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:…
The court’s clearly established problem
If a person is convicted of a crime in state court, they can petition a federal court for relief by claiming that their conviction violates the federal constitution. However, the…
The latest on the mail-in voting and ballroom battles
Plus, the kidney stones that made John Marshall the chief justice.
Announcing The SCOTUSblog Summit: 2026 Term Preview
SCOTUSblog and Johns Hopkins University are proud to convene The SCOTUSblog Summit: 2026 Term Preview, an afternoon of conversations and analysis on the Supreme Court, to be held at the…
Supreme Court allows White House ballroom construction to continue for now
The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon allowed construction on a new 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom to continue – at least for now. Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Leon had issued…
Realizing Scalia’s vision: state originalism centers as legal civics education
It is no secret that, thanks to Justice Antonin Scalia, originalism is on the rise. This is true not only on the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary in general,…
Six justices, five techniques: writing lessons from the 2025-26 term
I’ve spent two decades mining Supreme Court opinions for writing techniques that can inspire advocates, too. The best examples rarely feature the snarky or witty lines made for social media.…
The tenth justice’s strategy
Analysis of the Supreme Court’s decisions most often focuses on the opinions and votes of the justices. Sometimes, though, strategic decisions by lawyers about how to argue a case may…
Justices navigate rising security threats
Plus, President Trump brings CNN case to SCOTUS.
Trump asks Supreme Court to hear his defamation case against CNN
President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on his defamation case against cable news giant CNN. In submitted on Aug. 14 but docketed on Thursday, Trump…
Slaughter’s vice
As a new school year gets underway, law students might expect to soon be called upon to answer a seemingly simple question: What did the Supreme Court hold in Trump…