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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opinion
What You Need to Know About 4 Pivotal Supreme Court Cases This Term
The Supreme Court is hearing some major cases this term that could have longstanding implications. The cases span a variety of issues: President Donald Trump’s financial records, the Electoral College, and religious liberty, and more. Tom Jipping, deputy director of the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and senior legal fellow at… -
opinion
The Supreme Court Was Right: ‘Bridgegate’ Was Tawdry but Not Illegal
In a case that became known as “Bridgegate,” a unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday held in Kelly v. United States that New Jersey state officials who exercised their regulatory authority to slow traffic as a means of imposing a political punishment on a mayor who had refused to support the governor’s reelection did not violate… -
opinion
What Happened at the Little Sisters of the Poor Hearing Before the Supreme Court
The world’s most tenacious nuns were back at the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning, when the justices heard oral arguments in the latest round of the nearly eight-year saga surrounding the Affordable Care Act’s onerous contraception mandate. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the high court made the unusual and unprecedented move of hearing the… -
opinion
The Little Sisters of the Poor Are Back at the Supreme Court, Needlessly So
The Little Sisters of the Poor—a religious order that serves the poor and elderly—will be back at the Supreme Court on Wednesday for the second time about the same issue; namely, former President Barack Obama’s infamous Affordable Care Act contraceptive mandate, enacted about a decade ago. The court will hear oral arguments via telephone, due… -
opinion
Supreme Court Refuses to Rewrite Civil Rights Law in Comcast Case
In a decision applying the 1866 Civil Rights Act as written and intended by Congress, the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously overturned the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (no surprise there) and held that entrepreneur Byron Allen had not established a case against Comcast Corp. for failing to carry his television channels. Allen, a… -
news
Supreme Court Cancels Oral Arguments for March, Delaying a Hearing on Trump’s Tax Returns
The Supreme Court on Monday postponed oral arguments scheduled for later in March amid the growing coronavirus pandemic, a move that could delay a decision on whether President Donald Trump must release his tax returns. “In keeping with public health precautions recommended in response to COVID-19, the Supreme Court is postponing the oral arguments currently… -
news
Supreme Court Allows Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program to Stay in Place
The Supreme Court delivered a win for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, blocking a federal court injunction that would have limited a program that requires asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico. The nation’s highest court on Wednesday ruled that the White House’s "Remain in Mexico" program, also known as Migrant Protection Protocols, can remain effective for the entire… -
opinion
Chuck Schumer’s Despicable Attack on the Supreme Court
“If, then, the courts of justice are to be considered as the bulwarks of a limited Constitution against legislative encroachments, this consideration will afford a strong argument for the permanent tenure of judicial offices,” argued Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 78. If we ever needed a pristine example of why justices are bestowed lifetime appointments… -
news
Schumer Faces Rare Censure for Threatening Supreme Court Justices
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer may become only the ninth senator in the body’s history to be censured by his colleagues. Lawmakers in the Senate and House introduced resolutions to censure him Thursday, a day after Schumer made inflammatory comments that seemed to some to advocate violence if two Supreme Court justices did not rule… -
news
States Can Prosecute Illegal Aliens for Identity Theft, Supreme Court Rules
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that state governments can prosecute illegal aliens of identity theft, including aliens who use false Social Security numbers to unlawfully gain employment. In a tight 5-4 decision, a majority of justices on the nation’s highest court ruled that there is nothing in federal immigration law that forbids state prosecutors from… -
opinion
In New Supreme Court Case, Religious Liberty Is at Stake
In recent years, local and state governments have forced numerous faith-based adoption and foster care agencies out of business because of their religious beliefs about marriage. While some of those agencies closed with little protest, Catholic Social Services chose to fight back in the courts. Catholic Social Services filed a lawsuit alleging that the city… -
news
200 Members of Congress Urge the Supreme Court to Reconsider Roe
More than 200 members of Congress urged the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade on Thursday, ahead of a March case concerning the constitutionality of a Louisiana regulation on abortion providers. The lawmakers, who include 39 senators and 168 members of the House of Representatives, filed a legal brief arguing abortion case law is haphazard and… -
opinion
Supreme Court Gives a Win to Pro-Lifers
Gov. Matt Bevin walked out of his office for the last time Dec. 9, and it’s somewhat fitting that the U.S. Supreme Court picked that same day to uphold one of the most important laws he ever signed—the Kentucky ultrasound bill. The justices, who watched the ACLU appeal all the way to their doorstep, refused to… -
opinion
Podcast: How a Supreme Court Decision Is Hurting a Family Business
Brad and Hilary Scott run a family jewelry business. They sell jewelry across state lines—and that’s become a huge liability. A recent Supreme Court says they, and other businesses, have to pay sales taxes to other states, which could potentially ruin small businesses like theirs. Daniel Davis recently spoke to them at the annual meeting… -
opinion
4 Key Exchanges as Supreme Court Hears NYC Handgun Case
The Supreme Court heard oral argument Monday in the first major case involving gun rights in nearly a decade. A local shooting club is challenging New York City’s handgun regulations, perhaps the most restrictive and draconian in the nation. New York’s regulations banned residents from taking their lawfully owned and registered handguns anywhere outside their homes… -
opinion
Supreme Court Weighs Trump’s Rollback of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
The Supreme Court heard oral argument Tuesday in three cases challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to roll back the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. President Barack Obama had previously explained that such a program was beyond the scope of the executive branch’s authority, saying in an interview, “I’m not the emperor … My… -
news
What’s Behind the Struggle Over the Supreme Court
An unprecedented fight over judicial power is taking place on Capitol Hill as part of fierce partisan opposition to President Donald Trump, legal experts said Tuesday at a gathering of conservatives in Washington. “The conflict over judicial appointments has always been a conflict over judicial power,” Thomas Jipping, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation,… -
news
The Left Targets Supreme Court With ‘Packing’ Threat, ‘Shortlist’ of Activist Nominees
Perhaps encouraged by Democratic senators in August warning the Supreme Court to “heal” itself or face restructuring, one progressive group has doubled down on advocating court-packing, while another liberal group this week released a “Supreme Court shortlist” of 32 prospective judicial nominees for a future Democratic president, filled mostly with activists but only a few… -
opinion
Supreme Court Justices Ponder the Meaning of ‘Sex’
The Supreme Court, returning this week for the beginning of its 2019-2020 term, heard oral argument Tuesday in three cases asking it to decide whether the definition of sex in U.S. law includes sexual orientation and gender identity. At issue is the meaning of the word “sex” in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights… -
opinion
Podcast: What to Expect in the New Supreme Court Term
Heritage Foundation legal expert Elizabeth Slattery discusses what will happen in the 2019-2020 Supreme Court term, which began Monday. How big an impact will all the Brett Kavanaugh controversy have? What’s up with Clarence Thomas being out sick? And what are the blockbuster cases? Slattery breaks it down. Plus, we talk about the NBA’s decision…