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

    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…
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  • news

    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….
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  • news

    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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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….
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  • 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…
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  • 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,…
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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….
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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  • 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…
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