Gutting the Alien Tort Statute
The Supreme Court’s decision in Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe I, decided in June, is a lethal blow to suits under the federal Alien Tort Statute. Such litigation often is…
Weakening the protection against sex discrimination?
Few were surprised by the court’s ruling in West Virginia v. B.P.J. upholding a West Virginia law prohibiting transgender girls and women from participating in sports corresponding to their gender…
Notable concurring opinions from this term
Sometimes concurring opinions of justices add little to what is in the court’s decision. Other times, however, they take a very different approach and urge a major change in the…
The biggest Supreme Court surprises this term
At the end of a recent talk on the Supreme Court’s latest term I was asked what surprised me most about the term. I was not surprised by the results…
The Supreme Court’s disturbing approach to federal spending
Last week, the Supreme Court finished handing down its opinions in argued cases this term. In light of its decisions on birthright citizenship and the administrative state, one decision, from…
Nine days in June
As we await the usual late-June flurry of decisions – some of them quite significant – I wanted to reflect on what I believe to be the most extraordinary June…
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…
Rethinking a Supreme Court principle used to undermine the Voting Rights Act
Courtly Observations is a recurring series by Erwin Chemerinsky that focuses on what the Supreme Court’s decisions will mean for the law, for lawyers and lower courts, and for people’s…