How William Howard Taft transformed from a portly president to a svelte chief justice
As summer comes to a close, I thought SCOTUSblog readers might appreciate a brief escape from the day’s dreary headlines to something a bit different:…
Johnny Brown, Justice Jackson’s father, passes away at 80
Johnny Brown, the father of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, died on Wednesday, according to an obituary published in the Miami Herald on Friday afternoon. He was 80 years old. Read…
Rebecca Slaughter speaks out
Plus, catch-up on the latest SCOTUSblog events with these videos.
In birthright citizenship dissent, Justice Thomas stakes out an ideological claim of who counts as an American
The Supreme Court’s decision about President Donald Trump’s attempt to narrow access to birthright citizenship left no doubt that a majority of justices agree it’s illegal. But two justices, Clarence…
Three profound constitutional provisions – and how the Supreme Court has avoided dealing with them
Some provisions of the Constitution enjoy far more attention than others. At the Supreme Court, for example, it is a rare term that doesn’t have a case involving the First,…
The administrative agency cases were not the court’s only significant separation of powers decisions this term
Please note that SCOTUS Outside Opinions constitute the views of outside contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SCOTUSblog or its staff. Read more The public’s view of…
The public’s view of the Supreme Court
One of the more controversial topics concerning the Supreme Court is how attuned justices should be to public opinion. An even more fundamental question, however, is how closely public opinion…
Reactions to Kagan and Barrett’s congressional testimony
Plus, a look at the Trump administration’s new petition for review on Temporary Protected Status.
Trump administration asks justices to have lower court reconsider protected status for Venezuelan and Haitian nationals
In submitted on July 9 and docketed on Monday, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the justices to order the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to…
Narrow holdings with broad consequences
June brought two Second Amendment decisions. In United States v. Hemani, the court unanimously sustained Ali Hemani’s challenge to his indictment under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), for possessing firearms while…
The court’s criminal law term: overview and observations
Approximately two weeks after of the 57 argued cases decided by the Supreme Court in the October 2025-26 Term was filed, this column presents an overview of the “pure” criminal…