Is Stephen Breyer About To Retire? His Clerk-Hiring Spree Suggests Otherwise.
Progressive activists are pushing the 82-year-old justice to step down.
Supreme Court
Congressional Democrats Want To Vote Themselves Into a Supreme Court Majority
Plus: U.S. will finally withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Mastercard caves to religious groups on porn, and more...
Prohibited Prayer and the Limits of Public Health Authority
The Supreme Court reaffirms that COVID-19 regulations must comply with the First Amendment.
Supreme Court Blocks California's COVID-19 Restrictions on Private Prayer Groups
The majority reminds the 9th Circuit that the First Amendment puts limits on COVID-19 policies.
Lessons of the Legal and Political Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage
Drawn from William Eskridge and Christopher Riano's comprehensive new book on the subject.
Joe Biden, Who Says He's 'Not a Fan of Court Packing,' Just Created a Presidential Commission to Study Court Packing
The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States will examine “the membership and size of the Court.”
Biden Releases Names of Members of His Supreme Court Commission [Updated]
It's a genuinely bipartisan and cross-ideological group. And one that isn't good news for advocates of court-packing.
Justice Breyer Warns Against Court-Packing
In this he echoes a number of other liberals, including the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Justice Breyer Warns Against Expanding SCOTUS (UPDATED)
A liberal justice throws cold water on a pet progressive cause
Justice Thomas Wonders When Supreme Court Will Have To Consider Social Media's Private Deplatforming Power
A moot case about Trump blocking tweets leads to concerns that tech companies have too much control over speech.
Is SCOTUS Getting Ready to Reverse the Sixth Circuit in a Habeas Case Yet Again?
Today's grant of certiorari in Brown v. Davenport suggests we will see yet another Supreme Court reversal of a Sixth Circuit grant of a habeas petition.
The Right to an Abortion Isn't Going Away
While overturning Roe v. Wade would lead to new restrictions in many states, legal access to abortion would be unaffected in most of the country.
Seems Like Old Times for the Sixth Circuit at SCOTUS
This morning's summary reversal of a habeas petition grant in Mays v. Hines.
Shooting a Fleeing Suspect Who Escapes Still Triggers the Fourth Amendment, Says SCOTUS
"The application of physical force to the body with the intent to restrain is a seizure, even if the person does not submit and is not subdued."
A New Five-Justice Block on the Supreme Court?
In two decisions today, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh aligned with the Court's liberals.
Sonia Sotomayor Questions Warrantless Gun Seizure in Big Fourth Amendment Case
“There was no immediate danger,” Sotomayor said, yet the police “decided on their own to go in and seize the gun.”
The 9th Circuit Says the Right To Bear Arms Does Not Extend Beyond Your Doorstep
According to the dissent, the appeals court "has decided that the Second Amendment does not mean what it says."
My "The Hill" Article on Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid
My article considers the implications of a major takings case currently before the Supreme Court.
Additional Issues in Cedar Point v. Hassid
In this post, I consider some additional issues that came up in the recent Supreme Court oral argument in an important takings case.
Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Major Takings Case - Property Owners Seem Likely to Prevail
The Court seems likely to rule in favor of property rights in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid.
Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Fight Over Boston Bomber's Death Sentence
President Joe Biden campaigned on ending the federal death penalty, but he’s been quiet about it since taking office.
Meanings, Intentions, Original Law
Another way to understand what originalists are doing.
'If You Wear a Federal Badge, You Can Inflict Excessive Force on Someone With Little Fear of Liability,' Complains Judge Don Willett
A federal judge protests the Supreme Court’s “rights-without-remedies” Bivens doctrine.
Is the Supreme Court Preparing to End Qualified Immunity?
Experts disagree on whether this is likely or not. The answer remains unclear. But, either way, reform advocates should pursue both litigation and legislative reform. The two approaches are mutually reinforcing, not mutually exclusive.
Testifying on "What's Wrong with the Supreme Court: The Big Money Assault on Our Judiciary"
Presenting an alternative view as a minority witness before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Cops Who Assaulted and Arrested a Man for Standing Outside His Own House Got Qualified Immunity. SCOTUS Won't Hear the Case.
The Supreme Court delivers another blow to a victim of egregious police abuse.
Biden Justice Department Sides Against Free Speech Advocates in Big First Amendment Case
The federal government weighs in on Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L..
A Promising Qualified Immunity Decision From a Potential Biden SCOTUS Nominee
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson denied qualified immunity to the officers involved in Patterson v. United States.
California's Requirement That Nonprofits Disclose Donor Information Poses a Grave Threat to Freedom of Association
A broad coalition of groups is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the state's policy.
Biden Should Nominate Judges Who Battled the Government in Court
More criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, and civil rights litigators may soon be appointed to the federal bench.
Ayanna Pressley Revives Justin Amash's Bill To End Qualified Immunity
The Ending Qualified Immunity Act of 2021 would no longer let state actors violate your rights without consequence.
So Long as You Carry a Cellphone, the Government Can Track You
A phone in your pocket may as well be a GPS beacon strapped to your ankle.
SCOTUS Rules Against an Innocent Man Who Was Choked and Beaten by Cops, but He May Still Get His Day in Court
The justices did not address one of James King's key arguments, which the 6th Circuit will now consider.
'Everything Has Been Criminalized,' Says Neil Gorsuch as He Pushes for Stronger Fourth Amendment Protections
The justice weighs in during oral arguments in Lange v. California.
States Can Provide Their Own Civil Remedies for Police Abuse
They need not wait for the Supreme Court or Congress to restrict or abolish qualified immunity.
A Prison Guard Who Pepper-Sprayed an Inmate Without Provocation Got Qualified Immunity. SCOTUS Disagreed.
An encouraging sign from the Supreme Court
Supreme Court Ducks Opportunity to Clarify Regulatory Takings Doctrine - Over a Strong Dissent by Justice Thomas
Thomas is right that the doctrine is a mess. But the Court may not be in any hurry to clean it up.
Supreme Court Rejects Opportunity to Reconsider Penn Central
Justice Thomas dissented from denial of certiorari by himself to urge a revamp of Takings Clause jurisprudence.
Indiana Senate Passes Bill To Let Government Steal Stuff From People Suspected of 'Unlawful Assembly'
Vague laws are typically vague for a reason.
5th Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Cops Who Ignited a Suicidal, Gasoline-Drenched Man by Tasing Him
The appeals court concluded that the officers' use of force was reasonable in the circumstances.
This Cop Wants Qualified Immunity for Fatally Shooting a Passenger in a Fleeing Vehicle
The unfolding legal saga of City of Hayward v. Stoddard-Nunez
Larry Flynt Made the World Freer for Everybody by Pushing Boundaries
Abrasive, tasteless, and uncompromising, Flynt undoubtedly made the world safer for speech of all varieties.
Sotomayor Invokes Scalia on Fourth Amendment Protections
Does the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures include the right to be free from an unreasonable attempted seizure?
SCOTUS Refuses to Let Alabama Execute Willie Smith Without His Pastor Present (Without Noting Who Cast the Fifth Vote)
With Justice Barrett joining Justice Kagan, does Dunn v. Smith represent a shift on the Court?
Video of Committee for Justice Panel on Court-Packing and Judicial Reform
The panelists included Joshua Braver (University of Wisconsin), Tom Jipping (Heritage Foundation), and myself.
Ninth Circuit Denies Petition for En Banc Rehearing in Kids Climate Case
The plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States may now file a petition for certiorari. They should be careful what they wish for.
Biden Administration Reverses DOJ Position in Texas ACA Case
The Department of Justice is now willing to defend the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and the severability of the penalty-less mandate.
Justice Barrett's First Opinion as a Justice
The newest justice makes her debut in a brief concurrence on the shadow docket.
