Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RIP
The passing of a feminist heroine, and a giant of American jurisprudence.
Supreme Court
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.
Is John Roberts the New Anthony Kennedy?
Like it or not, this is the Roberts Court now.
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 (Updated)
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.
Oklahoma Can't Break Congress's Promise That Native American Reservation Would Be 'Secure Forever,' Rules Supreme Court
Plus: Majority think people should be able to sue police officers, and more...
Roberts, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh Reject Trump's Assertion of 'Absolute Immunity' From State Criminal Subpoenas
The Supreme Court weighs the legality of subpoenaing Trump’s financial records.
BREAKING: Supreme Court Decides Trump Financial Records Cases and Fate of Eastern Oklahoma (Updated)
The Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump's claims of immunity, but reaffirmed limits on investigatory powers, and ruled in favor of Native American tribal claims against Oklahoma.
The Obamacare Birth Control Coverage Fight That Never Ends
Plus: Biden echoes Trump on trade, tech ties to cops revealed, and more...
A Big Day for Religious Liberty at the Supreme Court
On the penultimate day of the October 2019 term, the Supreme Court expands the ministerial exception and upholds exemptions to the contraception coverage mandate.
Supreme Court Strengthens First Amendment Protections for Religious Employers
SCOTUS rules 7-2 in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru.
Qualified Immunity Is a Test for Conservatives
The judicially invented license for police abuse undermines the rule of law and the separation of powers.
"This Is the Real John Roberts"
In the New York Times I explain that the Chief Justice Roberts we've seen this term is the same one we've seen before.
Supreme Court Reaffirms Traditional Severability Principles in Barr v. AAPC
In a decision considering federal limitations on robocalls, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its longstanding approach to severability.
Would Derek Chauvin Receive Qualified Immunity for Killing George Floyd?
The answer speaks volumes about the extent to which that doctrine protects police officers from liability for outrageous conduct.
Supreme Court's LGBT Discrimination Ruling Forces Harvard To End Ban on Single-Gender Clubs
Good news for free association at college!
Don't Let the Pandemic Kill Religious Freedom
COVID-19 control measures violate the First Amendment when they arbitrarily favor secular conduct.
Supreme Court Delivers Big Win for School Choice and Religious Liberty Advocates
SCOTUS rules 5-4 in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue.
Partisan Hypocrisy on Display in Supreme Court Ruling on Anti-Prostitution Pledge and the First Amendment
Can the government compel speech? For Supreme Court justices, that seems to depend on the content of that speech.
Supreme Court Declares Another Abortion Law Unconstitutional
Plus: More states pause reopening, Oregon measure to legalize psilocybin moves forward, and more...
