Supreme Court News
In-depth reporting and commentary on the Court’s rulings and their influence on law, politics, and society.
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- News
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens Dies at 99
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the war hero and Republican corporate lawyer who became the leader of the court’s liberal wing, died Tuesday night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was 99. The Supreme Court’s public information office said Stevens died from complications of a stroke suffered earlier in the day. “A son of…Kevin Daley -
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A Year After the Supreme Court Rules Against Unions, What’s Changed
Pick a state, any state where rank-and-file public employees differ with the political agenda of their union leadership, and they can make a clean break from the union if they choose. That’s because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that nonunion government workers can’t be compelled to pay dues or other fees to support a union….Kevin Mooney -
- Opinion
‘Rotating’ Supreme Court Justices Would Be Unconstitutional
Efforts to turn judges from impartial umpires into political operatives confirm the axiom that those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. The Declaration of Independence lists actions by King George III that justified separating from Great Britain. The king, for example, had “made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the…Thomas Jipping -
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The Supreme Court Announces It Will Hear DACA Case
The Supreme Court will decide whether President Donald Trump can rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during its next term, the justices announced Friday. DACA is an Obama-era amnesty initiative that extends temporary legal status to 700,000 foreign nationals who came to the U.S. as children. The Department of Homeland Security first took…Kevin Daley -
- Opinion
Why the Supreme Court Got It Right on Gerrymandering
In a much-awaited decision, the Supreme Court held on Thursday in a 5-4 decision that partisan gerrymandering is a political question beyond the reach of the federal courts. This should come as no surprise, since it’s the same conclusion the court reached the last time this issue was before it in 2004 in a case…Hans von Spakovsky -
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New Supreme Court Ruling May Start Checking Power of Federal Bureaucrats
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated ruling in Kisor v. Wilkie, a case challenging judicial deference to administrative agencies’ interpretation of their own regulations. While all nine members of the court agreed that the lower court was wrong to reflexively defer to the agency in this case, a majority was unwilling to…Elizabeth Slattery -
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In Gerrymandering Case, Supreme Court Rules It’s a Matter for Lawmakers, Not Judges
In a new decision, the Supreme Court determined partisan gerrymandering disputes are a political question, not something federal courts should be deciding. In a 5-4 ruling Thursday, the high court decided in a pair of cases regarding gerrymandering—which is the practice of state legislatures drawing up districts for congressional and state legislative seats to benefit…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Deserves Praise for Reversing Itself on Takings Clause
Our constitutional system assumes that federal courts serve to remedy an injustice created by officials in the legislative and executive branches. Unfortunately, federal courts, even the Supreme Court, sometimes are responsible for creating an injustice. Thirty years ago, the Supreme Court did that for property owners in Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson…Paul J. Larkin -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Misses Opportunity to Stop Congress Outsourcing Its Power
Almost a year ago, we asked, “How much authority can Congress give to the attorney general to effectively write criminal laws?” In Gundy v. United States, a plurality of the Supreme Court has given its answer: as much as Congress wants to give. The plurality opinion, which was written by Justice Elena Kagan, was joined…GianCarlo Canaparo -
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Justice Ginsburg Hints at Outcome of Supreme Court’s Biggest Cases
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested Friday that the Supreme Court is deeply divided over its most-watched cases, hinting that a series of 5-4 decisions are likely as the court approaches the end of its current term. Ginsburg said to the 2nd Circuit Judicial Conference the court was unlikely to achieve consensus on several high-profile matters….Kevin Daley -
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Christian Florist Will Appeal to the Supreme Court in Same-Sex Wedding Dispute
A florist who refused to create floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after a Washington state court ruled Thursday that she violated the state’s civil rights law. The case presents the high court with an opportunity to decide whether conservative religious believers can use the First Amendment as…Kevin Daley -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Rejects Case On Transgender Bathrooms. Here’s Why It’s Still a Huge Issue.
The Supreme Court rejected a case regarding school policy in a district which allows transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court denied cert to Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, a case concerning a gender identity bathroom and locker room policy at a Pennsylvania high school. In declining to…Monica Burke -
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Supreme Court Declines Review of Transgender Bathroom Case
The United States Supreme Court declined to review a case Tuesday involving a Pennsylvania school district opening up bathrooms to students of the opposite sex without informing students or parents. The Supreme Court declined to take up Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, a lawsuit that alleges the school violated students’ fundamental right to bodily privacy….Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
This Supreme Court Case Threatens the Left’s View of Group Identity, Victimhood
Oral arguments heard at the Supreme Court Tuesday were ostensibly about whether the 2020 census could include a question about citizenship. But don’t be fooled. The reason this case rocketed to the Supreme Court and has been so hotly contested is that the debate hinges, at bottom, on two starkly different visions of America. In…Mike Gonzalez -
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Supreme Court to Hear Cases Involving Firings of Gay, Transgender Employees
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear three cases centered on whether federal law against discrimination in employment applies to sexual orientation and gender identity. After hearing Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the high court will decide whether the words “because of … sex,” found in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,…Ken McIntyre -
- Opinion
The Fight Over Trump’s Tax Returns Will End Up in the Supreme Court. Here’s Why.
Should elected officials be allowed to gain access to the federal income tax returns of American taxpayers? When President Richard Nixon tried to do this to get dirt on his political opponents he was deservedly condemned and Congress passed a law in 1976 to bar the practice. But now Democrats want to ignore that law to get…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
2 Key Cases the Supreme Court Will Hear in April
Conversations about the Supreme Court this spring have been dominated by discussion of conspiracy theories about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s health, Democratic presidential hopefuls’ plans to “pack the Supreme Court,” and a manufactured “controversy” over Justice Brett Kavanaugh teaching at George Mason University’s Scalia Law School. But on Monday, the justices will begin their final…Elizabeth Slattery -
- News
Supreme Court Turns Down Bids to Stop Trump’s Bump Stock Ban
The Supreme Court has turned down two bids to halt the Trump administration’s ban on bump stocks, an accessory that increases a semiautomatic rifle’s rate of fire. The new federal prohibition, prompted by the deadly Harvest music festival massacre in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017, took effect Tuesday. Chief Justice John Roberts rejected one application to…Kevin Daley -
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GOP Lawmaker to Introduce Bill to Keep Supreme Court Justices at 9
A lawmaker from Tennessee plans to introduce a bill in Congress to keep the Supreme Court at nine justices amid efforts by some Democrats to increase the number to as many as 15. “This Thursday, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment that would limit the number of Supreme Court justices to 9—the number of…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Is Back in Session. Here’s What’s on the Docket.
After a two-week break, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in several cases during its March sitting. Among the issues the court will address are partisan gerrymandering (for a second year in a row), racial bias in jury selection, and whether courts should defer to administrative agencies in interpreting their regulations. Rucho…Elizabeth Slattery