gender dysphoria."
2 Trump Cases To Watch as the Supreme Court Returns From Summer Break
Plus: A momentous date in the life of Frederick Douglass
She Wrote a Bad Check 17 Years Ago and Still Can't Own Guns. This Trump Order Could Help People Like Her.
The Justice Department has proposed a pathway to restore gun rights for millions of Americans.
The 5th Circuit Rejects Trump's Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act
The appeals court blocked the removal of alleged Venezuelan gang members under that law "because we find no invasion or predatory incursion."
The Gun-Free School Zones Act Is Doubly Dubious
The federal law relies on a risible reading of the Commerce Clause to restrict a constitutional right.
The Rationale for the Federal Circuit's 'Radical Left' Tariff Decision Is Fundamentally Conservative
Donald Trump's claim that the appeals court ruled against him for partisan or ideological reasons is hard to take seriously.
Why the Supreme Court Might Uphold Trump's Tariffs
The Administration's arguments have more doctrinal support than some might think
Trump Can Fire a Lot of People. What's Special About the Federal Reserve?
"The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity," the Supreme Court wrote in a ruling this year.
The Federal Circuit's Tariff Ruling Highlights the Audacity of Trump's Power Grab
Seven judges agreed that the president's assertion of unlimited authority to tax imports is illegal and unconstitutional.
The 10th Circuit Agrees That Prosecuting Cannabis Consumers for Gun Possession May Be Unconstitutional
The appeals court rejected most of the arguments in favor of that policy, saying "the government must show non-intoxicated marijuana users pose a risk of future danger."
Will SCOTUS Let Trump Fire Lisa Cook From the Federal Reserve?
Or will the justices say that Trump fired her for illegal reasons?
