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 This Supreme Court Ruling Means for the Washington Redskins, Other Brands Deemed ‘Offensive’
Should “offensive” brand names be allowed to get a federal trademark? The Supreme Court answered “yes” on Monday, handing a decisive win to Simon Tam and his band, The Slants. Tam had tried to register a trademark for his band’s name, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied his application, citing a provision of… -
opinion
2 Cases Threaten to Shut Down Public Prayer. Why the Supreme Court May Need to Act.
Two federal appeals courts are considering whether elected leaders throughout the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions must abandon the 200-year-old practice of opening local meetings with an invocation. Both cases could end up before the Supreme Court by Christmas time. In one case, a self-described pagan sued the board of commissioners of Jackson County, Michigan, arguing… -
opinion
North Carolina Strikes Out a Fifth Time at the Supreme Court Over Redistricting
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the latest redistricting plan from North Carolina on Monday, holding that the state Legislature had impermissibly used race in the redistricting process for two congressional districts. The decision in Cooper v. Harris was confusing and did not clarify what states can and can’t do to comply with the Voting… -
news
All Sitting Supreme Court Justices Have Been Involved With Federalist Society, Labeled a ‘Front’ Group by Democrats
Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court choice, came under fire from Democrats Monday because of his involvement with the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization. “I don’t know what Donald Trump’s judicial philosophy [is] as president, but we sure do know the judicial philosophy of the Federalist Society, which was given the responsibility… -
opinion
Supreme Court’s Pass on Transgender Case Will Ignite Further Lawsuits
For the past few months, the legal community has been preparing for a grand showdown before the Supreme Court on student privacy rights. The central question at hand: Must schools allow a student into sleeping facilities, locker rooms, and restrooms reserved for the opposite sex if that student subjectively identifies with that sex? The prospects… -
opinion
Chuck Schumer’s Hypocrisy on Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee
This weekend, President Donald Trump criticized U.S. District Judge James Robart for his halt of the president’s immigration order—a ruling issued without any accompanying legal analysis. Now, key Senate Democrats are threatening to use the remark against Judge Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wants to use… -
news
Conservatives Pressure 12 Democrats on Supreme Court Pick
Two conservative advocacy organizations hope to stop Senate Democrats from blocking President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. “The focus is to put pressure on Democratic senators to decide between following the will of American people and the voters in their state or to follow Sen. Chuck Schumer and the radical left down a path of… -
news
Democrats Change Tune After Demanding Up-or-Down Vote on Supreme Court Nominee in 2016
Senate Democrats who last year called for an up-or-down vote on Supreme Court nominees changed their tune as President Donald Trump prepared to announce his choice for the high court Tuesday night. “This is a stolen seat,” Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said Monday of the vacancy Trump was about to fill. “This is the first… -
opinion
The People Have Spoken. Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee Deserves a Vote.
Justice Antonin Scalia was a towering figure on the Supreme Court. His unfortunate passing last year was not only a great loss to our country, but it came, as we all know, as our country was already in the midst of a contentious presidential election process. In keeping with the Biden Rule, which states that… -
news
Here’s the Potential Short List for Trump’s Supreme Court Pick
President-elect Donald Trump has narrowed his potential Supreme Court picks to only the federal appeals court judges on his broad list of potential nominees, according to CNN. CNN reported that Vice President-elect Mike Pence said the team is “winnowing” the list that “is made up of mostly federal appellate court judges.” That doesn’t automatically mean… -
news
Majority Supports Swift Confirmation of Originalist Supreme Court Judge
A new poll finds a significant majority of Americans support the rapid confirmation of a Supreme Court justice who will interpret the Constitution according to its original meaning. Eighty percent of participants in a new Marist poll said filling the vacancy on the Supreme Court should be an “immediate” or “important” priority for the new administration…. -
opinion
How a Federal Judge’s Last-Minute Injunction Against the Overtime Rule Will Help Workers and Businesses
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, appointed by President Barack Obama, issued a nationwide injunction against the administration’s final overtime rule, which was scheduled to take effect on Dec. 1. The temporary injunction came as the result of a consolidated legal challenge against the rule, brought by 21 states and more than 50 business… -
news
Federal Judge Blocks Implementation of Controversial Overtime Rule
A federal judge blocked implementation of a controversial rule addressing overtime pay from taking effect next week, a rule that had businesses, nonprofits, and higher education institutions bracing for the impacts of the measure. The Department of Labor’s rule was supposed to take effect Dec. 1, and under the new measure, any employee making up… -
news
Transgender Bathroom Cases the Supreme Court Won’t Hear, and Why They Matter
A mother who is part of a lawsuit against the Obama administration’s transgender restroom mandate for schools says she is encouraged by the Supreme Court’s decision to review a similar case. That case, arising from a Virginia school system, could set a national precedent in the debate over transgender individuals using public facilities according to… -
opinion
Supreme Court Enters Legal Battle Over Gender Identity and the Purpose of Restrooms
Why do we make our restrooms and locker rooms private? Each of us performs a variety of necessary life functions in front of strangers every day. “According to the federal government and LGBT activists, the primary function of private facilities is not privacy; it is affirmation of a person’s gender identity.” —Matt Sharp, @AllianceDefends We… -
news
This Liberal Justice Isn’t Concerned About an 8-Member Supreme Court
One of the U.S. Supreme Court’s liberal justices says an evenly divided court is functioning just fine—and would continue to do so if it faced another Bush v. Gore case. “The court, when it began at the time of the Constitution’s writing, had six members. They had six members for several years,” said Justice Stephen… -
news
25 Years After Thomas Joins Supreme Court, a Friend Hails an American Originalist
Not every justice on the Supreme Court connects the “magical words” of the Declaration of Independence with the government structure set up in the Constitution to protect natural rights as expressed by Thomas Jefferson. In fact, the only one to do so with any consistency in recent years is Justice Clarence Thomas, a friend and… -
opinion
4 Times Conservatives Lost a Major Supreme Court Case by a Single Vote
Sunday night’s second presidential debate underscored the importance of the next Supreme Court justice, as the candidates and questioners alike recognized that the fate of the federal courts rests in the next president’s hands. The high court has been closely divided on many contentious issues in recent years, and the next justice could change the… -
opinion
A Conservative Take on Trump’s New Supreme Court Nominee List
On May 18, then-future Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump put out a list of 11 individuals, all sitting judges, who he would consider as a potential replacement for Antonin Scalia, who died unexpectedly last February, on the Supreme Court of the United States. Trump has now added 10 new names to that list. As was the… -
news
What’s at Stake in the Next Supreme Court Term
The next Supreme Court term is beginning Oct. 3—and there’s plenty of contentious issues on the docket for the eight justices to rule on. “The cases this term may be hard-pressed to match the excitement and media flurry that accompanied highly anticipated rulings in recent years, such as cases involving same-sex marriage, immigration, abortion, and…