The campaign to overrule Obergefell
Supporters of same-sex marriage breathed a sigh of relief when the Roberts court denied review last year in Davis v. Ermold, a case in which a county clerk in Kentucky,…
On D-Day, did FDR violate the establishment clause?
Please note that SCOTUS Outside Opinions constitute the views of outside contributors and do not reflect the official opinions of SCOTUSblog. Read more Do Americans Support Expanding the Court? A…
The Supreme Court’s long history of shaping race
Race has played an important role in U.S. citizenship and immigration law since the earliest days of the nation’s history. By categorizing people into distinct races, Congress and the courts…
When and why did complying with the Voting Rights Act become unconstitutional?
Please note that SCOTUS Outside Opinions constitute the views of outside contributors and do not reflect the official opinions of SCOTUSblog. Read more The two Roberts courts In part 1…
The two Roberts courts
The current court is often described as composed of six Republican-appointed conservatives and three Democratic-appointed liberals. And that shorthand explains many of the court’s most visible decisions. But it also…
The radical Justice Thomas
On May 7, 2026, Clarence Thomas became the second longest serving justice in American history, surpassing Justice Stephen Field, who had been a justice for 34 years, 195 days, from…
The Supreme Court’s common sense problem
“Common sense” reasoning is becoming more common at the Supreme Court. The justices have explicitly relied on common sense to underwrite its holdings in several salient areas of law. And…
How often do courts actually cite emergency docket orders?
Over the years, the Supreme Court has sent mixed signals about whether its emergency docket orders carry precedential weight. In 2021, Justice Samuel Alito said publicly that emergency orders are…
Criminal law update: some defense-friendly rulings and a big case that wasn’t
The U.S. Supreme Court (unlike some) does not divide its docket between civil and criminal cases. So I do. With about five weeks left in the current Supreme Court term,…
The Roberts court’s record on the First Amendment
The Roberts court is often treated as especially protective of the First Amendment. It is true that the court has reshaped free speech law across such areas as campaign finance,…