The history the court would rather not see
In 2021’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court held that modern gun laws must be “consistent with the Nation’s…
Court unanimously sides with defendant in criminal venue dispute over where a crime occurs
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in Abouammo v. United States that federal prosecutors can try a defendant only in the district where his crime was committed, not where its…
Alabama asks Supreme Court to allow execution using nitrogen gas
Alabama came to the Supreme Court on Thursday morning, the justices to allow the execution of Jeffery Lee, who was sentenced to death for the 1998 robbery and murder of…
Protecting the justices
Last month, Justice Amy Coney Barrett was the target of an attempted “swatting” incident – a call falsely reporting the sound of gunshots at her Virginia home. Although swatting incidents…
Opinions on the way
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Announcement of opinions for Thursday, June 11
We will be live blogging as the court potentially releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term.
Race and recorded calls
The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here. Read more The Supreme Court’s…
The Supreme Court’s confusing use of “principles”
Last December I published a column entitled “Party presentation: a mysterious new rule?”, addressing a summary reversal in a criminal case, Clark v. Sweeney. On May 26, the court the…
When must justices recuse themselves over family members’ acts?
Late last month, the news site NOTUS reignited the perennial debate about Supreme Court recusals when it reported that Justice Samuel Alito’s son, Philip Alito, “quietly landed a political appointee…
The latest on tariff refunds
As we noted in Monday’s newsletter, we are expecting 23 more opinions by early July. Compared to the past two terms, the court is actually ahead of schedule: At this…
The Supreme Court’s neutering of the First Step Act
In 2018, Congress passed the First Step Act with rare bipartisan support. Hailed as “the most significant criminal justice reform bill in a generation,” the basic premise of the act…