Supreme Court News
In-depth reporting and commentary on the Court’s rulings and their influence on law, politics, and society.
-
news
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…. -
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… -
news
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,… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
news
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… -
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… -
opinion
The Left Is Doubling Down on Schemes to Pack the Supreme Court
Anything the left can’t control, it aims to destroy. From campaigns to abolish the Senate to the growing movement to upend the Electoral College after Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the 2016 presidential election, progressives have few qualms about getting rid of long-standing constitutional institutions. Now they’re doubling down on their efforts to wage war on… -
news
Eric Holder: Democrats Should Consider Packing Supreme Court
Former Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday said Democrats should consider packing the Supreme Court when they regain political power. Holder said he would “seriously consider” adding two seats to the court if he were president, as revenge for the two seats on the court that President Donald Trump has filled since taking office. Holder wants other Democrats to follow suit…. -
opinion
Supreme Court’s 9-0 Ruling Protects Americans Against Excessive Fines
It’s a good day when all nine justices of the Supreme Court make a stand for liberty. On Wednesday, the court held unanimously that the excessive fines clause of the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment applies to the states. The ruling is potentially a major win for property owners and individual citizens facing excessive fines, fees, and… -
news
Justice Ginsburg Is Back at the Supreme Court, and She’s Sending a Message
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg took the bench at the Supreme Court Tuesday, the first time she has heard arguments since her treatment for lung cancer in December 2018. The justice’s presence at Tuesday’s arguments was expected—the high court’s public information office announced Friday that Ginsburg would participate in a private conference among the justices to discuss pending… -
news
Supreme Court Expedites Citizenship Question in Census Case
The Supreme Court will settle the question on whether the question of citizenship can be included in the 2020 census, bypassing an appeals court hearing. The high court announced Friday it will hear arguments in April, with a likely decision by June. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced last year the Census Bureau would add the… -
news
Justice Ginsburg Returns to Supreme Court After Cancer Treatment
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the Supreme Court Friday, concluding a two-month absence that followed her treatment for lung cancer in December 2018. The Supreme Court’s Public Information Office announced that Ginsburg will attend Friday’s private conference, where the justices make decisions about pending petitions. The court will consider several urgent matters during the… -
opinion
What Justice Ginsburg’s Absence From the Supreme Court Means—and What It Doesn’t
The Supreme Court justices returned for the court’s first oral arguments of 2019 this week without America’s favorite octogenarian, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Seasoned litigators and Ginsburg fanatics alike were shocked by Chief Justice John Roberts’ announcement on Monday that Ginsburg would miss oral arguments. The announcement came less than three weeks after the Supreme… -
news
Supreme Court: ‘No Evidence’ of Cancer Remaining for Justice Ginsburg
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recovery from a lung cancer operation is proceeding apace and there are no signs of further disease, the Supreme Court announced Friday afternoon. Ginsburg had two cancerous nodules removed from her lungs at the Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center on Dec. 21. The procedure is called a pulmonary lobectomy. “Justice Ginsburg will continue… -
opinion
How America’s Greatest Chief Justice Shaped the Supreme Court
John Marshall may not have a Broadway play about his life, but the Founding Father deserves recognition from Americans as one of the chief architects of our system of government. A new book by Richard Brookhiser, a senior editor at National Review and an esteemed historian, presents an interesting character study of one of the… -
opinion
6 Gifts for the Supreme Court Fanatic in Your Life
Are you wondering what to give that friend, family member, or colleague who loves the Supreme Court? Here are some gift ideas that should delight any Supreme Court watcher, brought to you by The Heritage Foundation’s “SCOTUS 101” podcast. 1. “I Like the Strong Silent Type” T-shirt, $22.99 On the bench, Justice Clarence Thomas is… -
opinion
Supreme Court’s Refusal to Hear Planned Parenthood Case Is a Missed Opportunity
The Supreme Court on Monday missed an opportunity to bring clarity to an area of the law about which the lower courts are divided: Whether states can prevent Medicaid funds from going to pay for non-abortion services at Planned Parenthood clinics. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the court’s decision not to take up the case,… -
news
Unions Defy Supreme Court on Mandatory Dues, Suit Says
Labor unions are collecting dues from public employees without their “affirmative consent” in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling that state laws requiring nonunion government workers to make such payments are unconstitutional, a new lawsuit alleges. The Freedom Foundation, a free market think tank based in Washington state, joined with the National Right to Work…