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 Justice Right to Warn of Dangers in Dismissing Jurors for Their Faith
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recently expressed concern about the decision by Missouri’s state courts to exclude Christians from serving on a particular jury because of their “traditional religious views on questions of sexual morality.” The case at issue involves a woman who identifies as a lesbian suing the Missouri Department of Corrections for…Jordan Lorence -
- Opinion
Google AI’s Recent Debacle Draws Stark Comparison to Public Education’s Own ‘Racial Justice’ Algorithm
“Happy Days” thought they had a great idea for juicing ratings back in 1977, featuring an episode where “the Fonz” jumped a real-life shark on water skis. It didn’t do much for the ratings of the show, but it did help coin a phrase. Today, “jumping the shark” denotes when something popular reaches a point…Matthew Ladner -
- News
Supreme Court Case Has Implications for Elon Musk’s Subpoena Fight With SEC
Congress created and empowered the Securities and Exchange Commission to help enforce U.S. securities laws. The SEC’s unique structure and broad powers have long been controversial and subjected to constitutional challenges—including one currently being brought by Elon Musk. Only a few years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the SEC’s mechanism for appointing its…Zack Smith -
- Opinion
Justices Weigh Future of Free Speech on Social Media Platforms
Can states prohibit social media companies from censoring the speech of their platforms’ users? That’s a question now before the Supreme Court. The justices heard oral arguments Monday in a pair of major First Amendment cases. The cases stem from laws passed in Texas and Florida in 2021 after a number of social media companies’…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
To Censor or to Host? Supreme Court Hears Social Media Platforms’ Free Speech Challenge to State Laws
The Supreme Court on Monday heard hours of argument in two free-speech cases, Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton. NetChoice, an industry group representing large tech companies, argued that laws enacted by Texas and Florida restricting the companies’ ability to demote or remove user content violated the First Amendment rights of social media platforms….Jack Fitzhenry -
- News
Lawmakers Hold Press Conference Demanding ‘Justice for the Five’ Aborted Babies
Republican lawmakers and pro-life activists gathered Wednesday on Capitol Hill to call for transparency and clarity regarding the deaths of “The Five,” preemie-sized aborted babies whose bodies are in the possession of Washington, D.C., officials. Pro-life activist Terrisa Bukovinac, the founder of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising and the co-discoverer of “The Five,” spoke out on…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling May Be Bigger Than You Think
One of the more interesting, but less reported, aspects of the Supreme Court’s decision in the landmark affirmative action case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard was its criticism of universities’ racial categories in admissions policies. That critique opens a new way to challenge racial discrimination in court. Lawyers and litigants who care about racial…GianCarlo Canaparo -
- Opinion
Democrats’ Calls for Justice Thomas’ Recusal Are a Nakedly Political Ploy
In their latest attack on the integrity of the U.S. Supreme Court, House Democrats are urging Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from a case involving former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on Colorado’s Republican primary ballot. Their reasoning is simple, but dangerously misguided: Because Thomas’ wife, Ginni, has expressed opinions about Trump and…John G. Malcolm -
- Opinion
Big Law’s Troubling Sway at the Supreme Court
There’s a big-money influence operation going on behind the scenes at the Supreme Court—just not the one you’ve heard about. Motivated partisans keen to discredit the Supreme Court’s conservative justices pound the table and rail on about a “dark money” conspiracy that uses gifts and front groups to reshape the law to the benefit of…John G. Malcolm -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Must Answer Whether Judges or Bureaucrats Have Final Word on Federal Law
Will the Supreme Court uphold the Chevron doctrine, under which courts defer to contested interpretations of law by agencies in the executive branch? Or will the high court instruct lower courts to determine the best reading of the law, as they do in virtually every non-agency case? Those are the questions the Supreme Court must…Jack Fitzhenry -
- News
Supreme Court Hears Fishermen’s Challenges to Costly Regulatory Authority of Feds
The U.S. Supreme Court took up two cases Wednesday regarding the regulatory authority of the federal government as fishermen argue that government agencies are exceeding their authority by imposing costly mandates. In Loper Bright Enterprises vs. Raimondo and Relentless Inc. vs. Department of Commerce, fishermen are challenging administrative law, dubbed “Chevron deference,” that asserts that when a…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Denies Review in Critical Trans Bathroom Case That Could Have Clarified Title IX
The Supreme Court unceremoniously denied review Tuesday in a case that would have clarified once and for all whether separating bathrooms based on biological sex violates either Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 or the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Now, the nation must wait with bated breath for publication of the…Sarah Parshall Perry -
- Opinion
The Key Question as Big Tech Heads to the Supreme Court Over Censorship
If you were barred from the road you take to work, would you care? Thankfully, those who pave our roads aren’t picking and choosing who uses them, but the same cannot be said of Big Tech. Social media’s expansion into our everyday lives has succeeded in replacing asphalt for algorithm, yet social media platforms are…Wesley Hodges -
- News
Authorities Reveal Another Threat to a Supreme Court Justice
Authorities have uncovered another threat to the life of a Supreme Court justice. Neal Sidhwaney, 43, of Florida plead guilty Friday in a Jacksonville federal court to threatening to kill a Supreme Court justice, according to Politico. That threat was made via phone, in voicemail messages left on July 31, the publication reported. Though prosecutors…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
Supreme Court Denies Christian Family Counselor’s Challenge to Washington’s ‘Censorship’ Law
The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge to a Washington state law prohibiting counselors from engaging in conversations that encourage changes to a minor’s “sexual orientation or gender identity.” The law, adopted in 2018, threatens to fine counselors who violate it up to $5,000 and to revoke their license. The Supreme Court declined on Monday to…Katelynn Richardson -
- News
‘Special Protection for Billionaires’? SCOTUS to Consider Settlement That Shields Sackler Family From Opioid Lawsuits
The Supreme Court on Monday will consider the legality of OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement, which shields the Sackler family—who built a multibillion-dollar fortune from their ownership of the company—from facing lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis. Their settlement, which the government called “exceptional and unprecedented” in its breadth, would have the Sacklers provide up to…Katelynn Richardson -
- Opinion
How Reagan Chose O’Connor for Supreme Court
The following is an excerpt from presidential historian Craig Shirley's forthcoming book "The Search for Reagan: The Appealing Intellectual Conservatism of Ronald Reagan," to be published in February. It recounts the thinking that went into President Reagan's 1981 selection of Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court. O'Connor, who…Craig Shirley -
- News
Sandra Day O’Connor, First Woman on Supreme Court, Dies at 93
Sandra Day O’Connor, who served over 24 years on the Supreme Court as its first female justice, died Friday morning in Phoenix. She was 93. O’Connor, who retired from the high court in 2006, died of “complications related to advanced dementia, probably Alzheimer’s, and a respiratory illness,” the Supreme Court announced. “A daughter of the American…Sara Garstka -
- Opinion
Is Right to Jury Trial Itself on Trial in Hedge Fund Manager’s Case Before Supreme Court?
Will ill-advised precedent or fundamental constitutional principles prevail when the right to a jury trial is at stake? After two hours of oral argument Wednesday morning in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, that was the important issue confronting the Supreme Court. That, and whether the modern desire to empower the administrative state overcomes yet another…Jack Fitzhenry -
- News
Why Supreme Court May Knock Out Ruling on Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court likely will reject an appeals court’s decision to eliminate private lawsuits intended to enforce part of the Voting Rights Act, legal experts on both sides say. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday in a case out of Arkansas that only the Justice Department—not individuals or private groups—may sue to…Fred Lucas